NANO EXPO
A new dimension to technology
Simplified version
TEXTS OF THE EXHIBITION
19 July, 2007
Text coordinators: Laurent Chicoineau, Laurent.chicoineau@ccsti-grenoble.org
and
Cécile Mériguet, Cecile.meriguet@ccsti-grenoble.org
Production in charge: Nohémi Ollivier, nohemi.ollivier@ccsti-grenoble.org

LIST OF PANELS:
1 – Introductory Panel
2 – FOUNDATIONS – Another way of looking at the world
3 – FOUNDATIONS – It’s all about size
4 – FOUNDATIONS – The invention of nanotechnologies
5 – FOUNDATIONS – Nature as a model
6 – TECHNIQUES – Seeing and manipulating the invisible
7 – TECHNIQUES – Multidisplinarianism on the move
8 – TECHNIQUES – The nanotechnology project
9 – TECHNIQUES – Technical limitations and challenges
10 – APPLICATIONS – New materials
11 – APPLICATIONS – Energy and environment
12 – APPLICATIONS – Computer science and audiovisual
13 – APPLICATIONS – Sports and leisure
14 – APPLICATIONS – Medicine a la carte
15 – STAKES – Towards a new economy?
16 – STAKES – Nanotechnologies = danger?
17 – STAKES – Controlling the development of nanotechnologies?
18 – Credits

1 – Introductory panel
Nano Expo – a new dimension to technology
Everybody is talking about it. Researchers, financers, engineers, politicians, activists, environmentalists, philosophers, journalists and economists… nanotechnology is the new buzzword, the subject of endless debate, discussion and controversy. But what are we really talking about?
FOUNDATIONS. We’re talking about science, the world of atoms and minuscule dimensions. TECHNIQUES. We are also talking about technology because it has the unique ability to observe and manipulate atoms, opening new vistas in the field of medicine and the harnessing of energies, for example. APPLICATIONS. We’re talking about applications and so, economics and the market. Some people have hailed nanotechnologies as the next “industrial revolution”, a powerful engine of innovation and development. STAKES. We’re not just talking about benefits, we’re also talking about risks, excesses and fears. What safeguards do we need, as we are dealing with technologies that seem to impact all aspects of daily life? Nanotechnology, the technology of the small, is throwing up big challenges.
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2 – FOUNDATIONS – Another way of looking at the world
Nano comes from the Greek work nanos which means “dwarf”. It is used as a prefix of the unit of measurement , nanometre , which like kilo, milli and centi , is a power of 10.
A nanometre equals 109 metre . It represents a billionth of a metre or 1/1 000 000 000 .
This is scale of the atom, the elementary building block of all matter. The nanoscale is the scale of the smallest. To get an idea, there is the same difference in size between an atom and a tennis ball as between a tennis ball and the planet Earth.
The hydrogen atom
The simplest of the atoms, hydrogen measures about 0.1 nanometre. Ten hydrogen atoms lined up together measure about one nanometre (nm).
DNA
If a DNA molecule is only 2.5 nm wide, its length on the other hand is close to a micron
( a millionth of a metre = 106 metre ). If one were to unfold it, it would be about a centimetre long.
Did you know?
The smallest element of an integrated circuit is about ten nanometres wide, a red corpuscle about a thousand nanometres and the diameter of the full stop at the end of this sentence is about 100 000 nm, i.e. 0.1 millimetre.

3 – FOUNDATIONS – It’s all about size
On the nanometric scale, matter behaves differently. The behaviour of objects is determined in particular by their surface properties (adhesion, chemical reaction…). The smaller the object is the higher is the surface to volume ratio. Thus the study of chemical bonding is of vital importance in the nanosciences. There are many kinds of chemical bonds with varying intensities and properties. These properties stem from the spatial forms of the molecules.
Covalent bonding
This is the strongest bond that can exist between two atoms. In more specific terms, it takes place due to the sharing of one or several electrons.
Ionic bonding
It is almost as powerful as covalent bonding but its properties are different. Negative and positive ions are attracted to one another. . Water can “short-circuit” an ionic bond to such an extent that a material held by this bond can dissolve (example: salt).
Hydrogen bonding
Even though weak, it gives water remarkable properties. Water absorbs a lot of heat while turning into vapour. Ice is lighter than water and floats on its surface. These two properties are essential for the living world.
Hydrophobic bonding
This bond is not a real atomic bond but is the consequence of hydrogen bonding: it is this which allows oil to separate from water. This bonding is extremely weak. van der Waals bonding
This is the weakest bond of all. It is has been discovered that a small lizard, the gecko, uses this force to walk on the ceiling.

