Nanotechnology is a field which is growing exponentially. You may have seen a recent HP commercial about nanotechnology and its possible applications:
"A lightbulb that will never burn out."
"A car that can think."
"Shirts that can give you directions."
"A tiny computer that can hold every book ever written."
"Cellular phones so small, ants can use them."
These are certainly interesting ideas in theory, but nanotechnology has some very real applications which could prove to be useful in a more practical sense.
Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating materials and creating tools on the atomic scale. The prefix "nano" means one-billionth, and since atoms are about 0.10 nanometers, the term nanotechnology seems fitting.To put this into perspective, nanotechnology deals with materials which are less than one-thousandth the diameter of a human hair.
In 1959, scientist Richard Feynman first highlighted the idea of nanoscience in an influential paper, arguing that studies must begin about equipment which can work at the atomic level.
However, it wasn't until 1981 that researcher Eric Drexler heeded Feynman's call, and began a study of "devices able to move molecular objects, position them with atomic precision" and helped to kick start the nanotechnology field.
Since then, the field has grown enormously. By the end of this year, worldwide spending on research and development of nanotechnology is expected to surpass $3 billion. The U.S. government has invested about $2 billion since 2000, when President Clinton announced the National Nanotech Initiative. And other countries, such as Japan and the European Union have likewise dramatically increased their funding. Within the decade, nanotechnology is expected to grow into a $1 trillion industry.
Drexler predicted that, in time, scientists would be able to create molecule-sized robots, which could self-replicate, repair human cells and extend our life spans.
Though recent achievements in the field are perhaps far from creating these nanorobots, nanotechnology is already widely being implemented in society.
For example, the stain-resistant pants made by manufacutuers such as Old Navy use a nanotech coating.
Nanotechnology has also been used to improve the characteristics of sunscreen, as well as cosmetics.
In August 2003, a new development by a team at the University of California, San Diego created "smart dust," which is composed of microscopic grains of sand which can orient themselves in ways that can reveal information.
Each grain of dust is about the size of the diameter of a human hair, and composed of a silicon chip, which has two colored mirrors -- green on one side and red on the other.Then, one side was designed, using chemical means, to find and stick to water, and the other to oil.
When the small chips clump together, the color they reflect becomes clearly visible, indicating the relative amounts of oil and water.
"Such devices could be used to monitor the purity of drinking or sea water, to detect hazardous chemical or biological agents in the air or even to locate and destroy tumor cells in the body," UCSD researcher Michael Sailor said. Researchers have further noted that this finding represents the first step to creating other kinds of "smart dust" which could do things like detect hazardous agents in water or disease-causing microbes.
"This is a key development in what we hope will one day make possible the development of robots the size of a grain of sand," Sailor said.
But is Drexler's nanobot vision really possible, or is it just science fiction? In July, a physicist at the University of California, Berkely, is making this vision become more of a reality.
Alex Zettl, professor of physics at UC Berkely, created a nano-scale motor, which is small enough to ride on the back of a virus. The electric motor measures about 500 nanometers across, 300 times smaller than the diameter of human hair.
"It's the smallest synthetic motor that's ever been made," Zettl said."Nature is still ahead of us . . . but we are catching up."
Other studies at UC Berkley have also found ways to "grow" nanoscale wires, such as silicon nanowires or carbon nanotubes. These nanowires and nanotubes could be usedin computer chips, resulting in extremely small circuits.
And more recently, in August, researchers at the University of Tulsa were able to create thousands of tiny 3.5 volt batteries.
These batteries are too small to drive something like a flashlight, "but if you have an incredibly tiny device, then the device will function for the period of time that it needs to," Teeters said. These "tiny devices" could, in fact, be nano-robots.
The creation of nano-robots as well as other frontiers in nanotechnology appear to be more possible with each passing day.
But several ethical/safety issues arise when this technology is applied to our daily life.Is it safe, for example, to have millions of microscopic robots running around inside us interacting with our various cells and organs?
One thing is certain, however. Nanotechnology is going to change the face of this world.Certainly, looking to the future, the world is looking smaller.
Read More
Man dies from self-inflicted gunshot wounds at the Rotunda
By Ford McCracken | 3 hours agoThe investigation is ongoing, and additional details are not available at this time.
Virginia primary elections feature contested race for Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate
By Nicolas Biernacki | 18 hours agoEligible voters can find more information about early voting by consulting the City Department of Voter Registration & Elections website or the County Department of Elections website.
Professor and researcher Daniel Flannery discusses youth violence and prevention
By Jackie Bond | YesterdayDr. Daniel Flannery discussed the cycle of violence from adolescence to adulthood, and the correlation between unrestricted gun access and mass violence.
