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Chiral, stacked nanoparticle lines efficiently filter light polarizations. They allow only left-circularly polarized light to pass (blue) and retain right-circularly polarized light (red). (Martin Mayer)
Germany: Optical Analysis

New and Efficient Method of Fabrication for Optically Active Nano-Layers

In an article by Patrick Probst et al. published in Nature Materials, researchers led by Prof. Dr. Andreas Fery and Dr. Tobias A.F. König of the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden describe a new design strategy for the fabrication of thin nanostructured films for active control of circularly polarized light. It is based on chiral nanoassembly by stacking two substrates with nanoparticle chains.

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Contamination of surface waters poses a serious threat to attaining drinking water standards. (Public Domain)
Germany: Water Purification

Bacterial Contamination of Drinking Water May Be Linked to Seasonal Dynamics

A project led by Prof. Dr. Irina Engelhardt, who teaches hydrogeology at the TU Berlin, aims to enhance our understanding of bank filtration processes and to improve predictive capabilities of models describing transport of microorganisms in bank filtration. Model-based tools are developed to enable waterworks operators to assess more accurately the purification potential of their bank filtration plants with regard to microorganisms.

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