4 – FOUNDATIONS – The invention of nanotechnology
Even though there is no consensus on the definition of the word nanotechnology , the
Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering suggested the following definition in 2004 after consulting with citizen and expert groups. Nanotechnologies are defined as
“the conception, characterisation, production and applications of structures, devices and systems by controlling their form and size on the nanometric scale”. Nanosciences study
“phenomena and material whose properties on the nanometric scale are significantly different from those observed on the larger scale”.
The prophet
In 1959, the physicist Richard Feynman was the first to deal with the notion of controlled manipulation of matter at the atomic scale was the physicist Richard
Feynman. In a speech that was to become historic he said, “There is plenty of room at the bottom” and had foreseen the possibility of engraving the entire encyclopaedia
Britannica on a surface the size of a pinhead.
The inventor of the term
In 1974, Professor Norio Tanigushi of Tokyo Science University coined the term nanotechnology to describe the separation, consolidation and deformation of materials atom by atom or molecule by molecule.
The first mediatique
In 1988, Donald Eigler, an IBM researcher, created the world-famous IBM logo out of
35 xenon atoms on a nickel surface by moving the atoms one by one with the point of a scanning tunnelling microscope.
Did you know?
It was only 26 years later that an engineer took up the challenge thrown down by
Feynman in 1959: storing all the information contained on the page of a book on a surface 625 million times smaller.
Comment: His name? Or was this due to progress in microelectronics?

5 – FOUNDATIONS – Nature as a model
Recent advances in measurement techniques have revealed that nanomaterials already exist in nature. For example, we have discovered that some plants and animals make use of the properties of the nanomaterials of which they are made.
Some researchers are trying to reproduce these characteristics by making similar nanostructures. The purpose is both to have a better understanding of natural phenomena and use mechanisms present in nature for direct applications in different technological spheres. This is what is known as biomimetism . Nature is a source of inspiration for all nanotechnology researchers.
The purity of the Lotus
The symbol of purity in Asia, the Lotus leaf is always clean because of its waxy surface.
A super-positional interplay between microstructure and nanostructure allows it to reduce contact with water to a minimum. When water drops fall on the leaf, they bead up and roll off the surface, washing away dirt as they go. In other words, the plant organises its own cleaning!
The butterfly’s colourless blue wings
The wings of several species of butterflies have coloured pigments, except those of the blue Morpho Cypris. They are covered with innumerable very fine chitin scales… which are transparent! The superficial structure of the scales causes dispersion, diffraction and reflection of light, giving rise to a coloured effect. Researchers are studying this property for industrial applications.
Walking on the ceiling: the gecko’s secret
How does a gecko walk on ceilings, walls and windows? This is a concrete application of an atomic bond known as the van der Waals bond. The gecko gets its adhesive strength from the millions of setae, or fine flexible hair, on its toepads. This is what allows it to adhere to any kind of surface. To become “unstuck”, it peels off its hairs one by one, like an adhesive strip.

