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Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and the University of Technology, Sydney, today announced the establishment of a joint nuclear magnetic resonance research facility.
"At UTS, we're already doing some fantastic work using NMR, including a project looking at the development of more effective fingerprinting techniques by measuring reagent reactions with amino acids," said professor Philip Doble, UTS School of Chemistry and Forensic Science. "The establishment of this new collaborative facility will provide us with the tools we need to conduct top-quality research into chemistry, biology and forensics."
The NMR facility will be home to cutting-edge technology to support a range of UTS staff and student research projects, including identifying and measuring drug treatments for osteoporosis, and analyzing solid tissue samples and bacteria in search of more effective treatments for osteoporosis.
This joint NMR facility (a first for Agilent in South Asia Pacific) is part of an ongoing research and technology collaboration between UTS and Agilent. The two organizations established one of the world's first elemental bio-imaging facilities in 2008.
"Agilent and UTS Science have enjoyed a strong working relationship over the years," said Rod Minett, general manager, Life Sciences, South Asia Pacific and Korea, Agilent. "Agilent will establish an applications lab at the facility to showcase our current technology. Working in partnership with UTS, our goal is to further enhance the capabilities of NMR to address a range of research challenges in the basic and applied sciences."
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy, is a research technique that exploits the magnetic properties of certain atomic nuclei to determine the physical and chemical properties of atoms, or the molecules in which they are contained. It relies on the phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance and can provide detailed information about the structure, dynamics, reaction state and chemical environment of molecules.
For further information, view website: www.science.uts.edu.au and website: www.agilent.com Refer to page 225
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A new X-ray movie technique using extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses from Artemis, one of the world's most advanced lasers, could help unravel the mysteries of phenomena such as magnetism or high-temperature superconductivity. The results are published in the latest edition of Physical Review Letters (http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v107/i17/e177402).
The new materials science beamline at Artemis has succeeded in making movies of electronic and structural changes in a complex material, using XUV pulses produced through high harmonic generation, a technique where a laser is fired into a gas jet and just one part in a million is converted into XUV pulses.
Members of the international collaboration from the STFC Central Laser Facility, Diamond Light Source and the universities of Hamburg, Lausanne, Oxford and Padua used these XUV pulses to study a layered crystal of Tantalum Disulphide. The resulting movies - whose frames captured slices of time lasting less than a millionth of a millionth of a second -revealed that electrical conductivity in this material is governed by strong interactions between the electrons themselves.
Understanding this type of 'correlated-electron' behaviour is of crucial importance, since it underlies effects such as high-temperature superconductivity. Superconductivity is the phenomenon where electric current can travel through a material with no loss, because the material is a perfect conductor with zero resistance. Although superconductors are widely used, how they work is less well understood. Even high temperature superconductors need to be kept at -170°C, requiring sophisticated cryogenics systems. The world has ever increasing energy requirements and the search is on to find superconductors that work at room temperature. Understanding the complex physics that underlies this phenomenon is the key.
Dr Jesse Petersen of the University of Oxford said, "This is the only technique that enables us to separate several different processes that are taking place within the material at the same time. The result is particularly interesting because it tells us there must be much more new physics in this material than we had originally thought."
Professor John Collier, Director of STFC Central Laser Facility said: "These excellent results complement work by other research groups who are using the Artemis laser to probe how laser pulses can be used to switch magnetism on and off by looking at electron spin dynamics. If these phenomena can be understood and controlled, it opens the way for new devices and technologies - such as ultra high speed data storage."
The technique used on Artemis
The technique used on Artemis is time and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (tr-ARPES) , which enables the electronic structure of a material to be monitored as it responds to excitation by a laser pulse. The target material is irradiated by a short laser pulse, which induces structural changes and excitations. It is then probed at a series of time delays by a short wavelength pulse which generates photoelectrons that are then collected and analysed.
Until recently, tr-ARPES measurements with lasers have typically used only near UV radiation (<7 eV) and pulses of 100 fs or longer. The low photon energy meant that only a small subset of electrons, with certain energies and travelling in certain directions, could be ejected from the material and detected. The long pulselength meant that it was impossible to see the fastest changes to the material.
