A step closer to the future...

Stressed? Write more, express more, and blog often

In february, the Oncologist, an international peer-review journal for practising oncologist and hematologist, issued an article about a study reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writings just before treatment felt  better mentally and physically as compared with those who did not. Self - medication may be the reason blogging has taken off. Writers and Scientists have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal feelings, thoughts and experiences. Expressive writing can serve as a stress-coping mechanism. And Don't be surprised if it produces many physiological benefits. Researchers report that it improves memory and sleep, and even speeds healing after surgery.

Alice Flaherty, a neuroscientist from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University mentions the placebo theory of suffering is one window through which to view blogging. As social creatures, humans have range of pain-related behaviors, such as complaining, which acts as a placebo for getting satisfied. Blogging about stressful experiences might work similarly.  Scientists now hope to explore the neurological underpinnings at play, especially considering the explosion of blogs.

Studies on hypergraphia (an uncontrollable urge to write) and writer's block are models to explain the drive behind this mode of communication. For example, people with mania often talk too much. It is believed that something in brain's limbic system is boosting the desire to communicate. Limbic system is located mainly in the midbrain. It controls our drives, whether they are related to appetite, food, problem solving or even to sex. Study shows that blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to stimulants like musics, looking at paintings or jogging. The frontal and temporal lobes which govern speech may also involve in. For example, people with Wernicke's aphasia speak excessively and loss of language comprehension. They often speak in gibberish but often write constantly. Activity in this area could foster the urge to blog.

Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies by a team of University of Texas at Austion led by James Pennebaker, reveals  that brain lights up differently before, during and after writing. However, they remain skeptical about the results because of hard to duplicate and quantify. Most likely, writing activates a cluster of neurological pathways. And the team is continuing to investigate the link between expressive writing and biological changes, such as improved sleep.

Some hosipitals have started hosting patient-authored blogs on their website as the therapeutic values are more recognized. Unlike a bedside journal, blogging offers the added benefit of receptive readers in similar situations. Blogging undoubtedly affords similar benefits to expressive writing. Individuals are connecting to one another and witnessing each other's expressions, as the basis for forming a community.

so, write more, express more and blog often!

Torture Kumis, cara jitu membonding bibir Chincha Laura

ini judulnya penyiksaan alias TORTURE. bole juga disebut sado kalo anda suka. Dalam kasus saya, tukang siksa nya adalah tante Iyu dan Tante Nobi yang memang berpengalaman dalam mencabut rambut. Just try it at home. Enak Gila. Caranya gampang:

1. Beli plester untuk mencabut rambut. makin banyak lem nya makin bagus sebab korban anda akan makin tersiksa. Jika perlu, bisa anda tambahkan sendiri lem Aica Aibon, atau Lem Uhu. Tapi ingat, jangan terlalu banyak, bisa bisa anda tripping menghirup terlalu banyak bau lem.

2. Calon korban harus lah laki-laki, usahakan berkumis sedikit tebal. Kumis yang terlalu tipis akan membuat sensasi siksaan tidak terlalu parah. Jika terlalu tebal kumis akan sulit tercabut. Sebenarnya, bisa juga wanita, asal berkumis sedikit tebal..

3. Tempelkan plester ke bagian dimana kumis tumbuh. Jangan ke gigi anda.

 

4. Cabut plester dengan sekeras-keras mungkin, dalam satu kali sentakan.

5. Yippieee... korban anda akan menjerit menahan rasa sakit.. tapi, enaakk gilaaa. Jika sang korban tertawa senang, yakin lah anda, bahwa sang korban pasti penganut sekte sado.

6. Jangan lupa, saat melakukan ini, ajaklah teman anda sebanyak mungkin. Sebab jika anda melakukannya sendiri, tidak ada yang akan mentertawakan anda. Kalau anda tertawa sendiri, itu berarti, anda GILA... hahahahaaha

 

7. Setelah acara penyiksaan selesai, bisa anda suguhkan tahu bunting ke korban
anda. Mungkin akan terasa beda saat mengunyah.

 

Disclaimer: Cara ini merupakan cara yang jitu untuk membonding bibirnya Cincha Laura.. biar semachinn chhapheeekk...becheeekkkk becheekk..bonding becheekk..

SELAMAT MENCOBA

hey, it's platinum, not white gold!

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, saya membaca sebuah artikel yang membahas tentang platinum. Tulisan itu sendiri, walaupun menarik,hanya membahas dari sisi ekonomis platinum. Ada beberapa fakta yang salah. Sayang sekali, sang penulis tidak mencoba untuk mengecek beberapa data yang beliau paparkan. Benarkah platinum selalu disebut Emas putih? Dan apa yang membuat Platinum menjadi sangat berharga? Mungkin tulisan ini bisa menjadi pelengkap dan bahan pertimbangan buat anda yang ingin membeli perhiasan platinum.

 

 

Pendahuluan

 

Platinum ditemukan untuk pertama kalinya oleh Antonio de Ulloa pada tahun 1735, di Amerika Selatan, jadi bukan oleh seorang geologist Jerman, seperti ditulis sebelumnya. Nama platinum sendiri berasal dari bahasa spanyol, yaitu platina yang berarti “little silver“. Platinum selalu ditemukan bersama-sama logam lainnya, seperti iridium, osmium, palladium dan rhodium. Logam-logam ini, di dalam tabel Elemen, termasuk dalam golongan Platinum Group metals (PGMs). Emas dan perak pun termasuk dalam golongan ini. Jadi platinum bukan hanya nama salah satu logam golongan ini tetapi juga nama untuk golongan logam mulia ini. Namun, yang akan kita bahas disini adalah platinum, salah satu logam dari grup logam mulia ini.

 

Di antara logam golongan ini, Platinum memiliki kepadatan nomor tiga setelah Iridium dan Osmium. Kira-kira 12% lebih padat dibanding emas untuk per 1g/cm³. Logam golongan ini merupakan golongan logam terlangka yang bisa ditemukan di lapisan bumi. Sekitar 2-10 ton bijih besi diperlukan untuk mendapatkan 1 ounce Platinum murni.

Saat ini, hampir 50% penggunaan Platinum adalah untuk pembuatan perhiasan. 20% untuk kepentingan industri. Afrika selatan merupakan penghasil platinum terbesar di dunia. Sekitar ¾ platinum dunia berasal dari negeri Nelson Mandela ini. Rusia adalah penghasil nomor dua, diikuti oleh Amerika sebagai produsen ketiga.

Perbandingan sifat-sifat bahan antara logam-logam yang termasuk dalam kelompok PGMs ini dapat dilihat di tabel berikut.

dari tabel ini, bisa dilihat bahwa emas bukanlah logam terbaik di kelompok PGMs ini.

Saya yakin, banyak dari anda yang merupakan pencinta perhiasan. Ada baiknya untuk tahu, apakah benar, platinum disebut sebagai Emas putih? ayo, baiknya kita membahas tentang emas terlebih dahulu.

 

Emas sebagai perhiasan

Apa beda antara emas kuning dan emas putih?, samakah emas putih dan platinum?

 

Emas merupakan elemen kimia dengan nomor atom 79 yang memiliki symbol Au, berasal dari bahasa latin, Aurum yang artinya bersinar terang. Emas murni berwarna kuning mengkilat, sering disebut fine gold. Emas murni lebih lembut dibanding perak namun lebih keras dari timah. Ini bisa kita lihat pada tabel 1, dimana nilai tingkat kekerasan (Vickers hardness^*1) emas merupakan yang terkecil diantara logam golongan PGMs. Untuk alasan inilah, jarang sekali ditemukan emas murni yang dijadikan sebagai perhiasan. Alasannya simple, it’s just too soft.

Penambahan logam-logam lain ke dalam emas murni bertujuan untuk meningkatkan tingkat kekerasan emas. Logam yang dipilih tentunya yang tidak akan mengubah kilau emas secara dramatis dan tentunya tidak membuat emas menjadi rapuh. Sebagai contoh, jika emas murni dicampur dengan logam indium, warna emas berubah menjadi ke-ungu-an dan mengubah sifat kekerasan bahan emas layaknya gelas. Sedikit tekanan, maka emas akan pecah layaknya sebuah gelas.

 

Tingkat kemurnian emas, disebut Karat. Nilai tertinggi untuk karat adalah 24. Sebagai contoh:

24 Karat Emas merupakan 24/24 emas, atau 100% Emas murni

18 Karat Emas merupakan 18/24 emas, atau 75%  Emas dan 25% logam campuran lain

14 Karat Emas merupakan 14/24 emas, atau 58.33% Emas  dan 41.67% logam lain.

 

Untuk membuat sebuah perhiasan, harus ada keseimbangan antara emas murni dan logam campurannya. Karena alasan teknik pembuatan dan keindahan, emas 18 karat lah yang paling banyak beredar di pasaran. 