6 – TECHNIQUES – Seeing and manipulating the invisible
You need special tools to see and manipulate atoms. The invention of the Scanning
Tunnelling Microscope (STM) is a real revolution! Thanks to scanning tunnels, researchers can now feel atoms. Unlike traditional microscopes, you can’t “see” the object, but you get a model image of the surface. The STM only works for conductor materials like metals. For insulating materials like most living objects, scientists use the atomic microscope which “feels” the van de Waals’ forces and literally allows one to
“touch” the surface.
The discovery of the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope
In 1981, Gérald Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer invented the Scanning Tunnelling
Microscope. This was the beginning of the observation and manipulation of the atom. In
1986, the 2 researchers received the Nobel Prize for physics. This award testifies to importance of their discovery which allows for a new “approach” to matter and opens several fields of applications for physics as well as chemistry and biology.
Scanning Tunnelling
“Scanning Tunnelling” is a phenomenon specific to the atomic scale allowing particles to cross barriers which a priori cannot be crossed. Thus an electron can “move” from one atom to another if the distance is sufficiently small. The STM uses this phenomenon to build images of objects on the nanometric scale.
Sculpting matter
One of the applications of the STM is to move or pull atoms. One can thus engrave lines or create more complex electronic circuits.
Did you know?
At the material scale, the laws of physics as we know them such as gravity work but their influence diminishes and other effects, like the van der Waals’ force, become dominant. Below the nanometric scale, other laws take over: the laws of quantum mechanics.

7 – TECHNIQUES – Multidisciplinarianism at work
Multidisciplinarianism at work
For several years now, physicists, chemists and biologists have been working together at the nanometric level. It was towards the end of the nineties that they realised this and saw the potential of cross-disciplinary research.
The convergence at the nanoscale has given rise to an increasing number of approaches, allowing researchers to exchange their knowledge and envisage new solutions to old problems. Obviously, there is the language barrier because each discipline has its own vocabulary to describe the same objects. The question is: will these new working protocols throw up in turn a new series of issues?
Accounts of multidisciplinarianism
When asked about the current relevance of the multidisciplinary approach to his profession, Philippe Cinquin, a specialist in medical informatics , says that it has always existed. “In my profession, it is obvious. But having professionals who are competent in several fields is an ideal to be attained.” Raising the veil on the French university system in which each discipline is a watertight compartment, Philippe
Cinquin is hoping for greater collaboration among research institutions. This is a professional reality for Didier Boturyn, a chemist specialised in molecules presenting a biological interest: “Collaboration among chemists and biologists exists since the nineties. For this kind of research, convergence is becoming commonplace and we take in students from several disciplines who carry out their research work under several guides.” Convergence favours the pooling of diverse skills. It offers Myriam
Pannetier-Lecoeur, a physicist , a new way of looking at the subject matter of science:
“The contact with other disciplines rejuvenates the spirit of our research.” And this for her “guarantees motivation”.
Did you know?
Because the atom is an element common to physics, chemistry and biology, nanotechnology is a field where the traditional barriers of knowledge get effaced. The nano engineers of the future will have to acquire generic knowledge at the intersection of these disciplines. Some schools and universities have already started offering specialised courses.
Comment - How: Perhaps cite an affiliation

8 – TECHNIQUES – The nanotechnology project
What if one could build factories at the atomic scale? We would no longer say “laying the foundation stone” but the foundation atom ! This idea is beginning to acquire shape in the “bottom-up” concept, popularised by Eric Drexler. It is building in an ascending order , in other words making an object atom by atom. This movement is contrary to the
“top-down” approach used today in miniaturisation which involves carving matter. For example, to make a matchstick, one could either pile up atoms (bottom-up approach) or whittle down a tree (top down approach).
Eric K. Drexler
This American engineer was one of the first to formulate the nanotechnology project. In his work “Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology” published in 1986, he imagined mechanical assemblers at the molecular scale. This assembler could be programmed, provided with independent energy and most importantly could replicate itself! Drexler saw this as a potential threat. If machines became capable of replicating and assembling themselves, they would no longer be under the control of the engineers.
The molecular Lego
Producing without waste is one of the objectives of the bottom-up approach. Imagine a factory at the molecular level where each product, even the most sophisticated one, would be assembled like a Lego, layer after layer, with billions of tiny machines assembling the atoms block by block.
NBIC convergence
In 2002, an American report of the “National Science Foundation” spelt out the nanotechnology project: transcending the multidisciplinarianism of nanoscience to create the concept of NBIC convergence (Nano, Bio, Informatics and Cognition). The intention of the authors was to improve or even change the capacities of man in general; a vision in which technological evolution would take up from where biological evolution left off. To be watched?
Did you know?
It is the capacity of nanorobots to reproduce themselves which first gave rise to public concern about the development of nanotechnology.