The Artemis beamline is one of the first in the world to overcome these limitations by using XUV pulses from high-order laser harmonics, with 20 eV photon energy and 30 fs time resolution. XUV pulses are created through the technique of high harmonic generation. A short pulse laser is focused into a gas-jet and interacts with the gas, producing even shorter pulses of coherent radiation in the 10-100 nm wavelength range. The higher photon energy enables electrons with a much wider range of energy and momentum space to be detected, meaning that each snapshot of electronic structure has a much wider field of view.
ARPES is also widely used on synchrotrons, using similar photon energies, to make high resolution static maps of electronic structure. A new ARPES beamline is now in construction at Diamond Light Source, meaning that scientists will be able to use these two very complementary techniques located on one site.
These experiments focussed on the layered material tantalum disulphide (TaS2). A short infrared laser pulse induced a phase transition from a Mott insulator to a metal, and then XUV pulses recorded a sequence of snapshots of the electronic structure on a very short timescale. TaS2 exhibits a 'charge density wave' - a regular variation in electron density across the layers of atoms - which makes the atoms settle into star-shaped patterns.
Charge density waves are normally related to interactions between electrons and the crystal structure, while Mott insulators are instead produced by interactions between the electrons themselves. The experiment found that, contrary to expectations, the charge density wave and Mott-insulating states 'melted' simultaneously, suggesting a novel mechanism for charge density waves in this material.
The X-ray movies also revealed a structural relaxation which followed the electronic phase transition, but moving slightly more slowly.. This was only possible because of the improved time resolution and higher photon energy in the Artemis beamline. The technique looks to be a promising route to disentangling the complex behaviour of exotic materials.
2011 is the centenary of the discovery of superconductivity, view website: http://www.stfc.ac.uk/26656.aspx
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The new TC-9D control unit incorporates a flow meter in addition to a thermocouple, for more accurate and reproducible operation of the Techne SBL range of fluidised sand baths.
With push fit connectors for fast and easy set-up, the self-contained TC-9D Controller enhances temperature accuracy and stability of SBL Fluidised Baths, achieving ±0.5ºC up to 300ºC, ±1.0ºC between 300 and 400ºC, and ±1.5ºC from 400 to 600ºC. A traceable calibration certificate is available for the TC-9D when supplied with an SBL unit.
Techne has pioneered the development of fluidised bath technology and now offers a wide range of products capable of covering the temperature range -100ºC to 1100ºC. The SBL series of precision temperature fluidised baths provide a safer alternative to the dangers associated with high temperature oil and salt baths. Designed to be bench or floor standing, they require only an electrical and air supply for operation and allow temperatures of up to 600ºC to be maintained. No fumes are given off and the aluminium oxide particles do not degrade or need replacing.
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With rapid heat transfer to samples compared to conventional ovens and furnaces, SBL Fluidised Baths are the safest and fastest way to calibrate irregular-shaped temperature probes with precision up to 600ºC. Techne fluidised baths are widely used in the petrochemical and aerospace industries, as well as for heat treatment of samples in engineering applications.
An application video showing the new TC-9D temperature and flow controller in operation is available at: www.techne-calibration.com
Bibby Scientific in profile
One of four new companies established by Nova Capital from the former Barloworld Scientific business which it acquired in November 2007, Bibby Scientific Limited focuses on the design, manufacture and distribution of four world-leading benchtop laboratory equipment brands: Jenway®, Stuart®, Techne® and Electrothermal.
The 2011 acquisition of Electrothermal, market leaders in heating mantle design and manufacture, adds an extensive range of outstanding products which complement Bibby Scientific's broad-based portfolio.
All four brands are available through good laboratory distributors worldwide and Bibby Scientific Ltd has subsidiaries in the USA, France, Italy and Singapore, as well as an associated company in the Middle East.
For further information, e-mail: info@bibby-scientific.com or view website: www.bibby-scientific.com and www.techne-calibration.com Refer to page 241
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