This 100-nanometer membrane, comprising the electrolyte and electrodes, has to be thin enough to allow ions to pass through it at a relatively low temperature (which, for ceramic fuel cells, lies in the range of 300 to 500 degrees Celsius).

FORBES: Harvard Researchers Develop Fuel Cell Chip

Fuel cells come in several varieties, but the heart of the sort developed by Ballard is a polymer membrane coated on either side with platinum electrodes (the platinum also acts as a catalyst).

ECONOMIST: Fuel cells hit the road | The

The concept is to place the membrane in a solution containing DNA and use opposing electrodes to force the DNA molecule through the nanopore at up to a million letters a second.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The concept is to place the membrane in a solution containing DNA and use opposing electrodes to force the DNA molecule through the nanopore at up to 1 million letters per second.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The two electrodes, cathode and anode, are separated by a polymer electrolyte membrane which permits protons to cross to reach the cathode while the electrons are made to flow as part of a circuit to carry an electrical current.

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