As if in response to yesterday's post about Mihail Rocco's concerns over our limited ability to measure and manipulate matter at the nanoscale, the Farfield Group has introduced what it calls the first commercially packaged, bench-top, nanotechnology instrument, the NanoFlex.

"From product claim verification to water and energy conservation, research and manufacturing, the NanoFlex is designed to be tailored easily to any application where surface science and molecular scale, nanometrology measurements are required. The NanoFlex can be used in any application where companies need to measure and differentiate between molecular levels of adsorption, absorption or desorption at a surface."

"In simple terms, the NanoFlex is a 'molecular Microscope' whose quantitative structural measurements can be compared directly with complementary techniques such as neutron reflectivity and ellipsometry, whilst also being capable of mass measurements at higher sensitivity than first-generation optical or acoustic sensor technologies."

Neutron reflectivity and ellipsometry: simple terms? Maybe to someone actually in the market to buy one of these. The device is intended primarily for the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) industry. (photo Farfield Group)