9 – TECHNIQUES – Technical limitations and challenges
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are exploring new frontiers. Because of this researchers have to face new challenges. In particular, they have to design and prepare instruments and techniques adapted to the specificities of the objects under study. Once again, one has to take into account the specific behaviour of matter on account of the quantum phenomena which are governed by specific laws of physics. The existing tools only allow us to make and study prototypes.
Measurement
The favourite instrument of nanotechnology, the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope, explores and scans an atomic surface with the help of an ultra fine point itself made of atoms. At this scale, all atoms have a tendency to create bonds between them. The tool and the surface studied may “stick” to each other. The challenge is thus to optimise the instrument and scanning techniques in order to guarantee the reliability of measurements.
Production
Manufacturing an infinitely small object can take an eternity or almost. In theory, if a drop of water contains 1 000 billion billion (10 21 ) atoms and it takes 1 second for an operator to manipulate each atom, it will require 300 thousand billion years to assemble each drop! In other words, 3 750 billion human lives or 577 planets of 6 billion inhabitants each… The challenge thus is to speed up the process.
Industrialisation
Today researchers are capable of creating nanometric objects under experimental conditions. They thus have to explore different methods of realisation by formulating hypothesis, building test devices, measuring and analysing the results … in order to establish industrial production processes. The challenge is to finally achieve standard techniques.
Did you know?
Some French industrialists in the chemical field have already started producing carbon nanotubes.

10 – APPLICATIONS – New materials
In the eighties Harold Kroto, Robert Curl and Richard Smalley manufactured the first nanomaterial: the Fullerene molecule, a structure made up of 60 carbon atoms similar in shape to a football. For this discovery, they won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996.
Since the discovery of the fullerene, researchers have discovered and manufactured other nanoparticules such as carbon nanotubes or nanocristals. The purpose is to be able to make use of the remarkable properties of nanomaterials at the human scale: resistance, waterproofingt, electrical conductivity…
Carbon nanotubes
In 1991, Sumio Lijima, a researcher in the Japanese electronic firm (NEC), observed for the first time carbon nanotubes , a structure of carbon atom organisation of which the lead in our pencils is made. At the material level, these graphite leaves (carbon) resemble a grid in the form of a beehive. It is by rolling this “grid” that a carbon nanotube of a nanometre diameter (10 9 ) is obtained. These nanotubes are remarkable because of their solidity and conductivity; they are 20 times more rigid and 10 times lighter than the hardest steel known today. It is possible to use them as electrical conductors.
Nanocristals
More recently, researchers have developed cadmium selenium nanocristals whose colour is directly linked to their size. By controlling their growth, they can decide their colour.
The field of applications seems to be immense. Especially in the field of authentication, this could be an effective method of fighting against counterfeit.
Did you know?
Did you know that the Romans produced nanomaterials without even knowing it, especially in the fields of glassware and ceramics. The colour variations from blue to purple and red to orange that they obtained can be explained by the presence of nanoparticles in the materials they used.

11 – APPLICATIONS – Energy and environment
Energy and environment
Nanotechnology could help in solving environmental problems, even though technology alone cannot ensure sustainable development. Research in this field aims at reducing the consumption of raw materials by producing for example fully recyclable materials, controlling energy consumption, producing cleanly and less, and improving the quality of water. Materials reinforced with nanoparticles will make alloys lighter and more resistant, resulting in the production of objects which will never wear out. Thus, producing without waste has become an almost attainable dream.
Automobile
Some automobile manufacturers are already using nanocristals to improve the productivity of particle filters in the catalytic converters of diesel vehicles. In the long run, nanotechnology will enable the production of high powered fuel batteries (from 10 to 100 KW) to replace thermal engines. This technology offers the advantage of being potentially non polluting and provides an alternative to petrol.
Water treatment
The scarcity of drinking water is the main cause of mortality in the world. The challenge is to implement cheap and easy to use methods of removing water pollution, especially in the countries of the South. Nanotechnology has opened new paths, thanks for example to the combined action of solar energy and titanium dioxide. American researchers have also developed a process for de-polluting Arsenic contaminated water using ion oxide nanoparticles.
Building material
Improving the quality of building material allows us to satisfy some of the requirements of sustainable development; for example, an Italian firm has developed an “anti pollution” cement: Fotofluid® cement. This product combines the hardness of cement and the flexibility of asphalt and can thus be used as a road surfacing material. It contains titanium dioxide nanoparticles which have the property of destroying pollutants in the sunlight. This will bring about a major improvement in the quality of life near roadways!