 

Sekarang, ayo kita bahas logam campuran dalam emas.

Ada beberapa logam yang lazim ditambahkan ke emas murni. Tembaga (copper), perak (Ag), Zinc (tetap menggunakan istilah inggrisnya, sebab Seng atau besi bukan terjemahan yang tepat), Nikel dan palladium. Penambahan logam lain ke dalam emas murni akan mengubah warna dan kilauan emas. 

 

Emas murni dicampur tembaga akan menghasilkan efek visual warna merah. 

Emas murni dicampur perak akan menghasilkan efek visual warna hijau.

Emas murni dicampur nikel akan menghasilkan efek visual warna putih.

Emas murni dicampur palladium akan menghasilkan efek visual warna putih (juga) 

 

Di pasaran, emas putih campuran emas murni dan nikel adalah lebih lazim dibanding emas putih campuran emas murni dan palladium, karena harganya lebih murah. Mencampur emas dengan palladium tidak begitu diminati, mengingat, palladium jauh lebih mahal dibanding emas. 

Seorang ahli/pembuat perhiasan menggunakan sifat campuran ini untuk membuat perhiasan emas. Sebagai contoh: 

 

Emas kuning 18K dan 14K merupakan campuran emas murni dan tembaga, perak dan zinc. 

Emas putih 18K dan 14K merupakan campuran emas murni dan tembaga, nikel dan zinc.

 

 

Jadi, menjawab pertanyaan kita, apa beda antara emas kuning dan emas putih? Dan samakah emas putih dan platinum?

Jawabnya singkat, emas kuning, adalah emas yang dicampur dengan bahan utama perak sedangkan emas putih adalah emas yang dicampur dengan bahan utama nikel. Karena sifat dan harga yang berbeda inilah, lazimnya emas putih lebih murah dibanding emas kuning. Mungkin, ini dapat menjawab pertanyaan seorang pembaca, yang bertanya, mengapa si pemilik toko perhiasan tidak mau menerima/membeli kembali emas putih dari kostumer.

 

Singkat cerita,

1. Apakah emas putih dan emas kuning merupakan logam yang berbeda? Jawabnya TIDAK.      
2. Apakah emas putih dan emas kunig merupakan emas yang berbeda? Jawabnya BENAR. Mereka sama sama emas, namun berbeda dalam hal logam yang dicampurkan.
3. Emas putih bukanlah PLATINUM. Ini adalah anggapan yang salah dan kemungkinan cuma ada di indonesia. Sayangnya, anggapan yang salah ini terpelihara. Sekali lagi, emas putih tidaklah sama dengan Platinum.

 

Terus terang, tidak perlu menjadi bagian kaum elite untuk mengetahui bahwa emas putih bukanlah platinum. Hanya perlu sebuah buku kimia dasar kelas 1 SMA, buka saja bagian elektroplating atau elektrolysis. Jika malas, tinggal tanya Oom Google, ketik: apakah emas putih sama dengan platinum (akan lebih menolong jika anda ketik dalam bahasa inggris). Jawabnya, pasti TIDAK. Di lab tempat saya bekerja, dari semua orang yang saya tanya, semua mengatakan bahwa emas putih (white gold) bukanlah platinum. Saya teringat dengan praktikum kimia electroplating beberapa tahun yang lalu saat saya masih duduk di kelas 1 SMA. Saat teman saya menambahkan nikel terlalu banyak ke sebuah cincin emas, sang guru pun mendelik kesal, karena cincin emas miliknya, yang menjadi bahan percobaan, berubah warna. Tentu, dengan proses elektrolysis pun (ingat tukang sepuh), kita bisa mengembalikan warna emas seperti semula. Karena inilah, sejak dulu yang saya tahu bahwa emas putih bukanlah platinum.

Jadi, buat anda, ada baiknya, jika anda pergi ke toko perhiasan dan ingin membeli perhiasan platinum, lebih baik menyebut platinum secara eksplisit. Jangan sebut white gold, jika anda tidak mau salah beli. Dan, benar-benar amati logam campuran apa saja yang ada di dalam emas perhiasan anda dan berapa prosentasinya.

 

Sekarang, mari kita membahas tentang platinum.

 

Platinum 

Apa yang membuat platinum menjadi lebih mahal daripada emas? Simple saja, alasannya, bukan karena perhiasan platinum ini lebih kinclong dibanding perhiasan emas. Namun karena sifat bahan dan aplikasinya lah yang membuat platinum lebih high-demand dan menjadi jauh lebih mahal dibanding emas. Mungkin akan terjawab jika kita membahas beberapa manfaat dan aplikasi platinum.

Manfaat dan Aplikasi Platinum

 

1. Walaupun Emas dan Platinum sama sama tidak mudah teroksidasi, atom platinum bersifat lebih kalalytic dibanding atom emas. Sebuah lapisan emas, jika tergores (tergores disini dalam arti mikro, bukan goresan yang kasat mata), atom-atom emas ini akan benar-benar hilang, meninggalkan daerah kosong yang tidak ditempati oleh atom emas. Goresan mikro pada emas putih, jika dibiarkan kelamaan, akan menimbulkan efek kuning kumal yang kasat mata. Beda halnya dengan platinum. Jika sebuah lapisan platinum tergores (secara micro), atom-atom nya tidaklah benar benar hilang, namun cuma bergeser tempat. Artinya, atom platinum masih ada. Inilah alasan, setelah beberapa lama, sebuah perhiasan emas perlu disepuh kembali agar   tetap kelihatan mengkilat seperti baru. Untuk menyepuh emas, diperlukan      logam tambahan, sesuai dengan jenis emas apa yang anda miliki. Dalam      proses penyepuhan ini (dalam kimia disebut elektroplating), kita    benar-benar menambahkan atom baru ke emas tersebut. Biasanya, emas putih akan disepuh dengan nikel atau rhodium. Berbeda dengan platinum yang tidak perlu disepuh. Perhiasan platinum yang terlihat tidak kinclong lagi, cukup dibawa ke toko/ahli perhiasan. Disana, si ahli perhiasan cuma akan mem-polish/burnish  platinum anda, tanpa menambahkan bahan lain ke perhiasan platinum anda. Karena  sifat inilah, platinum menjadi lebih favorit dibanding emas. Perhiasan emas memang lebih murah, namun biaya pemeliharaannya akan jauh lebih besar dibanding perhiasan platinum. Jadi, jika uang anda berlebih, memang lebih baik membeli perhiasan platinum.
2. Platinum memiliki sifat mekanik, fisik dan elektrik yang sangat menarik. Dibanding emas, Platinum lebih keras namun juga lebih mudah untuk ditempa. a). Platinum dapat ditempa seperti layaknya aluminum foil, namun lebih tipis dengan ketebalan hanya 100 atom platinum. b). Titik leleh platinum, 1768,3 ^OC, jauh lebih tinggi dibanding emas, hampir dua kalinya. Ini yang membuat platinum merupakan bahan favorit di laboratorium untuk studi temperatur dan tekanan tinggi. Berbeda dengan emas, Platinum pada suhu tinggi bersifat stabil. c). Campuran platinum dan cobalt akan menghasilkan salah satu magnet terkuat yang kita kenal.
3. Di bidang surface-science, untuk mengamati singe atom, lebih sering digunakan jarum yang terbuat dari platinum. Akan lebih mudah membuat jarum platinum yang diujungnya cuma ada satu atom dibanding menggunakan jarum jenis lain. Dengan ini, resolusi data anda akan jauh lebih tinggi. Sayangnya, jarum platinum sangat lah mahal.
4. Platinum bersifat hypoallergic. Platinum merupakan satu-satunya logam yang cocok sebagai elektroda untuk alat pemicu jantung (heart-pacemakers). Selain itu, banyak dalam kasus patah tulang, tulang disambung  menggunakan platinum
5. Coba lihat hard disk anda, platinum banyak digunakan dalam pembuatan hard disk saat ini, karena hard disk akan lebih tahan lama.
6. Platinum merupakan bahan non-organik yang dapat digunakan untuk terapi kanker. Cisplatin atau  cisplatinum  (cis-diamminedichloridoplatinum(II), CDDP) merupakan kemoterapi yang berbasiskan platinum. Biasanya, Cisplatin digunakan dalam terapi kanker seperti , sarcoma, carcinoma (misalnya, kanker paru-paru dan kanker ovarium), lymphoma dan sel tumor. 

