ER and MR fluids change instantly and reversibly from a free-flowing liquid to a semi-solid with controllable strength in response to an electric or magnetic field, respectively. PR fluids are designed to accomplish the same feat using light as the trigger. They are not widely used, however, either in the lab or in industry because they are difficult and expensive to make, the researchers report in an article scheduled for the Feb. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The new PR fluids, in contrast, are based on simple, inexpensive chemicals available in most labs, say the researchers, who envision PR fluids as a technology that could enable Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). Those much-discussed devices would integrate mechanical elements, sensors, actuators and electronics on chips that could revolutionize many different products.
ARTICLE #2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"A Simple Class of Photorheological Fluids: Surfactant Solutions with Viscosity Tunable by Light"
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University of Maryland
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Subsurface oil from 1989 Alaska spill may persist for decades
Environmental Science & Technology
Oil from the 1989 Exxon Val
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American Chemical Society
5-Feb-2007