Self-Assembling Photonic crystals

Photonic crystals are, in essence, an exploded view into the world of atomic-scale crystals. Instead of atoms, nanospheres of any number of materials can be arranged into a crystal with patterns on the order of the wavelength of light—about 400nm to 700nm for visible light, although photonic crystals are not limited to these wavelengths. Researchers have created precisely positioned arrays of self-assembling photonic crystals with a little help from semiconductor fabrication technology or capillary action, moving us another step closer to highly integrated devices that use photonic crystals.

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A self-reproducing machine

More than 50 years ago, computer pioneer John von Neumann conceived of a self-reproducing machine. RepRap (short for “replicating rapid-prototyper”) doesn’t harvest its own materials, but it’s entirely real. For about US $725 in parts, this self-reproducing machine, spawned by a global band of engineers and hobbyists, will squirt out complex three-dimensional patterns of molten plastic filaments that will solidify into most, if not all, of the mechanical parts for another RepRap.

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RepRap Research Foundation