Advances in nanotechnology
Quote:
Dr. Naomi J. Halas, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University, invented a type of particle she calls nanoshells—hollow gold or silver spheres wrapped around a filling of silica.
The hollow shape makes sloshing electrons in the gold particularly efficient at absorbing energy from light, and changing the thickness of the shell changes the frequency of light absorbed. That makes it a promising treatment for killing cancer tumors. Inject nanoshells into a tumor, shine infrared light on them, and they heat up, killing the tumor.
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This stuff is still mind-blowingly amazing. Although seven years ago when I made this thread, I would have thought greater strides would have been made by now, I still believe the next 10-20 years will show some significant breakthroughs in this technology.