 

Karena beberapa sifat-sifat inilah, platinum menjadi logam favorit, terlebih dahulu di laboratorium untuk kepentingan riset dan teknologi dan baru kemudian dilirik menjadi salah satu logam favorit dalam pembuatan perhiasan. Tidak menutup kemungkinan nantinya, para ahli perhiasan akan melirik logam lain di golongan platinum group metals (PGMs) untuk membuat perhiasan yang lebih cantik dan menawan.

Saya sendiri, boro-boro perhiasan platinum ataupun kartu kredit jenis platinum, cincin besi pun saya tak punya.

 

Semoga tulisan ini dapat menjadi pertimbangan saat anda memutuskan untuk membeli perhiasan emas ataupun platinum.

 

Salam Hangat,

 

Ican (DE)

 

Info tambahan:

 

1) Vickers hardness adalah salah satu metode yang digunakan untuk men-test tingkat kekerasan suatu bahan. Test ini lebih banyak dipakai karena mudah untuk dilakukan. Jika anda ingin tahu lebih banyak, tinggal Tanya oom Google, ketik: Vickers Hardness.

 

Bahan bacaan:

 

1. Prentice Hall Lab Manual Introductory Chemistry (4th Edition), karangan C. H. Corwin. Buka bab tentang Electroplating.
2. http://www.bookrags.com/research/platinum-woc/
3. http://www.webelements.com
4. masih banyak lagi, paling gampang, silahkan anda search di Oom Google

 

The Marquise du Chatelet on Women 's Education

"I feel the full weight of the prejudice which so universally excludes us from sciences; it is one of the contradictions in life that has always amazed me, seeing that the law allows us to determine the fate of great nations, but that there is no place where we are trained to think.

Let the reader ponder why, at no time in the course of so many centuries, a good tragedy, a good poem, a respected tale, a fine painting, a good book on physics has ever been produced by women. Why these creatures whose understanding appears in every way similar to that of men, seem to be stopped by some irresistible force, this side of a barrier. Let people give a reason, but until they do, women will have reason to protes against their education.

If i were king, I would redress an abuse which cuts back, as it were, one half of human kind. I would have women participate in all human rights, especially those of the mind, ... the new education would greatly benefit the human race. Women would be worth more and men would gain something new to emulate.... I am convinced that either many women are unaware of their talentsby reason of the fault in their education or that they bury them on account of prejudice for want of intellectual courage. My own experience confirms this. Chance made me acquainted with men of letters who extended the hand of friendship  to me... I then began to believe that i was being with a mind."

Source: The marquise du Chatelet, from the preface (written about 1735) to her translation of Bernard Mandeville's The fable of Bees)

Facts:

1. Madame Chatelet learned physics/science autodidactically
2. She was the first person who translated Newton's Principia Mathematica from      Latin to French. On its publication, many scientists at that time, praised her commentary for being clearer than original. In it, She brings us deeply Newton's attraction laws, the shape of the earth and the parabolic orbits of comets.
3. She was Voltaire's lover. it was mentioned that, after the time she got more famous, Voltaire became jealous. Later on, she felt in love with younger poet.

Ref:
1. SciAm, Feb 2008
2. Out of the shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-Century Women to Physics,
by Nina Byers and Gary Williams, CU Press 2006

Views from the bottom

Berkecimpung dengan atom, memang sangat mengasyikkan.. Anda bisa memanipulasi atom, dapat memprediksi tingkah laku molekul, dan juga bisa menyusun satu lapisan dengan atom satu persatu. Memang sangat mempesona..

Hampir setengah abad yang lalu, di tahun 1959 tepatnya pada tanggal 29 Desember, seorang Fisikawan dan peraih nobel dalam bidang teori quantum elektrodinamik memberikan sebuah kuliah ilmiah dalam rangka pertemuan komunitas Fisika Amerika (American Physical Society) di California Institute of Technology. Dalam kuliahnya tersebut Richard P. Feynman mengekspresikan sebuah ide tentang bagaimana memanipulasi dan mengontrol sebuah objek dalam skala kecil. Ketika itu ide Feynman tersebut dianggap sebagai guyonan komunitas Fisikawan dalam eranya. Namun ide Feynman menjadi bahan pemikiran serius ketika pada tahun 1981, Binnig dan Rohrer, dua ilmuwan IBM, membuat alat yang dinamakan Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM), yang berbasis pada efek quantum tunnelling. Dengan menggunakan alat ini, kita benar benar bisa melihat struktur atom dan molekul, hingga dimulailah era nanoteknologi. Pada tahun 1985, Tom Newman, seorang mahasiswa program doctoral di Stanford menggunakan electron beam sebagai pena untuk menulis sebuah kalimat pada halaman pertama “A Tale of Two Cities “ buku karangan Charles Dickens dengan ukuran 1/25000 dari ukuran pena yang biasa digunakan.

Yang sangat mengesankan, di tahun 1989, adalah ketika tim ilmuwan IBM mampu menyusun atom Xenon satu persatu menuliskan logo perusahaannya.

 

Melihat perkembangan teknologi yang berkembang saat ini, tidak dipungkiri lagi bahwa prediksi Feynman memang menakjubkan. Teknologi saat ini berada dalam orde teknologi nano atau teknologi yang berdasarkan pada ukuran 1/1.000.000.000 m. Mengapa teknologi nano sangat penting? Secara kimiawi, atom dan molekul berada dalam orde nano dan secara ilmu Fisika atom-atom tersebut terikat secara kuat. Dengan melihat atau menginvestigasi sebuah materi ke dalam orde nano maka kita akan dapat merekayasa dan mengontrol sebuah materi menjadi suatu bahan atau mesin dalam ukuran sangat kecil. Bahkan dimungkinkan pula dengan perkembangan teknologi nano akan tercipta sebuah mesin cerdas berdimensi molekuler yang dapat bermanfaat dalam berbagai bidang seperti biologi, kimia, mikroelektronik, optik, dan sebagainya. Sebagai contoh di sini kita tinjau perkembangan teknologi elektronika, perkembangan industri elektronik dimulai ketika ditemukannya transistor oleh Bardeen, Brattain, dan Shockley pada tahun 1947 dan ditemukannya model integrated circuit atau biasa dikenal IC pertama kali oleh Jack Kilby pada tahun 1959. Kini seiring dengan pesatnya perkembangan teknologi elektronik yang berdasarkan pada teknologi semikonduktor, peranan teknologi nano kian menjadi primadona ilmuwan untuk mengembangkan piranti elektronik yang super cepat. Perkembangan teknologi elektronik yang terkait pula dengan majunya teknologi nano dapat mengacu kepada hukum Moore yang menyatakan bahwa jumlah transistor pada suatu chip (IC) akan menjadi dua kali lipat dalam waktu 18-24 bulan. Perkembangan teknologi tersebut telah mampu menghasilkan sebuah komputer yang memiliki performance tinggi. Berbicara tentang teknologi komputer, kita selalu mengacu pada seberapa cepat kemampuan sebuah procesor. Procesor adalah sebuah piranti elektronik yang tersusun dari transistor di dalam sebuah sirkuit terintegrasi (IC). Berdasarkan data dari Intel.co, pada awal tahun 1980an kita mengenal komputer prosesor 286, komputer tersebut memiliki jumlah transistor kurang lebih 100.000 buah. Pada pertengahan tahun 1990an kita mengenal intel pentium II yang memiliki jumlah transistor 10 juta buah, pada tahun 2000an awal pentium IV lahir dengan jumlah transistor kurang lebih 100 juta buah,dan kini perkembangan prosesor komputer sudah dalam era dual core itanium yang menggunakan 2 buah prosesor dengan jumlah transistor kurang lebih 1 milyar buah. Semakin kecil dan semakin banyak jumlah transistor dalam chip menunjukan semakin tinggi pula kecepatan chip tersebut. Misal, dulu sebelum mengenal era pentium 4 prosesor komputer berada dalam orde Megahertz (10⁶) dan setelah era pentium 4 prosesor sebuah komputer sudah mencapai orde Gigahertz (10⁹ Hertz).

Sebuah pertanyaan muncul terkait dengan ukuran nano, mengapa sesuatu yang kecil itu cepat? Cepat disini mengacu pada waktu transit elektron di sebuah gerbang (gate) dalam transistor, misal untuk transistor berbasiskan Silicon panjang gate-nya kurang lebih 10 nm sedangkan untuk transistor berbasiskan carbon nanotube (CNT) panjang gate-nya mencapai kurang lebih 1 nm. Konsekuensi yang diperoleh dari semakin kecilnya gate sebuah transistor adalah jarak antara sumber (source) dan penguras (drain) semakin dekat maka waktu transit akan semakin cepat pula sehingga hal tersebut mempercepat kinerja dari komputer.

