Research

Fun Fact: The Thai calendar is based on the arrival of Buddha, about 543 BC. So the year here is written as 2553 or sometimes '53.

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For the last two weeks or so I've been doing research at Mahidol University. The group I'm in does a lot of work with nanoparticles. I'm working on that too. Gold nanoparticles, little clusters of gold atoms, have some very interesting properties depending on how small they get or what shape they end up in. While the study of nanoparticles and nanomaterials has only recently started, their use (intentional or not) dates back hundreds of years and in some cases, thousands. I found the story about red stained glass windows while looking up some background information for the presentations I have to give as part of the ThaiREU program. Depending on the shape of the nanoparticle (nanorods, I think), you can get other colors as well. And different research groups have been able to create all sorts of cubes, rods, spheres, prisms, wires, and tubes. Things like nanoscale tubes have tensile strengths greater than spider silk or even steel. They also have unique electrical properties.

These sorts of passive materials that do things just by sitting around are very interesting to me. Yet the idea of a carbon nanotube space elevator is a little ridiculous...


I'll have pictures of Chatuchak and some of Mahidol campus up soon.