Day 2 Nano Institute

A good part of the morning was spent learning about optics. We made the same telescopes as were made last week and tested them to see their abilities but then we turned them into microscopes! We did this by taking the tubes apart and then taking the larger tube (with larger lens) and putting the a hand lens on the bottom of the tube (the same side as the lens). So cool...who'd a thought!

We also learned more about scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). In an SEM a beam of electrons are sent down into an object. Some of the electrons are reflected, some are absorbed. The electrons are collected from data points revealing the image. The feature size can reveal details down to 1nm. Magnification to 500,000x that of a light microscope.

We "played" with digital microscopes, looking at things like dandelion seeds, ribbon, ink... pretty much whatever we wanted to look at. We each received a digital microscope for our classrooms! I love the idea that I not only will be able to project the image onto a computer screen but also onto a whiteboard. You can also do screen capture! Classroom applications abound (as do exclamation points)!

We then played, "What's that Gunk?" Where we identified SEM images. At the end of the morning we went to see the SEM that we will be able to borrow for use in our classrooms. Sharon demonstrated it by looking at the image of a dime. I find the idea of using it to be intimidating, so I hope there will be hands-on training available before placing it in our rooms.

The afternoon was spent touring the research facilty at Stinson-Remick Hall. We able to see the cleanroom and learn how it works. We also were able to check out various laboratories housed in the same building. On our way back to Jordan Hall we visited Becky's lab. We'll learn more about her work later this week.

Day 1 Nano Institute for Teachers

What a great start to the NANO K-6 Summer Institute! Becky, Mike and Val are terrific at getting essential information across to those, like me, are virtually uninitiated to nanotechnology. We did scale projects where we had to place items where we believed they belonged on a number line by length and then by mass. Those items I am familiar with weren't difficult but those that were very small like viruses and blood cells or very large like the Earth and the sun were a different story! This would be a great activity to do with students. Perhaps begin with those things they are familiar with and then add in microscopic items like blood cells, bacteria and viruses after they've been studied. At a later time in the morning we watched "The Powers of Ten" video.

Mystery boxes were a great way to introduce what we can learn through the use of touch. We then learned about different kinds of microscopes used in studying items at the nanoscale:
scanning tunnel microscope (STM)-tip scans along and maps out surface
scanning electron microscope (SEM)-a beam of electrons scans a sample, the electrons actually go into the sample, and the topography is mapped out
atomic force microscope (ATF)- through tapping the surface with a cantilever, height variations are measured

I loved the discussion on the potential impact of nanotechnology: nano solar cells mixed in plastic and painted on objects, materials that resist stain, paint that doesn't chip, paint that reduces pollution, dvds that could hold a million movies. The implications in the medical field are the most fascinating for me: nerve tissue talking to computers, quantum dots injected to detect disease earlier, growing tissue to repair heart muscle, nanocoatings to prevent viruses. The potential for making repairs to the body is amazing!

This is the video we watched introducing us to nanotechnology: