Nano-Scale Springs to Protect Mobile Phones from Damage…

Electronic devices get smaller and more complex every year. It turns out that fragility is the price for miniaturization, especially when it comes to small devices, such as cell phones, hitting the floor. Wouldn’t it be great if they bounced instead of cracked when dropped?

A team of Clemson University researchers, led by Apparao Rao, professor of physics, has invented a way to make beds of tiny, shock-absorbing carbon springs which possibly could be used to protect delicate objects from damaging impacts. With collaborators at the University of California at San Diego, the team has shown that layers of these tiny springs called coiled carbon nanotubes, each a thousand times smaller than a human hair, can act as extremely resilient shock absorbers.

Similar coiled carbon nanotubes have been made before, yet Clemson researchers say this method is unique since beds of coiled carbon nanotubes can be grown in a single step using a proprietary hydrocarbon-catalyst mixture.

The group also envisions coiled nanotubes in soldiers’ body armor, car bumpers and bushings and even as cushioning elements in shoe soles.

“The problem we have faced in the past is producing enough of these coiled carbon nanotubes at a reasonable cost to make a difference,” said Rao. “Because our current method produces coiled nanotubes quickly in high yield, it can be readily scaled up to industrial levels. After formation, the coiled nanotubes can be peeled off in one piece and placed on other surfaces to form instant cushioning coatings.”

Photo of Keqin YangIn earlier studies, Rao and his team, along with UCSD collaborators, tested more conventional straight carbon nanotubes against coil-shaped nanotubes. When a stainless steel ball was dropped onto a single nanotube layer, the coiled nanotubes completely recovered from the impact, while the straight ones did not.

“It’s like an egg toss,” said Rao. “If you move your hand backward as you catch the egg and increase the time of contact over which the impact occurs, the impact will be less forceful and the egg will not break. It is the same phenomenon experienced in catching a baseball.”

In previous work, Rao’s group developed a process that coaxes a traditionally straight carbon nanotube to split into a “Y” shape. When powered by electrical voltages, the Y-branched nanotubes behave like tiny switches or transistors that process information.

“Our studies with carbon nanotubes have been ongoing for quite some time,” said Rao. “Each step along the way has led to the next breakthrough, and each time we’ve learned more about how they grow and what their applications could be. We believe that carbon nanotubes have tremendous potential for the lives of each one of us.”

Vishal

Startup Event in New Delhi

India is catching up too in number of new startups and number of candidates looking for taking risk early/ late in their careers, to join these startups.

Last weekend,  I attended a Startup Lunch event held in Delhi (India) as a team building exercise. About 25 startups registered for the event and about 18 presented their businesses to 80+ prospective candidates. Many candidates were interviewed by these startups and results were almost mind blowing. Many candidates were hired by more than one startup.

I also presented showcasing CellStrat’s products and services. We got lot of attraction from almost all present there. This is because Mobile applications area is still a brand new area and people are just now beginning to get their hands around mobile data apps and uses.

Although venture funding companies are investing less in Indian companies in comparison to other countries, but good ideas and people behind the same have no fear and quite a few might become successful.

VS

Verizon + Alltel => Done

As we reported yesterday, Verizon signed a deal to acquire Alltel for $28.1 billion. Wow..are things fast. The rumor arose yesterday and the deal is done today. Possibly Verizon kept it under the wraps to thwart any competitive bidding. As we suspected, Alltel walked away with a billion dollars more than the figure mentioned yesterday. The two private equity firms behind Alltel - Goldman Sachs and Texas Pacific Group were able to recoup their $27.5 billion and some more in seven months. Nice deal for them. With credit markets in crisis, these firms probably want more cash on hand and they walked away with a nice profit (albeit not a large one) in a short time.

AT&T lost its No 1 leadership mantle. But these things hardly matter. Too much M&A to pin No 1 mantle on any one firm for too long…

MT

Globalization of innovation

A new survey conducted by Deloitte and Touche on behalf of National Venture Capital Association suggests that innovation is going global. Even though US remains the headquarter of innovation with maximum VC funding going to US startups, many countries are gaining ground in high-growth areas. Eg Germany is close to US in clean investments, India is in strong second place in software investments and Japan is close to US in telecom investments. Yay to the whole world. Innovation is the air which drives human betterment and progress and we are all for its globalization.

57 percent of US venture capitalists are investing abroad this year as compared to 46 percent last year. The survey included 400 venture capitalists worldwide.

MT