Lido Yacht Expo returns Sept. 12...

Lido Yacht Expo returns Sept. 12

The 24th annual Lido Yacht Expo, an upscale boat show geared

specifically to the big boat market, returns to the Lido Marine

Village in Newport Beach from Sept. 12 to 15.

This is an upscale show featuring million-dollar yachts that range

from 26 to 100 feet in length.

Buyers will get their first look at the brand-new 2003 models

making their U.S. debut. There will be more than 200 boats on display

with products and services such as finance, insurance and equipment

available for boat shoppers.

Major U.S. and foreign motor yacht and sailboat builders will be

represented at the show, including Bayliner, Carver, Cabo, Catalina,

Fairline, Fleming, Fraser, Grand Banks, Hatteras, Horizon, Hunter,

Johnson, Larson, Luhrs, Mainship, Maxum, Mikelson, McKinna, Monterey,

Mustang, Navigator, Ocean Alexander, Queenship, Riviera, Silverton,

Sunseeker, Azimut and Sea Ray.

For more information on the event call, The Duncan McIntosh Co. at

(949) 757-5959 or visit www.goboatingamerica.com.

UCI study makes atomic discovery

UC Irvine physicist William Ho has discovered the phase when a

cluster of atoms first develops into a solid structure by linking

gold atoms.

The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, is the first

of its kind and can have a significant impact on the future

development of metal structures built at the molecular level.

Working with his fellow UCI researchers Niklas Nilius and T. Mitch

Wallis, they used a scanning tunneling microscope to build a chain

link of gold atoms and measured how electron states change as more

atoms were added.

While 20 atoms were linked together in the experiment, the

researchers found that the chain began to exhibit the collective

properties of a bulk structure when the fifth and sixth molecule were

added. It is at this point when a metallic molecule becomes

conductive and can be used as an electrical current.

-- Todd Karella