12 – APPLICATIONS – Computer science and audiovisual
In the field of computer science, researchers are working on the creation of “intelligent” environments in which objects of daily use are permanently interconnected. This is the shape of the future with constant improvement in information processing systems and increasingly powerful hardware. Futuristic nanotechnology recording concepts will in all likelihood combine various advantages: large storage capacities, very fast access and conservation of data without constant power supply. Thanks to nanoelectronics, a single apparatus the size of a credit card could be used as a tape recorder, camera, video player, television, mobile telephone, GPS, translator… and credit card.
From micro to nanoelectronics
Consisting of millions of transistors, electronic chips are made on monocrystaline silicon wafers. The transistors on them are a few score nanometres long and use layers of hardly a few nanometres. A single chip contains 100 million transistors and one wafer contains up to several thousand chips. Each chip is then integrated into a final application: mobile phones, computers, television… This extreme miniaturisation will make it possible to record ten hours of high definition video in a memory the size of a postal stamp!
Flat screens
The aim of applied research for optimising flat screens is to further reduce their width, improve the quality of the image and reduce electric consumption cheaply. Because of their small size and solidity, carbon nanotubes provide an interesting solution in this internationally competitive field. These advantages make nanotubes a very serious candidate for the next generation of flat screens.
RFID tags
Comprising an antenna and an electronic chip, these devices allow for the storage and remote retrieval of data. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification ) tags, they can be stuck or incorporated in products. More advanced than the bar code, the chips react to radio waves and transmit their information without contact. The nanometric generation of
RFID chips is developing rapidly and could make them the size of intelligent dust .

13 – APPLICATIONS – Sports and leisure
Nanotechnology covers a very wide range of applications from the very specific to the very commonplace such as sports and leisure. The lightness and solidity of carbon nanotubes is make them a particularly good material for manufacturing sports accessories: skis, surfboards, tennis rackets, golf clubs, hockey sticks, sports shoes, bicycles… In the field of textiles, industrialists are in the process of making several innovations: communicating clothes, waterproof, anti-stain, antibacterial, antiperspirant, antistatic… So many applications made possible thanks to the utilisation of some properties of nanoparticles, such as silver nanoparticles.
Tennis
Carbon nanotubes have invaded tennis equipment. In tennis shoes, they improve shock absorption and increase support efficiency. In the racket, carbon nanotubes strengthen the strings while giving them good flexibility and a longer life. In the frame, the integration of carbon nanotubes allows for better absorption of vibration and makes the racket lighter, thus easier to handle.
Sports which involve sliding or gliding
Skis and snowboards contain a large number of carbon nanotubes adapted to the type of sliding required. Such equipment is light, better able to absorb vibration with greater mechanical resistance and a longer life. On water, carbon nanotubes are used in sailboats in the hull, masts, sails and rigging. Once again, they optimise the strength, flexibility and longevity of the material used.
Anti-stain clothes
Several industrialists have taken inspiration from the properties of the Lotus leaf to develop and manufacture anti-stain clothes. By specifically treating each fibre on the nanometric scale, the cloth thus obtained has the property of being able to “repulse” drops of water which slide on the surface, washing away dirt. This covers all kind of clothing from pyjamas to technical suits.

