Audio Transcript:
(SOUND EFFECT: sample bleeps) A Very Moving Sound.
I'm Bob Karson with the discovery files -- new advances in science and engineering from the National Science Foundation.
(SOUND EFFECT: sample bleeps) You're listening to a novel method of moving fluids using sound. It's being pioneered at the University of Michigan. So, what's the big deal about all these blips and bleeps? Actually it's a small deal -- one that could significantly simplify conducting experiments in micro fluidic devices.
Translation: think lab-on-a-chip -- a tiny laboratory maybe a few centimeters in size, that performs several different tests on just one v-e-r-y small sample. You might someday see a device the size of an I-phone that you could sneeze into, and it would tell you if you have the flu. What hasn't been developed for such a small system is the mechanism for moving the chemicals and samples around inside it. But now U-M researchers are using the sound waves created by musical notes to nudge droplets through the device's microscopic channels.
Here a droplet is slowly being moved to its destination. (SOUND EFFECT: nat sound) Using multiple tones, fluids can be mixed in a gradient, (SOUND EFFECT: nat sound) different tones can be used to move different fluids.
Scientists hope this new micro technology could eventually lead to a home test for other illnesses -- as well as or a handy portable device for testing for food contaminants or toxic gases.
We may be a step closer to that, but for now, I wouldn't recommend that you sneeze into your I-phone. (SOUND EFFECT: sneeze)
"The Discovery Files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.
