Amazing Science

A new projector allows floating 3D objects – from a model of the heart to a talking human head – to be viewed from any angle.

The RayModeler prototype, developed by Sony, is on display for the first time in the UK at an exhibit at the British Library, London, called Growing Knowledge. The device creates 3D images that viewers can see from all angles without stereoscopic glasses. Sensors that recognise gestures allow it to be spun around when you wave your hand in the desired direction.

The system can recreate both static and moving objects. A static object can be captured on a turntable with a single camera, whereas many cameras are needed to capture motion. The shots are transformed into 360 images to be displayed by an LED light source in the system.

The library is featuring the display because it could be a powerful tool for researchers. "It has clear applications in anatomy and physiology," says Aleks Krotoski, researcher-in-residence at the British Library. "If you have an MRI scan you could look at it closely in 3D and manipulate it."

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Researchers have demonstrated a new technology that combines a laser and electric fields to create tiny centrifuge-like whirlpools to separate particles and microbes by size, a potential lab-on-a-chip system for medicine and research.

The theory behind the technology, called rapid electrokinetic patterning - or REP - has been described in technical papers published between 2008 and 2011. Now the researchers have used the method for the first time to collect microscopic bacteria and fungi, saidSteven T. Wereley, a Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering.

The technology could bring innovative sensors and analytical devices for lab-on-a-chip applications, or miniature instruments that perform measurements normally requiring large laboratory equipment. REP is a potential new tool for applications including medical diagnostics; testing food, water and contaminated soil; isolating DNA for gene sequencing; crime-scene forensics; and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

"The new results demonstrate that REP can be used to sort biological particles but also that the technique is a powerful tool for development of a high-performance on-chip bioassay system," Wereley said. 

The technology works by using a highly focused infrared laser to heat fluid in a microchannel containing particles or bacteria. An electric field is applied, combining with the laser's heating action to circulate the fluid in a "microfluidic vortex," whirling mini-maelstroms one-tenth the width of a human hair that work like a centrifuge to isolate specific types of particles based on size.

Here the rapid electrokinetic patterning technique is used to arrange bacteria into a specific pattern. The technique may be used as a tool for nanomanufacturing because it shows promise for the assembly of suspended particles, called colloids. The ability to construct objects with colloids makes it possible to create structures with particular mechanical and thermal characteristics to manufacture electronic devices and tiny mechanical parts.

Particles of different sizes can be isolated by changing the electrical frequency, and the vortex moves wherever the laser is pointed, representing a method for positioning specific types of particles for detection and analysis.