14 – APPLICATIONS – medicine à la carte
Treating infectious diseases, cancer and diseases of genetic origin often cause side effects because the current therapies do not target the diseased cells. The medical applications of nanotechnology could well make it possible to treat patients by acting directly at the cellular level. Thanks to the effect of localised concentration, the vectorization of medicine allows one to adapt or reduce doses. The new medicine,
“nanomedicine”, aims at developing individualised therapies, early diagnostic methods and methods of exploring the human body less constrictive for the patient.
Diagnostic chips
Diagnostic chips rapidly identify the drug metabolising gene, allowing allow the doctor to prescribe a customised dosage for each patient, thus making the administration of the drug more efficient and safer. A chip a couple of square centimetres in size allows in record time to carry out the same medical tests as a testing laboratory, and all this for a minimum price.
Vectorization
The vectorization of medicine is a procedure to transport the drug through a hollow molecule, a kind of nanometric container equipped with antennae which, once they enter into contact with the typical structures of the disease causing agent such as cancerous cells, could stick to it and release their content.
Hygiene and public health
The antibiotic properties of silver have been known since times immemorial. In the state nanoparticle state this metal can be integrated in all materials. Its antibacterial properties are of great help, especially in hospitals to fight against nosocomial diseases. Silver nanoparticles can be in some soaps, medical uniforms and food packaging.

15 – STAKES – Towards a new economy?
At the international level, nanotechnology is being viewed with increasing interest. For some, it constitutes the core of the next industrial revolution.
Realising the importance of these innovations, industrialised countries are investing massively: 8.4 billion dollars in 2004 of which 4.6 billion was public money. France, with 187 million dollars, is at the 6 th position; she is 5 th in terms of publications and patents. On account of an increase in public and investment public and private and the growing number of firms and patents, nanotechnology is influencing more and more the socio-economic univers, both at the local and global level.
Nanotechnology firms in the world
More than two-thirds of the nanotechnology firms identified in 2004 are located in 3 countries: the United States, Japan and Germany. Europe has about 30% of these firms.
France occupies the 5 th position in this international competition.
International competition
Unlike previous technological discoveries, nanotechnology is not only the preserve of the developed countries with recognised research centres. Many emerging economies or small powers have entered the fray along with the United States, Europe and Japan, making nanotechnology a highly competitive sector.
Minatec innovation hub
Some regions have chosen to back nanotechnology by setting up technical hubs bringing together applied research, higher education, industrial enhancement and local development. In France, Grenoble is one of the high potential zones because it is here that several players have set up their factories. Two of them, CEA and the Institut
National Polytechnique de Grenoble, have come together to set up the MINATEC hub for innovation in micro and nanotechnology with 4000 people.

16 – STAKES – Nanotechnologies = danger?
What does one know today about the effects of nanoparticles on health and the environment? Whereas some nanoparticles are being produced industrially for the past several years (titanium oxide for sun creams, silicon particles for tyres), few studies have been done on the toxicity of these products. What will happen to them once the product in which they have been integrated has completed its life cycle? Are they biodegradable? There is a great deal of uncertainty today about the possible harmfulness of some applications of nanotechnology. For this reason, research agencies funded by public money are increasingly investing in studies on the impact the development of nanotechnology.
The spectre of asbestos
Some people are comparing the possible impact of carbon nanotubes on human health to that of asbestos. As they are in the form of fibres, carbon nanotubes could penetrate and get stored in the air cells. For the moment, nanoparticles only exist incorporated in solid materials and so the risks of dissemination in the environment seem reduced. On the other hand, people who begin to produce them are more exposed. Many safety measures are being taken in the production of carbon nanotubes.
The problem of measurement
Before being able to answer the question of the toxicity of a nanoparticle, one first has to be able to measure and define all its characteristics. Researchers have begun to develop new measuring devices to identity and filter these new particles of nanometric dimension and differentiate them from those already present in the atmosphere. The difficulty of toxicological studies also resides in the fact that several disciplines have to be coordinated (physics, chemistry, biology…).
Individual freedoms challenged
Another type of risk is the invasion of privacy which could result from the widespread use of applications related to safety in the broad sense of the term (food, territory, people, etc.), especially nanometric RFID which could be combined with the Internet.
These electronic tags raise the issue of storing and using personal information. A
“neutralisation” function of each RFID has indeed been provided for, but this is difficult to carry out by the very fact of their dissemination. How can one neutralise all RFID if some they are made in nanometric sizes which are thus invisible?