Hanya sekedar berbagi, inilah contoh beberapa gambar dari lab saya, dan beberapa sumber lainnya , diambil menggunakan instrumen atomic force microscopy (AFM) dan scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).

 

         

          (1) struktur atom emas                                           (2) permukaan emas

Emas memang pantas disebut logam mulia. Sederhana saja, disimpan sampai kapanpun, nilainya tidak akan berkurang. Secara kimiawi, emas, elemen bersimbol Au (latin, Aurum: bersinar) dengan nomor atom 79 sangat susah teroksidasi. Inilah alasan mengapa emas banyak digunakan sebagai pelapis komponen elektronika. Dan emas pula yang paling banyak digunakan sebagai substrate, tempat untuk mendeposisi molekul. Seperti inilah bentuk permukaan lapisan tipis emas dan struktur atomnya (3D). Semakin rata (flat) permukaan lapisan emas yang dibuat (singe crystal), akan semakin mudah untuk meng-couple molekul dan makin mudah pula untuk mengamatinya. Harga emas single-crystal ini pun sangat mahal.

Gambar berikutnya, merupakan permukaan sel darah merah manusia setelah diberikan antibiok jenis peptida, Phyllomelittin

Pemberian antibitiok, memang memberikan efek terhadap sel darah, dimana nampak permukaan sel mengalami disrupsi.

 

Sekilas tampak seperti bunga. Namun, ini adalah ferrite (besi) yang dideposisi diatas permukaan silicon. Formasi Ferrosilikon (FeSi) inilah yang berbentuk seperti bunga daisy.

 

Kalo anda mencret-mencret, bakteri inilah yang bertanggung jawab. Sekilas mirip dengan sosis, namun, ini adalah Escheria coli yang sudah dikeringkan. Ukuran satu bakteri ini kira kira 1,9 x 1 mikrometer sedang flagella-nya berukuran kira kira 30 nanometer.

Ada gula ada semut. Begitu kata pepatah. Mungkin ada benarnya Setidaknya, mungkin karena melihat struktur kristal gula ini lah para semut menjadi terpikat.

 

 

Sekilas mirip dengan hutan gundul. Ini adalah gambar 3D dari sejenis polymer (polystyrene) yang dideposisi di atas molekul bergugus asam amino pada permukaan lapisan emas Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, anda temui banyak sekali barang yang terbuat dari polymer, seperti misalnya plastik. Namun, tujuan dari project ini adalah menciptakan smart method untuk drug delivery sistem, yaitu, dimana nantinya, sebuah obat, akan dibawa masuk ke dalam tubuh manusia oleh semacam nano-mesin/nanobot, sehingga obat tersebut hanya akan sampai pada daerah/sel/jaringan yang terinfkesi tanpa mengganggu sel sehat lainnya.

Teknologi nano selain berperanan besar dalam industri elektronik juga sangat bermanfaat dalam perkembangan teknologi lainnya. Diantara manfaat dari teknologi nano adalah untuk meningkatkan kualitas sel surya dengan menggunakan carbon nanotube, membuat nanobiosensor untuk mengontrol kadar gula dalam darah, membangun chip dari bahan organic (molekuler), fabrikasi DNA, RNA untuk rekayasa genetika, dll. Namun, layaknya ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, bidang inipun memberikan implikasi yang besar di bidang moral dan etika. Saya hanya berharap, apapun hasil yang ditemukan oleh ilmuwan dari lab-nya, adalah selalu beranjak dari niat yang tulus, yaitu untuk membantu dan meningkatkan kualitas hidup umat manusia.

 

Salam Hangat,

 

Ican (DE)

Iwan (SQ)

 

Sumber photo:

Photo-photo diatas, selain hasil lab saya, juga beberapa yang saya ambil dari internet (www.nanotec.es) dan wikipedia (gambar nanotubes)

Blu-Ray Disc

 

Akhir pekan lalu, ketika berada di sebuah toko elektronik, mata saya tertumbuk pada sebuah cakram data jenis baru, Blu-ray disc (BD/keping biru). Terlihat beberapa laptop pun sudah menggunakan BD-player, bukan lagi CD/DVD player. O la la.. masih teringat segar dalam ingatan, di penghujung tahun 2004, seorang ilmuwan dari perusahaan elektronik terkemuka, memberikan pencerahan tentang pembuatan cakram data jenis baru, yang menggunakan laser biru. Saat itu ditunjukkan juga sebuah prototype awal dari keping biru (BD). Benar sekali, penamaan keping biru (BD) ini pun berasal dari warna laser yang digunakan untuk menulis data, dengan panjang gelombang 450 nanometer (nm). Saat itu, satu keping disc yang ditampilkan, mampu menyimpan data sebanyak 40 gigabyte (GB). Muncul lagi sebuah revolusi baru dalam bidang elektronik .

Sebenarnya, saat ini kita semua tentunya sudah sangat mengenal compact disc (CD) dan digital video disc (DVD). Bila anda potong sebuah CD/DVD/BD, dan anda lihat dengan sebuah mikroskop optik, akan terlihat bahwa

 

baik CD, DVD maupun BD terdiri daribeberapa lapisan plastik polymer yang disebut polykarbonat, dan total ketebalan keping data ini biasanya sekitar 1.2 milimeter. Semua keping cakram ini merupakan jenis optical data storage. Jadi, data yang disimpan dan dibaca menggunakan cara optik.

Layaknya sebuah pena, Laser-lah yang digunakan untuk bisa menulis dan membaca diatas keping cakram ini. Data disimpan di dalam bagian yang disebut Pit. Bagian pit yang dibaca oleh Laser biasanya disebut Bump. Lapisan polykarbonat inilah yang melindungi pit yang berada di bawahnya. Biasanya, jika CD atau DVD anda tergores cukup dalam, besar kemungkinan tidak dapat digunakan lagi sebab Pit yang berada di bawah lapisan pelindung ini ikut rusak.

Untuk menulis diatas keping cakram ini, digunakan laser merah dengan panjang gelombang 780 nanometer (nm) untuk CD dan 650nm untuk DVD. Keping Biru/BD menggunakan laser biru dengan panjang gelombang 450nm Jadi, semakin pendek gelombang laser yang digunakan, semakin kecil pitch yang dibutuhkan, artinya, semakin banyak jumlah data yang dapat disimpan.

Sebuah BD (single-layer) dapat menyimpan data sebesar 25 GB, bandingkan dengan sebuah DVD yang hanya 4.7 GB. Dan jangan bandingkan dengan sebuah CD yang maksimal hanya mampu menyimpan data sebesar 800 megabyte (MB).

 

 

Selain itu, kelebihan keping biru ini juga terletk pada lapisan pelindung-nya. Konon, digunakan polymer jenis baru, sehingga lapisan ini tidak mudah tergores seperti layaknya keping CD dan DVD. Menurut info yang saya baca dari internet, rumah produksi film porno merupakan salah satu pemakai BD terbesar. Alasan mereka, semakin banyak film yang bisa disimpan dalam satu keping sehingga pelanggan pun terpuaskan. Alamaaakkk…

Sayangnya, satu keping BD kosong masih terasa mahal, sekitar 25 € atau 45US$, bandingkan dengan satu bundelan 25 keping DVD kosong (4.7GB) seharga 12€. Dan harga sebuah BD-player pun sangat jauh lebih mahal daripada sebuah DVD-player. Mata sayapun tertumbuk pada harga yang terpampang untuk sebuah laptop dengan internal BD-player didalam nya, Bah, lebih dari 2500€. Pheww, .bagi saya, toch dengan CD atau DVD pun saya sudah cukup puas.

 

Salam Hangat,

 

ican  (20.01.2008)

 

-dari berbagai sumber-

Rosalind Franklin, Mother of the DNA structure

Who? James Watson.

Oh, once again, what did you say? James Watson, father of DNA structure.

Oh.. are you kidding? come on guys... every body should know that it was not (James) Watson and (Francis) Crick who discovered the DNA helix structure, instead, it was Rosalind Franklin and her student, Raymond Gosling, who first discovered the double helix structure of (sodium salt) DNA.

