+
 2-steps for light-altering polymers 
combine microelectronics w/ optics shuttle information 
between computer chips much faster than electric wires!
NLO materials, prospects for integrateing optics w/ electronics.

Nonlinear opitcal materials, manipulate light by changing
their refractive index and
other properties under the influence of an applied volatage
or another light beam.  One of the most
promising places to find these unusual properties
is among the tailor-made organic materials called
polymers.
Graft molecular components called NLO chromophores to a backbone molecule, e.g. polyimide.
Chromophoes give polymer its ability to manipulate light because their electric charges
separate under influence of light or an electri field,
forming an asmmetric charge distribution that
affects the material's optical porperties.  The backbone provides
support and keeps the chromophores properly oriented.

The current IBM polymer has R value 1/6 that 
of lithium niobate, an inorganize NLO crystal used in most curretn devices.



+
 Gathering Airs Schemes for Averting asteroid Doom 
Tugsten projectiles embedded in a sheet smacsh a 200-meter asteroid into harmless rubble.



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 Polystyrene-dendrimer amphiphilic block copolymers w/ a generation-dependent aggregation.  
amphiphilic macromolecules synthesized w/ polystyrene w/ poly dendrimers.
dynamic light scattering , conductivity
measurements and transmission
electron microspoy show aqueous phases.
forms spherical micelles, 
the effect of amphiphile geometry on aggragation behavior is in qualitative
agreement w/ theory israelachvili.  Amphiphiles
presented are simlar in shape but different in size vs traditional surfactants , 
similar in size but different in shape w/ copolymers.



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 Atomic-sale desorption through electronic and vibrational excitation mechanism 
The scanning tunneling microscope has been used to desorb hydrogen
from hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces.  As a result of 
control of the dose of incident electrons, a countable number of desorption
sites can be created and the yield and
cross section are obtained.  2 distinct desorption mechanism are observed.
1. direct electronic excitation of the Si-H bond by field -emitted electrons
and 2. an atomic resolution mechanism that involves a multiple-vibrational
excitation by tunneling electrons at low applied voltages.  This vibrational
heating effect offers significant potential for 
controlling surface reactions involving adsorbed individual atoms and molecules.