17 – STAKES – Controlling the development of nanotechnology?
Because nanotechnology can spread to all fields, because they are potentially capable of transforming matter, the living and human species, its development concerns each one of us. Obviously, it is necessary to put into place regulations at the global level: standards and regulations have to be fixed. This can only be achieved through mobilisation at the local level and constant dialogue between researchers, decisions makers and citizens.
What the philosophers say:
For Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent , nanotechnology appears as the ground for social experimentation, “inviting us to reflect on the impact in the environmental, social and cultural spheres”. The philosopher stresses the importance of working upstream in any decision making process to allow civil society to participate to a greater degree in political choices linked to technological development. “One has to overcome the general disinterest in public issue and improve the quality of information.”
Jean-Pierre Dupuy feels nanotechnology constitutes the threshold beyond which “man may accede to the mythical will to go beyond natural evolution”. He sees the NBIC convergence concept as a deviation motivating researchers to move from the mastery over nature, so dear to Descartes, to non mastery: “The apprentice-sorcerer will willingly unleash in nature processes beyond his control not by error but by design.”
Towards a “technical democracy”?
Initiatives are emerging to develop new forms of collective choice in the development of nanotechnology. They draw inspiration from the North European practices of
“technological evaluation”. These new mechanisms are based on public debate and controversy (citizens’ conferences, participative procedures, etc.). This gives the rise to the question of linkages between new procedures to produce local collective expertise and political decision making. “Technical” democracy in the making?
Did you know?
After the “post-humans”, we now have the “transhumanists”. In contact with some nanotechnology researchers, this American sect claims to pick up the thread of natural evolution using technology. Improving man, even making him immortal: these are its astonishing projects.

18 – Credits
Nano Expo, a new dimension to technology
Simplified version of the exhibition co-produced with Cap Sciences and Cité des
Sciences et de l’industrie by CCSTI Grenoble in 2006, www.exponano.com
Production
CCSTI Grenoble, La Casemate – October 2007
Director: Laurent Chicoineau
Production and web : Nohemi Ollivier
Communication and public: Cécile Mériguet
Distribution: Jeany Jean-Baptiste
Animation: Catherine Demarcq
- Direction
Editing: Alexandre Hadade
Graphics: Jean-Michel Maldera
Printing: IPP – Sassenage (38)
Manipulation: ATP Engineering
Multimedia Development: Novius, Lekkerwerken
Video: Maria-Juliana Peroz
Voice over: Nathalie Burrot
Translation:
Scientific advisors
Frédéric Chandezon, CEA Grenoble
Joël Chevrier, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble 1
Stéphanie Chifflet, Université Stendhal, Grenoble 3
Magali Cros, Essilor International
Frédéric Eberlé, Roche Diagnostics
Alain Farchi, CEA Grenoble
Marie-Christine Favrot, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble 1
Anne Violaine Fabier, INRA
Perrine Gallice, France Télécom R&D
Dominique Grand, CEA Grenoble
Patrick Gyger, Maison d’ailleurs, Yverdon, Switzerland
Michel Ida, MINATEC IDEAs LAB
Laurent Lévy, C’Nano Rhone-Alpes, Institut des Nanosciences
Pierre Le Quéau, Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble 2
Annie Luciani, ACROE – INP Grenoble
Mariana Maestrutti, Université Paris 1
Philippe Mallein, CNRS CRISTAL

Vincent Mangematin, INRA
Patrice Marche, INSERM
Florence Marchi, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble 1
Patrick Pajon, Université Stendhal, Grenoble 3
Marie-Sylvie Poli, Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble 2
Sylvie Tarozzi, France Télécom R&D
Dominique Thomas, STMicroelectronics
Acknowledgements :
Babolat…
CCSTI Grenoble enjoys the permanent support of:
CITY OF GRENOBLE
GRENOBLE ALPES METROPOLE
DEPARTMENT OF ISERE
RHONE-ALPES REGION
MINISTER OF STATE FOR RESEARCH www.ccsti-grenoble.org