This X-ray diffraction image of DNA, worldknown as photograph 51, was taken by Rosalind Franklin while she was working at King's College London in January 1953. Almost at the same time in February 1953 Francis Crick and James D. Watson of the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge University started to build a model of the B form of DNA using similar data to that available to the team at King's. Model building had been applied successfully in the elucidation of the structure of the alpha helix by Linus Pauling in 1951. However, this theoretical model was opposed by Rosalind, taking the view that building a model was only to be undertaken after the structure was known. Watson and Crick then indirectly obtained a prepublication version of Franklin's DNA X-ray diffraction data (without her knowledge), and a prepublication manuscript by Pauling and Corey, giving them critical insights into the DNA structure. Later on, it was known that  Maurice Wilkins  had shown Watson the photograph-51 without Rosalind Franklin's knowledge. This led Rosalind a decision to leave King's College London. Wilkins expressed his great regret afterward.

There is no doubt that Rosalind Franklin's experimental data were used by Crick and Watson to build their model of DNA in 1953.  Unfortunately, because Rosalind Franklin had died in 1958 she was not eligible for nomination to the Nobel Prize subsequently awarded to Crick, Watson, and Wilkins in 1962.

However, Rosalind Franklin will always be remembered as one of the greatest (women) in science, along with Madame Curie and Guppert-Meyer, while Watson, with his nasty statements (the last he mentioned that Black people are genetically inferior), i believe, more will be remembered as a man who experiences a post power syndrome.

Bielefeld, 30.10.2007

in a room at the bottom

begadang

begadang..

gubrak... jam 3 pagi... lab tetep rame... sialan, deadline tgl 1 oktober.. padahal udah mo jalan jalan nih weekend...

ngukur lagi aaahhhh...

The problem is...

The problem is,

When you heard about May 98, again and again. You'll get sick of it. I do not have to say and make announcement to the world that some of my close-relatives got affected. No way!

Of course, we should not forget it. It's a wound, a scar on the face of the history of our nation. Perhaps, only time can heal it. We SHOULD not forget any Human-Rights violations and abuses occurred in Indonesia. You name it, from Kedung Ombo, Tj. Priok, May'98 to Munir's case. Justice is a Justice. Let's do it in a good and proper way.  When you think something is wrong,  let fix it. Let's the things right, fixed and done. Believe in ourselves that whatever we are now doing, will have great impacts. Perhaps not now, not 5, of 10 years. But, I do not mind, since I will have a better indonesia for our future children.

As my parents always tell me, when you face a problem, come and sit and try to fix it.

I do love Indonesia.

Bielefeld, 26.09.2007

Pindang Ikan Patin

oiii.. cacam.. alangke lemaknyo..pas lagi ngenet.. nemu resep ikan patin.. buat yg punyo resep, sorry bae, aku copy paste disini.. kagek, kau kubuatin bae yeee..buat makan malem setelah buko puaso... cihuyyy...lemak nian oooiii...

PINDANG IKAN PATIN

Bahan:

1 kg ikan patin, siangi, cuci bersih, potong2x, lumuri dgn 1 sdm air jeruknipis ± 15 menit, tiriskan.
3 btg serai, memarkan
3 lbr daun salam                                                    
5 cm jahe, memarkan
3 buah tomat merah, belah 4
5 buah tomat hijau, belah 4
2 buah cabai merah, iris halus ± 2 cm
15 buah cabai rawit utuh
25 gr daun kemangi
3 sdm air asam                                                    
2 sdm kecap manis
2 sdm gula merah
Garam secukupnya
Gula secukupnya

Bahan Yang Dihaluskan:
5 buah cabai merah
6 siung bawang putih
6 buah bawang merah                                                    

Cara Membuat:
Rebus bumbu halus, daun salam, serai, jahe, lengkuas dalam panci berisi 1250 cc air, dengan api sedang.

Masukkan ikan dan bahan lainnya, beri garam sesuai selera hingga terasa asam, manis, dan pedas. masak hingga matang.

=========

Selamat 'Nyubo bae...

17 agustus... Merdeka

pfff......

can't believe it.. how much i miss my country... my beloved indonesia.. for the better or worse..

can't say more... I love you my Indonesia.. I do.. in a way I can not explain.. in a way i can not express.. you'll always be in my heart..

I will never complain about you. No, i won't... I love you for whatever you are..  No matter what they say... always.. you'll be in my heart.. .

I enjoyed everything you have given me..and I feel blessed...

Thinking about you, it makes me stronger and stronger by day.. Yes, I do believe in you..and I am proud of you for whatever you are.. I will never let you down and I will never leave you alone...

I want to change you,  but I have to be able to change myself first.
Wish me luck with  my future .. then I will return.. I want to make you  a better place.. land of ideas, lands of hopes.. but first, let me make myself a better person..

I love you my indonesia... I do

-BLFD, August 17, 2007-

Atomic Fingerprints

When you see unknown material, it is very easy to know whether it is a plastic, wood, or steel, but, what about in atomic scale, if the atoms are chemically and behave the same?

Up to date, there "was" no any techniques would allow us to identify atom by atom and see them at the same time. However, an international team of physicists, led by Ruben Perez of the university of Madrid, has developed a method of atomic "fingerprints" that can determine the chemical identity of individual atoms on a surface mixed with many materials by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The team could discern tin, silicon and lead, which are chemically the same. Those individual atoms from different materials appeared in distinguishable flase colour.

Dated back to 1989, the "year not to forget", when IBM scientists spelled out their company logo with Xenon atoms, noted the ability to identify and manipulate atoms. Back then, scientists relied on a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) technique, where atoms are detected by a flow of electrons between the tip and an atom. Unfortunately, STM can only identify atoms of materials which are conductors.

Contrarily, AFM works for both conductors and insulators. AFM employs an ultrathin silicon tip placed on a very flexible cantilever. As the tip moves across the surface, it taps up and down when it encounters atoms on surface. This oscillation movement occurs due to the attractive forces associated with the onset of chemical bonding between the silicon in the tip and the atoms on the surface.

It is wellknown that the oscillation frequency depends on atom's chemical nature. Using this knowledge, the team was able to identify different atomic species, like distinguishing a tree in a noisy fuzzy forest.

Previously, Oscar Custance and his team had demonstrated by using AFM they could move tin atoms strongly attached to germanium surface, writing tin's chemical symbol, Sn. Combining the method with atomic fingerprinting opens exciting a possible what-might-be-interesting application for the next future, the ability to visualize reactions with atomic resolution. As microelectronics shrink into nanoscale realm, 2000 of today's transistors can fit across the width of a human hair, then just by arranging a few atoms in predefined patterns, it could be extremely possible to enhance the performance of the devices.

-Blfd, 06.08.2007-

Moore's Law and what is the limit?

While reading a popular article about nanoscience, i am hooked up with this name again.. Gordon Moore. This guy, the later co-founder of Intel Corp, is so marvelous, as amazing as the visionist Feynmann (hope it's a fair comparison).

on those early days of the rising of Integrated circuits (IC's), Moore was interviewed by an electronic magazine, for a report on how semiconductor component would grow and develop in the future and a prediction for the next decade. At these early days, around 60 components on a chip had been able integrated by Moore group. Amazingly, he started from the first planar transistors to extrapolate 60 000 components on a chip by using semi log paper ONLY. 10 year passed, This corresponded to a double very year. And, still, he was surprised how precisely his prediction had been meet. Of course, a lot of development kept on going since then. On Route, Moore's law has been applied to many developments beyond integration density on cips. For example, the increase of data storage performance of hard discs also refers to Moore's law. In fact, seems that everyhing in industry that increases exponentially in performance, is always referred to Moore's Law.

However, the atomic structure of matter, of course, will some day set limits to the evolution of the integration technology accorrding to Moore's law. Historically, limits had been anticipated much earlier, and surpassed. For example, in the early days, it was thought that gate oxide thickness could probably not be dropped much below 100 nm because the probability of pinholes increased. Nevertheless, gate oxide thickness now approached 1 nm. The rapidly increasing tunnelling currents represent the next challenge. A solution may be novel dielectric oxides with improved permittivities. Another classic issue has been optical lithography. In the early days, it was believed that limit would be 1 micrometer. Nevertheless, the principle has been extended to 0,1 micrometer. And even by using soft X-rays, as we call it today, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, A 10nm lithography scale has been reached. This, of course, will set a bunch of further applications in electronics. A new age will come.

So.. what is next? and what the limit will be? Challenges always make science exciting...

