From the August 31, 2010 issue of NIST Tech Beat:

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used a small crystal of ions (electrically charged atoms) to detect forces at the scale of yoctonewtons. Measurements . . . → Read More: NIST Sensor Measures Yoctonewton Forces Fast]]> I’m not sure if this has any automotive test applications, but I wanted the opportunity to type “yoctonewton”………Dan

From the August 31, 2010 issue of NIST Tech Beat:

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used a small crystal of ions (electrically charged atoms) to detect forces at the scale of yoctonewtons. Measurements of slight forces—one yoctonewton is equivalent to the weight of a single copper atom on Earth—can be useful in force microscopy, nanoscale science, and tests of fundamental physics theories.

The NIST force sensor is a crystal of ions (charged atoms) trapped inside the upper region of the copper cylinder. A laser beam directed upward through the trap cools the ions. A force is applied in the form of an oscillating electric field, and a detector (not shown) measures the light reflected off the ions. Credit: Bollinger/NIST?

A newton is already a small unit: roughly the force of Earth’s gravity on a small apple. A yoctonewton is one septillionth of a newton (yocto means 23 zeros after the decimal place, or 0.000000000000000000000001).

Measurements of vanishingly small forces typically are made with tiny mechanical oscillators, which vibrate like guitar strings. The new NIST sensor, described in Nature Nanotechnology,* is even more exotic—a flat crystal of about 60 beryllium ions trapped inside a vacuum chamber by electromagnetic fields and cooled to 500 millionths of a degree above absolute zero with an ultraviolet laser. The apparatus was developed over the past 15 years for experiments related to ion plasmas and quantum computing. In this case, it was used to measure yoctonewton-scale forces from an applied electric field. In particular, the experiment showed that it was possible to measure about 390 yoctonewtons in just one second of measurement time, a rapid speed that indicates the technique’s high sensitivity. Sensitivity is an asset for practical applications.

The previous force measurement record with this level of sensitivity was achieved by another NIST physicist who measured forces 1,000 times larger, or 500 zeptonewtons (0.0000000000000000005 newtons) in one second of measurement time using a mechanical oscillator.** Previous NIST research indicated that a single trapped ion could sense forces at yoctonewton scales but did not make calibrated measurements. ***

The ion sensor described in Nature Nanotechnology works by examining how an applied force affects ion motion, based on changes in laser light reflected off the ions. A small oscillating electric field applied to the crystal causes the ions to rock back and forth; as the ions rock, the intensity of the reflected laser light wobbles in sync with the ion motion. A change in the amount of reflected laser light due to the force is detectable, providing a measure of the ions’ induced motion using a principle similar to the one at work in a police officer’s radar gun. The technique is highly sensitive because of the low mass of the ions, strong response of charged particles to external electric fields, and ability to detect nanometer-scale changes in ion motion.

The research was funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The first author, M.J. Biercuk, did the work as a post-doctoral researcher at NIST and is now at the University Sydney in Australia. Co-author H. Uys did the work as a NIST guest researcher and has since returned to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa.

* M.J. Biercuk, H. Uys, J.P. Britton, A.P. VanDevender and J. J. Bollinger. Ultrasensitive force and displacement detection using trapped ions. Nature Nanotechnology. Posted online Aug. 22, 2010.

** J.D. Teufel, T. Donner, M.A. Castellanos-Beltran, J.W. Harlow and K.W. Lehnert. Nanomechanical motion measured with an imprecision below that at the standard quantum limit. Nature Nanotechnology 4, 820–823.

*** See TechBeat article “NIST Develops Novel Ion Trap for Sensing Force and Light,” NIST Tech Beat, June 30, 2009.

For example, Intertek’s Detroit, Michigan laboratory recently purchased 5 moderate and large format battery cycling systems. In . . . → Read More: Intertek Invests In Battery/Energy Storage Testing]]> Intertek has announced that it has made new investments in new battery/energy storage test equipment throughout Europe, North America, and Asia, and they now claim that they are poised to assist manufacturers meet battery safety, reliability and other regulatory standards.

For example, Intertek’s Detroit, Michigan laboratory recently purchased 5 moderate and large format battery cycling systems. In addition to over 500 small format battery test stations, the new systems offer the ability to test up 30 mid-size and large format battery packs, for military, electric vehicle, and backup power/UPS applications.

For more information on Intertek’s battery & energy storage testing services, call 1-800-967-5352 or visit their website.

Wind River Test . . . → Read More: Wind River Test Management Provides Run-Time Insight]]> Wind River Test Management, the company’s test automation system for monitoring, executing and managing embedded device software testing, features dynamic analytics technology that enables run-time visibility into devices during testing to provide operational and actionable feedback that product teams can use to confidently deliver their products on time, on budget and with high quality.

Wind River Test Management delivers insights at run-time, enabling teams to make informed decisions that improve software quality and help them avoid potential delays during the testing process. Wind River Test Management lets teams execute complex tests while dynamically gathering information from the production software under test as it is running, without requiring special pre-instrumented software builds. This approach allows teams to adopt new white-box test techniques that give testers visibility into the operation of the device and help them determine the thoroughness of the tests, quickly identify defects and performance bottlenecks, and focus efforts on sections of software that are most in need of testing.

Wind River Test Management also includes special support for new iterative or agile testing methods where, unlike traditional processes where testing is relegated to the end of the development cycle when software is complete, these new approaches include repeated testing of intermediate releases. Wind River Test Management’s change-driven testing features automatically inform test teams exactly what software is new and what tests need to be run to verify them.

For more information, visit the Wind River Test Management Web page.

Students and a professor at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville developed a unique way to test tires.

Associate professor Saied Taheri and Virginia Tech students in the Intelligent Transportation Lab at the Institute developed a trailer that houses equipment to test tires on actual roads and road . . . → Read More: VA Tech Researchers Develop New Tire Tests]]> The Danville Register and Bee reports that,

Students and a professor at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville developed a unique way to test tires.

Associate professor Saied Taheri and Virginia Tech students in the Intelligent Transportation Lab at the Institute developed a trailer that houses equipment to test tires on actual roads and road conditions.

After a year and a half of development, the team finished validating the test trailer in August. The researchers compared the results of tests on tires to manufacturers’ own laboratory tests. The data matched.

Most manufacturers and researchers test tires on a flat-track “indoor treadmill.” The rolling test trailer is only one of three such systems that tests outside in the real environment.

The trailer helps the Intelligent Transportation Lab test for stability of vehicles or measure what conditions would cause a vehicle with specific tires to roll over. With that information, researchers could develop controls to better stabilize a vehicle.

The lab includes about 170 test chambers cycling battery charges up and down 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. During the cycling, engineers introduce severe temperature and humidity levels, while an automotive OEM-exclusive “shaker table” . . . → Read More: GM Ramps Up Battery Testing]]> WardsAuto.Com reports that GM is ramping up testing of batteries for use in its electric vehicles (EVs). The report notes:

The lab includes about 170 test chambers cycling battery charges up and down 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. During the cycling, engineers introduce severe temperature and humidity levels, while an automotive OEM-exclusive “shaker table” adds vibration to the testing mix.

Roughly two-thirds of the chambers currently are testing lithium-ion battery cells and packs for the Chevy Volt, while the rest test cells and packs for GM’s plug-in HEV technology and next-generation mild-hybrid system.

GM opened the $25 million facility in June, which is located at the GM Tech Center in Warren, MI.