Participants
Joshua Foxton
Imagine the flow of liquid through a hose that is a hundred-thousand times thinner than a human hair. How would it flow? Would it behave the way physics predicts? This was the question my summer project aimed to adress.
I studied the flow of liquids through a nanoscale device with tiny channels made of atomically thin two-dimensional materials. To measure this flow, a special setup with two-chambers was used: one with salt water (calcium chloride), and the other with flourescent dye that lights up when met with calcium ions.
A pressure and concentration gradient across the channel would cause the salt to flow into the dye chamber, reacting with the dye and increasing its glow. By measuring the glows intensity, I studied how the liquid flowed and compared it with theoretical predictions.
This research could help make better water filters or desalination systems, cleaning water using much less energy.