~~on the shoulders of giants~~

 

Kecele

ugh..

minggu lalu si Stephan dari Foreign student Office, bilang, Ihsan, mau nggak ikutan lagi untuk pembuatan international student guide yang baru...

olalaa.. siapa yang gak mau... bukan mejeng di international student guide nya yg buat gue tertarik... tapi voucher yg bakalan didapet.. tahun lalu.. pas ikutan buat photo photo buat buku student guide, di perpustakaan dan lab, dapet voucher, lupa gue, sekitar seratusan euro dari uni..

makanya.. gue bilang, yes.. gue mau ikutan lagi...

esoknya.. photo sana sini ama ama orang-orang foreign student office.. ampe gigi kering..begitu selesai... hati berharap.. ini dia voucher yg ditunggu-tunggu

tutt.. tuttt tutt..photo photo selesai...si PJ,  Frau Schmidt dateng... sambil ngomong.. liebe leute.. terimakasih udah mau repot repot terlibat dalam pembuatan prospective guide student yang baru... sebagai rasa terima kasih kita dari forein student office, maka kita hanya bisa memberikan ini.. sambil menyodorkan kertas voucher.. (horeee.. yang ditunggu tunggu dateng juga.. )

dgn malu malu, gue dan yg lain nerima voucher tsb.. upsss.. pas gue liat..

"Eine kleines Gutschein.. 15 euro"

haaaa.. terhenyak guee.. lima belas euro... kekekeke.. ampe gigi kering..

ai ai ai.. namanya juga orang indo.. yaa sukur dapet dari pada nggak..itung itung amal buat uni.. lagian kalo gede gede ntar kena pajak.. hihihi.. dasar ngelessss....

Dasar gue, amatiran.. ya nggak.. kekekekee

-kecele duabelas-

He said: Diriku yang tak kucintai ini

Gundah gelisah..

mungkin kali ini gue kena batunya.. biasanya gue jarang mikir segala sesuatu yang berbau "kalbu", berbau "philosophy" dan berbau "kehidupan".. otak cuma satu, mikirin lab dan riset aja, udah menyita waktu.. tapi mungkin sekarang gue kena batunya.. ucapan kenalan baru ini, udah ngebuat gue gak bisa tidur.. at least udah seminggu-an ini...

Gue kenal temen baru ini, juga via sahabat paling dekat gue.. sampe sekarang, gue masih terbayang bayang ucapan si kenalan baru.. "Duh diriku yang tak kucintai ini" gak cuma sekali dua kali dia ucapin.. terlalu sering.. sampe telinga nggak kuat ngedengernya..

Gue jadi inget diri gue yang dulu..  selalu merasa kurang ama segala apa yang ada dalam diri gue..selalu merasa kurang pede, tambah ini itu.. duh.. duh.. namanya manusia..kapan sih kita bisa merasa cukup..

untung banget..gue bisa melalui semua itu.. walopun kadang tetep masih merasa "kurang".. Research gue, lab gue, masa depan gue, adalah prioritas gue paling utama.. of course.. of course.. my family.. always in my heart..

Duh.. Tuhan.. kok susah banget ya menerima diri apa adanya..

Semoga pembelajaran diri gue gak akan pernah putus...

Bielefeld, 1 Agustus 2007

Self-Reflection and Meditation

Go TOFI Go..

tribute to indonesian high school student at Asian Physics Olympiade 8th, Shanghai, China..

go boys.. go girls... toward new indonesia, a better indonesia.. I believe, with new young generations we have nowadays, we can build a new indonesia, a land full of hopes, hard working, and great expectations..

those days will come..

wish u all the best..

nano-hope

sorry, no update blogs yet

due to lot of stresses in the lab, many datelines (DATEs using landLINEs) and the writer is now experiencing lazy-brain-like-donkey effect, no new articles can be read here.. LOL...

Go Get Gold at IPHO 37th...

A tribute to Indonesian high school students at IPHO 37th, 8-17th July 2006, Singapore...

The answer is YES.. we can compete and we can produce excellent students, and hope later on, excellent scientists.. Why not..

Just have a look to the achievements of the youngster indonesian high school students.. they are always improving, better and better.. every year... The last news I have read, Ho Pangus, high school student from SMAK 3 Jakarta , not only took gold medal home but also was awarded as the best experiment problem solver at APHO 7th, in KAzakhstan, in April..his fellow, Irwan Ade Putra, from SMAN 1 Pekanbaru, also took gold medal home.. other 2 students took silver home..

So.. Go Get Gold Medal at IPHO 37th, boys.... You know you can do it...

--- "bad mood" is still on... more articles too follow ---

So, Why Nano???

... Just a small intro to Nanoscience

What is nanoscience?

The word itself is a combination of nano, from the Greek “nanos” (or Latin “nanus”), meaning “Dwarf”, and the word "Science."

Nano refers to the 10^-9 power, or one billionth. In these terms it refers to a meter, or a nanometer, which is on the scale of atomic diameters. For comparison, a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers thick!

Nanoscience is the study of atoms, molecules, and objects whose size is on the nanometer scale ( 1 - 100 nanometers ).

Why is the study of nanoscience different than the same problems on a larger scale?

Physics is different on the nanometer scale. Properties not seen on a macroscopic scale now become important- such as quantum mechanical and thermodynamic properties. Rather than working with bulk materials, one works with individual atoms and molecules. By learning about an individual molecule’s properties, we can put them together in very well-defined ways to produce new materials with new and amazing characteristics.

Why is nanoscience suddenly becoming such a big field?

There are multiple reasons for this. One is availability of new instruments able to “see” and "touch" at this scale. In the early 1980’s the scanning tunneling microscope was invented at IBM-Zurich in Switzerland. This was the first instrument that was able to “see” atoms. A few years later, the Atomic Force Microscope was invented, expanding the capabilities and types of materials that could be investigated. Hence, Scanning Probe Microscopy was born, and since then multiple similar techniques have evolved from these instruments to “see” different properties at the nanometer scale. In addition, “older” techniques such as electron microscopy have continued to evolve as well, and now can image in the nanometer range. Currently, there are a large number of complementary instruments that help scientists in the nano realm.

In addition to the enabling technologies, scientists have realized the future potential of this research. By convincing politicians and leaders around the world, countries have instituted initiatives to promote nanoscience and nanotechnology in their universities and labs. With the recent increase in funding, many scientists are pursuing this research and the rate of discovery has increased dramatically.

Bielefeld, 20th of Feb 2006,

-ican-

Ref.

p.s "this article" is just copy paste from:

http://www.nanotech-now.com/introduction.htm

Nano.. nano lagi.. lagi lagi Nano..

Well, the last time I called home, my mother was curious what actually I am doing in the labs, and what my researches are. I tried to explain her, but I failed to give her a good understanding and impressions. So, i decided to write it down and will try to explain her again when i call home next time... Here we go..

=======

I have estimated how many letters there are in the Encyclopaedia, and I have assumed that each of my 24 million books is as big as an Encyclopaedia volume, and have calculated, then, how many bits of information there are: 1015. For each bit I allow 100 atoms. And it turns out that all the information that man has carefully accumulated in all the books in the world can be written in this form in a cube of material one two-hundredth of an inch wide, which is the barest piece of dust that can be made out by the human eye. So there is plenty of room at the bottom. (Richard P. Feynman).

In the last few years, human life has been revolutionized by miniaturization of lots of electronic equipment. This is based on cheap integrated electronic circuits comprised of devices and wires with sub-micrometer dimensions. These integrated circuits are now omnipresent, controlling everything from our auto mobiles to our home appliances. Even further miniaturization beyond sub-micrometer dimensions seems possible. And so we are compelled to explore science and technology on a new, even smaller scale: the nanometre scale, which leads us towards nanotechnology. And then, imagine if we can shrink all the information in Encyclopaedia Britannica or Library of congress into a device the size of a sugar cube? or even detecting the cancers when they are only a few cell in size? These are also the potential applications of nanotechnology. Such dreams come true. Nanotechnology has energized so much excitement and imagination not only among the scientific community but also the general public and movie-makers.

What is nanotechnology? maybe, the simplest answer is, Nanotechnology is any technology which exploits phenomena and structures that can only occur at the nanometre scale, which is the scale of single atoms and small molecules. It, thus, involves manipulation of matter at the scale of single atoms. ( 1nm= 0,000000001 m, or one billionth m). While methods allowing for fabrication of smaller devices have always given impacts to new economic opportunities, fabrication of nanometre scale is especially significant as this is the approximate size of the largest biological molecules: DNA and proteins. It is at this level where, over the next decade, the smallest length scale reachable by humans, and the largest molecular length of nature, will coincide. It's clear that nanotechnology brings opportunities for material and devices capable of tremendously improving the human life quality.

