SCIENCE
Plant & Food Research: Spinning Rainbows

Plant & Food Research: Spinning Rainbows

Plant & Food Research

20 July 2010, 9:38AM

Plant & Food Research

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A bead of polymer solution forms on a micropipette tip. Electrostatic forces draw a thin jet of liquid out of the pipette until it reaches terminal velocity and whips into a fast moving spiral, creating a rainbow of colours. The fibre eventually stretches to less than one hundred nanometres, invisible to the naked eye.

Plant & Food Research uses this electrospinning process to produce nanofibre filters made from natural materials, such as marine collagen, for industrial use.

More images at www.plantandfood.co.nz/page/news/photodesk/