Dr. Asthana Presentation

All compounds have defects in them. In metals, these are called grain boundaries. Under powerful magnification, these look a lot like small cracks.


Materials with small grain boundaries have a lot of grain boundaries in a given area and tend to be highly flexible but also soft. Materials with low grain boundaries have few grain boundaries and hard but very rigid.

Nano and Proteins

MALDI stands for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectroscopy and is used to analyze large organic molecules. Google it for more information.


microcystin LR:
 

Collagen:







Amino Acids:

Nano-powder

Our group is attempting to create a more powerful ballistics powder than we currently have. The military is always trying to make more deadly weapons, it’s been a while since they have come up with a new form of gunpowder. Our hope is that through nanotechnology, we can create a superior gunpowder.

The Nano-powder will be comprised of the same chemicals used to make gunpowder but at the nano scale. The idea is that by reducing the grain size, we will increase the surface area and thus the volatility of the compound.

Using magnetic stir bars, we would mix together the chemicals and water then press the paste through a screen to make small equally sized pellets. This is very similar to how they make gunpowder today; however, each of our individual pellets would be more flammable, making a bullet filled with this powder more powerful.

Obviously this powder would be dangerous if not handled correctly.

I don’t know the cost of mass-producing this powder; however, the US military has quite a lot of funding. Therefore, the cost is not a large concern.

The same regulations used to produce all flammable substances would be used. I don’t know the regulations as that would likely be covered by the government funded production campany.

The consumer of this product would likely be military and therefore accept the product graciously.