As the foundation of nano science and nanotechnology, nanoscale materials, or nanomaterials, have become one of the most popular research topics in a very short period of time. Nanomaterials can be defined as materials with at least one dimension that is on nanometer scale. To date, a lot of new group researches with nano-brand are appeared everywhere, since tremendous money and fund have been allocated to this field of research. The interest of nanotechnology has been fuelled by huge economical, technological and scientific impact anticipated in several areas, a) The exponential growth of capacity and speed of semiconducting chips, the component that virtually enable all modern technologies, is rapidly approaching their limit of art and demands new technology and new materials; b) nanomaterials and devices hold great potential, from energy, household appliances, to medical applications; and c) If a material is reduced to the dimension of the nanometer, which is only tens of a hydrogen atom dimension, its properties can be drastically different from those of either bulk(solid) material that we can see and touch even though the composition is essentially the same, or the atoms or molecules that make up materials.

In the last decade, microelectronics and computers have penetrated every aspect of our life. The industry has been able to keep up with the demand by exponentially increasing memory density and the speed of the semiconducting chips (remember Moore's Law?), namely increasing the memory capacity every three years or even less. Remember, the evolution of intel processor, from intel 486 to nowadays centrino and from centrino to centrino duo take less and less time. The main mechanism that has enabled this exponential growth is through the reduction in size of the individual chips. Nowadays, the relevant length scale in the fabrication of many new devices has reached nanometer scale. For example, the common computer chip fabrication has reached the length scale of about 150nm in commercial industry. Speaking about laboratories results, News.com reported on March 1st 2005 that Intel is preparing to introduce processors with features measuring 65 nanometers. The company’s current engineers believe that 5 nanometer processes are actually proving themselves to be more and more feasible. The company showed pictures of these transistor prototypes measuring 65, 45, 32, and 22 nanometers. However, the company spoke about how their expectations for the future are for new processors featuring 15,10, 7, and 5 nanometers. Researcher from Hewlett Packard Lab have reported that they have been able to develop nanochips up to 5nm. These results are waiting to be implemented in real world and daily appliances.

In medical and human health, lot of progress have been achieved. Gold particles modified with specific DNA strands, antibody labelled with magnetic particles, and antibody coded nanobars seem to promise easy and quick detection of protein molecules. The developments of what so-called nanorobot, a small tiny object that can bring medicine right to the area of the body that need treatments, detecting and killing the cancer cells while they were still young, seems promising and at their progress.

Many achievements have been reached so far. And yes, as many as its advantages, nanotechnology will also impact the social life of human. However, we do hope that the development of nanotechnology will improve the quality of human life.

Bielefeld, 09 Feb 2006,

-Mudeng _di_LAb-

Refs:

1. "Self-assembled Nanostructures" by Zhang, Jin Z, 2003

2. Wikipedia,

2. My own master thesis.

Great Expectations.. don't...

Here I am..again, being confused, stress, and struggling alone.

What a stressing week I got last week. Got a new project from my professor, while I am still trying to cope with my previous one.

pff.. " Wechselwirkung einzelner rod-coil-Blockcopolymer mit nanostrukturierten Oberflaechen- ein experimenteller zu Selektivitaet und Mustererkennung" that's the title of the new project. Honestly, I even dont know the english translation. What I know is, the project is meant to couple a rod-coil-block Copolymer to the assembly molecules we are now using, Biphenyl thiol, BPT, using gold as substrate..

pff.. I dont know from where to start this project. maybe just literature studies, but i am rather more confused than being able to understand. And the project is described in german.. hey... I have been here in Germany since July 2005... only few words I know so far.. pfff.. but, just keep continue.. sometimes, idea and breakthrough just the matter of time.. hikss..

Back to my last progress report to my professor..

I know, my prof admitted that he expected more from me. He asked me, to work as excellent as my work during my master. pff.. I feel a heavy burden. Yes, I did finish my study at the age of 24, then started my PhD before i was 25yrs old. But what's the point? It was my previous supervisors during my master studies, who are excellent. They have written articles and publications based on our team-experiments. I am not that clever, just luckier... and, I never put the list of those publications on my CV.. honestly, I am shame, because I donot think I gave significant contributions for writing them. haaahhhh....

well, it's very hard for me living in Germany.... being alone in a new city, a new language.. identity problem, etc etc.. but, yes, I have not yet struggled 110% here..

I just hope, by writing in my e-diary, it will make myself bit relaxed, and ready for the next fight...

have a nice evening (for myself)

Bielefeld, Oink oink...

nice jokes, actually

Well, below are nice jokes to read during ur leisure time... not really funny, but, still, u can rise ur eyebrows, though...

=============================================

M :"Are you an Interior Decorator?"
W: "No. Why?"
M: "When I saw you enter, the room became beautiful"
-----------------------------------------------------
M:"Are you religious?"
W:"Yes "
M:"Good, because I'm the answer to your prayers."
--------------------------------------------------
M:"Baby, did you fart, Cause you blow me away..." (Ancur minah..")
-----------------------------------------------------------------
M:"How is your fever?"
W:"What Fever?"
M:"Oh..you just look so hot to me..."
----------------------------------------
M:"Wow! I didn't know that angels could fly so low!"
------------------------------------------------------
M:"Can I get a picture of you to prove to my friends that angels do really
exist."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
M:"Wow! How did you do that???!!!"
W:"Do what?"
M:"Look so good..."
-----------------------------------
M:"Hey, I lost my phone number...can I have yours?"
----------------------------------------------------
M:"Hey Laura!! (Big Hug), I haven't seen you FOREVER!!!! (Huge KISS) Wow,
you've really have changed!!! W:"Wait, I'm not Laura.." M:"What? Omygod, You
even changed your name!!!
--------------------------------------------------

=================================================

Anyway, Nice weekend ..

Hugs,

~Ican~

A Happy and Prosperous 2006

For My All DEarest Friends,

I wish you all A HapPY aNd PRosperous 2006.

Let's work harder and may our DReams come true.

Best WIsHEs,

ICaN

Don't you know that?

Don't you know that the statue of Prajnaparamitha, the goddess of beauty, from the Singasari kingdom age, is really beautiful?

Actually, I have never been in Museum National. The right statement is, I never wanted to go there when I was still in Indonesia. Yes, you got it, I have less appreciation for the archeology. Do not blame me coz I think, most of boys or girls from my generation won't go there either. Let's ask a boy or a girl of 20, ask him or her whether he/she would like to go to Museum National? I will not that surprise if the answer is "no". Place like PH and etc etc. are of course more interesting.

But, today, together with Wangsa and Hans, we went together to de Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. There is now exhibition about Indonesia. What are shown are 300 top historical  archeological objects uit het museum national van Jakarta en ook Rijkmuseum voor volkenkunde in leiden. Wat we hebben gezien, zijn, meestal, beroemde grote beelden uit Singasari periode, (13 eeuw, of niet?). Ook van Sulawesi, Lombok, Bali, en natuurlijk, Sumatera. Veel goudvondsten.

I saw lot of  statues and ornaments there. A lot of buddha statues in all style, were displayed. You name it, sitting budha.. standing buddha, laughing budda.. all kinds, and they were originally, the ornaments from Borobudur temple. Also, Batari Durga was nice but bit scary.. lol.. yeah.. it's not surprising if we do not like the goddess of the death..But, what amazed me so much, was, the statue of Prajna paramitha, the goddess of beauty from the Singasari period. It's was so so so amazing, and very very beautiful one.  And I did not know before that the statue belongs to Rijkmusuem volkenkunde in Leiden. Anyway, I was just amazed.

In the way going home, i chatted with Wangsa. I told him, why there were lot of people visited the nieuwe kerk, just for seeing the old statues? I think, we will never see the same thing happens to the museum in Indonesia.. crowded from visitors... Maybe, that's the long-time problem for the museum bestuurder in Indonesia. Wangsa told me, He is sure, if the museum national displays her collections the way the Nieuwe kerk displayed and decorated the exhibition, He's sure, there will be more people coming to the museum.

I think, Wangsa is 100% correct. When we were inside the nieuwe kerk, everything was displayed nicely. The decoration, the interrior was great. Comparing to the Museum National, when we saw a clip about museum national, it looks dark, humid, so ooooooooooooooooooooldd... not a good interrior. that's why less people are interested to visit.. plus no good advertisements about what happens or what will be the exhibitions in the Museum.

So, I think, if the museum national improves the way the displays the collections, and has good bang bang advertisements about all the exhibitions held by it, I am sure, there will be more visitors. And by the end, we can appreciate our own country much more while we are still there. So, we do not have to wait until we go abroad, just to be able to appreciate our beloved indonesia....

