Spectroscopy news 46

David Bradley Science Writer writes the monthly news column for three sections of the SpectroscopyNOW.com site - Spectral Lines, Resonants and X-factors.

Spectral Lines - spectroscopy news by David Bradley<p>

The latest issue of Spectral Lines is now online

Constant inconstancy

Fundamental physical constants are just that, fundamental, or so we thought. But, Michael Murphy of Cambridge University speaking, at the Institute of Physics conference Physics 2005, suggested that one of the most critical of these, the so-called "fine structure constant" (alpha) may not be constant after all.
 
Taking spectroscopy by surprise

Tracking molecular excitations is now possible using the new technique of 2D electronic spectroscopy, which means light-induced changes can now be tracked, and could sound a death knell for other conventional spectroscopic techniques. The method will have a broad range of applications and has already thrown up surprising results about how photosynthesis works.
 
Bloodless testing

Polymeric materials that can be used in medical prosthetics and devices generally must be biocompatible. Unfortunately, many potentially useful materials are not compatible because blood cells stick to them causing clotting problems or fail to induce new blood vessel growth so are not incorporated properly by the body. Now, Japanese researchers have developed an attenuated total-reflection (ATR) infrared technique that allows them to test the "haemocompatibility" of polymeric materials without using blood samples, an obstacle to quick and easy research in this field.
 
Deep purple spiro

Canadian and US researchers have observed photoisomerization for the first time in an unusual compound known as a spirooxazine using polarized absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Light-sensitive, or photochromic, materials that can switch between two discrete states, (photoisomerize), have potential applications in destructive and non-destructive optical data storage and so are keenly sought by technologists hoping to develop increasingly dense storage media.

 

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