Magnet lab researcher exploring science behind commercial applications of liq...( Picture a teaspoon of powdered sugar. A...),Health

Now, let's say you wanted to choose only particles of a certain size from those in the spoon. Traditional technology and scientific techniques can separate quantities of particles of different sizes down to a few microns, but beyond that, it's not currently possible to perform this operation at the submicron level. Being able to do so would allow for the production of certain types of drugs that are most effective when inhaled.

How small is a submicron? Consider that a micron is a mere 0.00004 of an inch. Yet unlocking the mystery of how to manipulate, measure and separate very tiny particles has tremendous applications for the pharmaceutical industry and could change how some medications are delivered and how effective they are.

That's the backdrop for the research of Steven W. Van Sciver, a professor of mechanical engineering with the Florida A&M University/Florida State University College of Engineering and an expert in cryogenics (the study of low-temperature phenomena) at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee. Van Sciver is working with technology company Oxford Instruments on the first phase of a grant to help prove the concept behind a patent-pending cryogenic technique for particle separation from a few microns down to submicrons.

With funding from Oxford Instruments, Van Sciver is performing the basic science behind how particles behave in liquid helium. Helium turns into liquid only at very low temperatures (minus 452 degrees Fahrenheit, where virtually everything else is frozen solid). If helium is cooled to even lower temperatures, it becomes "superfluid," meaning that if placed in a closed loop it can flow endlessly without friction.

"Superfluid helium has extraordina
'"/>

Contact: Steven W. Van Sciver
vnsciver@magnet.fsu.edu
850-644-0998
Florida State University
9-Dec-2005