So, for all friends of mine in Netherlands, it's really worth to go there to see the "Indonesia" exhibition, at de Nieuwe kerk, Amsterdam. Kijk op http://www.nieuwekerk.nl  and do have a good time there.

Have a nice day,

~lagi pusing~

Research Live for UnderGRAds (just to pass information)

RESEARCH LIVE for UNDERGRADUATES: experience research in a major accelerator laboratory.

International Summer Student Program 2006 Aug. 7 - Sep. 29, 2006

For more information, just click to this URL,

http://theory.gsi.de/stud-pro/

Good Luck

~ican~

Janine Jansen

Hurrah.. just got ticket for Janine Jansen's Derde International Kamermuziek Festival in Utrecht..that would be lovely and nice....

See you there...

groetjes

XXX

2 Ph.D. positions in Nanobiotechnology (dari professor tetangga sebelah)

PhD studentship:

2 Ph.D. positions in Nanobiotechnology at University of Bielefeld, Department of Physics, Thin Films and Nanostructures Field(s): applied physics, biophysics, electromagnetism, nanotechnology

Application deadline: Dec 31 (Sat), 2005 Submitted: Nov 08, 2005
Contact: Prof. G. Reiss E-mail: herths2000-internet@yahoo.de
Address: Fakultät für Physik Universität Bielefeld Postfach 100131 D-33501 Bielefeld

Job description: The University of Bielefeld offers two positions in the area of bionanotechnology in the group of “Thin Films and Nanostructures”. Both positions are part of the SFB 613 “Physics of single molecule processes and molecular recognition in organic systems” with the topics “In-situ measurements and bond dynamics of the protein-DNA interactions” in cooperation with the group of genetics, and “Manipulation of biomolecules with magnetic beads and the integration of highly sensitive TMR sensors”, respectively. In both topics the experimental studies can be assisted by computer simulations.

A very good M.S. degree or diploma in experimental physics, biophysics, biology, biotechnology or similar subjects is required for both positions. Additionally, skills in solid-state physics, especially in the areas of magnetism, thin films, and lithography is desirable. For the first topic, some knowledge in the basics of biochemistry and genetics would be an advantage, for the second topic experience with nanoparticles and biomolecules.

We welcome applications from severely handicapped people.

We particularly welcome applications from women. Given equal suitability, qualifications and professional achievement, women will be given preference, unless particular circumstances pertaining to a male applicant predominate.

For more information see http://www.spinelectronics.de/ or contact herths2000-internet@yahoo.de or Michael.Schilling@physik.uni-bielefeld.de

Miss my old time

hmm... wat een nostalgie...

ik mis heel erg mijn oude tijd in nederlands...echt.. ik heb nog veel vrienden een vriendinnen..heel leuk om samen uitgaan.. naar restorant of bioscop...kletsen en praten.. bla bla bla..

in Bielefeld? pff.. helemaal niks..  het is heel verschil tussen indostudenten in nederlands en duitsland.. speciaal in Bielefeld. In nederlands, misschien, verdienen ze beter dan die indostudenten in bielefeld. Toen ik in nederlands was, gingen we altijd naar resto, bios, of uiteten.een of twee keer per week. in bielefeld? ai ai ai.. alamak... dat moet ik alleen doen..

Ja, het is tijd voor me om mijn studie te bedenken en concentreren.. en uitendelijk, goodafmaken.

pff.. ugh... heimwee... ik mis jullie allemaal, daar in groningen

groetjes allemaal,

ican

Any plans for x-mas holidays

Pheewww.....it's time to think about my x-mas holidays... i guess so.. earlier is better, since i can buy cheaper ticket for the holidays..

so, the next thing to do..contacting my lovely friends in groningen...hope they will plan the same as i do.

boring... and bored...

have a nice day all..

ican

Gaudeamus Igitur

Gaudeamus igitur Juvenes dum sumus Post jucundum juventutem Post molestam senectutem Nos habebit humus.	Let us rejoice therefore While we are young. After a pleasant youth After a troublesome old age The earth will have us.
Ubi sunt qui ante nos In mundo fuere? Vadite ad superos Transite in inferos Hos si vis videre.	Where are they Who were in the world before us? You may cross over to heaven You may go to hell If you wish to see them.
Vita nostra brevis est Brevi finietur. Venit mors velociter Rapit nos atrociter Nemini parcetur.	Our life is brief It will be finished shortly. Death comes quickly Atrociously, it snatches us away. No one is spared.
Vivat academia Vivant professores Vivat membrum quodlibet Vivat membra quaelibet Semper sint in flore.	Long live the academy! Long live the teachers! Long live each male student! Long live each female student! May they always flourish!
Vivant omnes virgines Faciles, formosae. Vivant et mulieres Tenerae amabiles Bonae laboriosae.	Long live all maidens Easy and beautiful! Long live mature women also, Tender and loveable And full of good labor.
Vivant et republica et qui illam regit. Vivat nostra civitas, Maecenatum caritas Quae nos hic protegit.	Long live the State And the One who rules it! Long live our City And the charity of benefactors Which protects us here!
Pereat tristitia, Pereant osores. Pereat diabolus, Quivis antiburschius Atque irrisores. (vers. C. W. Kindeleben 1781)	Let sadness perish! Let haters perish! Let the devil perish! Let whoever is against our school Who laughs at it, perish!

Everything goes well

At last, today, I got my residence permit in germany, health insurance, and renewed my phd contract. What a happy day today...

I wish everything goes well, my life and my study. I wish I can do my best, finishing my study here in Bielefeld well.

Wish you all have a nice day...

greets...

Every 30th of the month

Every month in 30th,

A month ago, 30th of May, I came to Bielefeld as a new phd student... I was nervous... but, I did develop my confidence a lot.. even until now.. i have to work it out...well, that's not easy. Lucky me, I have supportive friends.

But, last time, i found out that i got a problem with visa. My professor, my daily supervisor and my secretary are very helpful. So,  we solved the problem. I went back to the Netherlands, applying visa, with thick documents accompanying me which i had to give to the consulate general of germany.

nervous.. yeppzz.. but, my professor told me, nothing to worry about. He and the lovely secretary of the group, Frau Lorentzen called to the Bielefeld city hall every week in order to speed up my visa approval. Whilst waiting for the visa, Prof asked me to get back and work soon.

During the first month here, I do feel welcome. People are so helpful. Nice collegas. Dirk gave me his number in any case I got lose or need help. My prof, frau lorentzen helps me all the time. Christoph helps me related with all thing as a newcomer of the city. And yes, mohamed, an egyptian, we went to mosque together for friday praying... oink... I got key to access all the group rooms and labs in my first day. What a great. Yes, the group, in fact, is a new one. not even established yet. In the last two weeks, I am invloved in assembling the in situ "surface science factory". Yepz, the equipments have everything inside, STM, SEM, SAM, XPS, LEED, Angle resolved bla bla bla...there are more than 10 kinds of type of measurements. The most important thing is, that STM. It's so powerful. It has in situ gas phase SAMs deposition chamber. I can do both low temperature measurement, up to 4.2 K and in a very UHV conditions, down to the orde of minus 12. Crazyyyy!!.. but jaa.. we are all busy in assembling the equipments. But, I do enjoy it here.... I like my research field..for sure.

Today, 30th of June, I got letter from the germany consulat general in amsterdam. My visa is approved... hurraaaahh..seems my lucky days, every 30th of the month... smile.. I forwarded the email right away to prof. Goelzhaeuser, andrey, and frau lorentzen... we all are happy... frau lorentzen has set up lot of thing to do. first of all, to precess my working permit (again??), then give my bank account to salary department. Hurraaahhh..then, she wants me to follow german courses asap... pffff.. but.. upss.. i have to call the consulat tomorrow... making an appointment to pick up my visa... means.. i have to go to netherlands again..this weekend.. and yuppiee.. i can perhaps go to groningen... to meet some friends there..hurraaahh...nice nice nice...

so, i have to go sleep now. wish all the best for me..and for you too..

kisses

On my sanctuary grave

Do not stand on my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond and the snow.

I am the sunlight on the ripened grain, I am the gently autumn rain. When you wake up in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight, I am the soft starlight at the night.

Do not stand on my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die.

Amen

So, Life goes on

Never regret a day in your life.

Good day gives you happiness.

Bad day gives you experience.

Both are essential for life.

All are God's blessings.

Enjoy your life & Have a nice day!

A new start to begin

Ah... it's in the mid of may.. i am still thinking about my future... yes, a decision has bee