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Nanotribology Studies of Petroleum Derivatives for Nanotechnology Tonya Coffey, Appalachian State University Recent research has suggested that alcohols such as propanol, ethanol, butanol, or pentanol might make excellent vapor phase lubricants for micromachines. In a collaboration with Dr. Kim of Penn State, we are using Quartz Crystal Microbalances to investigate the fundamentals behind how alcohols adsorb onto self assembled monolayers, often suggested as solid lubricants for MEMS devices. An interesting side project has been a study of the Diet Coke and Mentos reaction. Our work on this topic, soon to be published in the American Journal of Physics, has explained this popular chemistry and physics demonstration in detail. Acquiring contact angle measurements for various sodas has enabled us to explain how key ingredients in soda pop lower the work required for bubble formation. Atomic force microscopy images of several candies, including Mentos, explain how surface roughness affects the explosion.