Watch This New Device Print Using Sound Waves
Harvard scientists develop a printing technique that could impact a slew of industries, from biopharmaceuticals to food and cosmetics
In acoustophoretic printing, sound waves generate a controllable force that pulls each droplet off of the nozzle when it reaches a
specific size and ejects it towards the printing target. (Daniele Foresti, Jennifer A. Lewis, Harvard University)
By Rachael Lallensack
smithsonian.com
3 hours ago
Watch This New Device Print Using Sound Waves
Harvard scientists develop a printing technique that could impact a slew of industries, from biopharmaceuticals to food and cosmetics
image: https://thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com/kdbHOEs255BNdbLyiibCNU9Vh2o=/800x600/filters:no_upscale()/
Pendant drop.JPG
In acoustophoretic printing, sound waves generate a controllable force that pulls each droplet off of the nozzle when it reaches a specific size and ejects it towards the printing target. (Daniele Foresti, Jennifer A. Lewis, Harvard University)
By Rachael Lallensack
smithsonian.com
3 hours ago
It was in 1726 that Sir Isaac Newton first shared the tale of how he once sat beneath an apple tree pondering why the fruit fell straight to the ground. The physicist said that these trunk-side meditations are what previously led him to posit the theory of gravity in 1687. Some even exaggerated the story to suggest the idea struck him literally in the form of an apple to the head.
However, we don’t often wait for an apple to fall from a branch to seize it. We instead pluck it ourselves—an easy task when the object is solid.
When dealing with liquids, and trying to produce droplets, we are still at the mercy of gravity. You only have to self-administer eye drops, using a pipette that comes with a store-bought vial, once to know how hard it is to harness the powers of gravity in your favor and guide precise droplets according to the dosage onto your pried-open eyeball.
The current machinery used to inject liquids into pill capsules is similarly limited by the force of gravity, as is the mechanism inside a printer that spits ink onto a piece of paper or even nozzles that dispense the liquified ingredients to make candy.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/watch-new-device-print-using-sound-waves-180970186/#kPXvCTT7gufrYwMs.99
