Those of you who have navigated beyond using an Easy-Bake Oven will know that weighing out ingredients is a chore. Then again, it's nothing compared to the sort of balancing that takes place at the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology, where a team has developed a method of weighing individual protons. Using heated, shortened carbon nanotubes in a vacuum, the scale vibrates at different frequencies depending on what molecules are balanced on top. The Yoctogram-scale will enable scientists to diagnose health conditions by finding differences in mass, identifying elements in chemical samples that only differ at the atomic level and ensuring you never over-flour your batter mix again.
Sensitive scales can weigh individual atoms, ensure perfect recipes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nature | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/catalan-atomic-scales/
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