Watching fluid flow at nanometer scales: Tiny nanowires can lift liquids as effectively as tubes
Monday, April 1, 2013 - 12:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Imagine if you could drink a glass of water just by inserting a solid wire into it and sucking on it as though it were a soda straw. It turns out that if you were tiny enough, that method would work just fine -- and wouldn't even require the suction to start. New research has demonstrated for the first time that when inserted into a pool of liquid, nanowires naturally draw the liquid upward in a thin film that coats the surface of the wire.