Nanotechnology, the possibilities are endless, where are we at today and where are we headed in
the future? When most people think of nano they think of iPods. This is because very few people
understand what nanotechnology actually is and just how small it is really is, so today we are going
to be talking about the science of nanotechnology.
In essence nanotechnology is just science, engineering and technology conducted at the nano-scale,
which is about 1 to 100 nanometres, which is 10 -9 metres. But that definition doesn't do justice to
how small nanotech really is. Just think about this, in one second your fingernail grows one
nanometre. Can you see your fingernail grow after one second? No? That is because a nanometre is
smaller than the wavelength of visible light, so why is it important? Nanotech has great potential for
applications in computing, medicine, military science and assisting in environmental problems such
as water purification. Even today it is already used in a wide variety of products such as
computer hard drives, car parts, wear-resistant paint, sunscreen, long lasting tennis balls, metal
cutting tools, antibacterial bandages, self-cleaning windows and stain resistant fabrics.
Nanotechnology doesn't have that much history as it is a relatively new form of science that was
created in the 1980’s however civilizations have unknowingly used nanotechnology methods dating
back to the times of Ancient Greece. It was found that the Ancient Greeks used nanoparticles to
make their swords exceptionally sharp and craft iridescent glassware. In the Medieval era
nanotechnology techniques was used to make stained glass windows.
In the Modern era the first concepts of Nanotechnology was proposed with a talk entitled “There’s
Plenty of Room at the Bottom” by physicist Richard Feynman on December 29 1959. Although he
didn’t mention the term nanotechnology he did however talk about the ability to manipulate and
control individual atoms, which is a key idea behind nanotechnology. It wasn’t until 1981, with the
creation of the scanning tunnelling microscope that we could see individual atoms. It was then that
modern nanotechnology really began.
You are probably wondering how we actually manipulate atoms and molecules on such a small scale,
I mean we obviously can't just pick them up and move them around with tweezers so how do we do
it? Well there are two main ways that could be used, self-assembly and mechanosynthesis, the latter
being theoretical at this point. In self-assembly scientists rely on chemical properties such as
attraction, repulsion and covalent bonding to make nanoparticles by putting specific chemical
mixtures through specific conditions to allow the nanoparticles to form. Mechanosynthesis is
process using micromanipulators to assemble nanoparticles by precisely positioning atoms and
molecules. You might be thinking if a nanoparticle is as small as you say then wouldn’t it take like,
forever to make enough of these things to do anything. The answer to that is yes, yes it would, if you
only had one of them. The idea around this is called massively parallel assembly. It would work by
having the first molecular assembler make another molecular assembler and then have both of them
make another, and then all four of them will make another and well you get the idea. Once you have
like billions or even trillions of theses you get them to build the final object and voila, you have
yourself heaps of tiny nanostructures to do with what you will.
Another thing about nanotech is that a lot of people struggle to understand why we bother with
manipulating things on the nanoscale. Traditional methods of production seem to have worked well
for thousands of years so why would we want to bother doing everything one atom at a time when
we could be doing the same thing with billions of atoms, the easy answer to this is physical
properties. By changing things on the molecular scale we can change their physical properties such
as conductivity, strength and flexibility without changing the type of element! Carbon is an amazing
example of this as it is very versatile. We have taken advantage of carbons versatility by making
carbon nanotubes, a cylinder made of interlocking carbon hexagons which is, in some forms more
conductive than copper and tens of times stronger than high quality steel. This again can be
compared to another form of graphite, made out of flat sheets of carbon hexagons stacked on top of
one another which is soft and barley conducts electricity. The only difference is the molecular
structure. In fact there are even different kinds of carbon nanotubes that have different properties,
and the only difference is the way the hexagons of carbon are arranged. By taking advantage of the
way matter reacts in different molecular arrangements humans can benefit to great extents through
many means.
One of the most promising fields of nanotech is in the use of medicine. The future of
nanotechnology in the medical field if successful will provide great benefits for society. As of today
nanotechnology is used in bandages to kill bacteria and reduce the bad smell of the infected wound
with the use of silver nanoparticles. However it is in the future of this field that shows the most
promise. According to The Project of Emerging Nanotechnology: “Nanotechnology will aid in the
formation of molecular systems that may be strikingly similar to living systems. These molecular
structures could be the basis for the regeneration or replacement of body parts that are lost to
infection, disease or accident.” They also stated that “Nanotechnology is being used as the basis for
more effective drug delivery systems and is in early stage development as scaffolding in nerve
regeneration research.” The National Cancer Institute has created the Alliance for Nanotechnology
in Cancer to help look into a new branch of nanomedicine which will hopefully lead to breakthroughs
in detecting, diagnosing and treating various forms of cancer. Another use of Nanotechnology in
medicine is the use of Nanobots. These Nanobots would be able to enter a person’s blood stream
and could clear their arteries, they would also be able to repair damaged cells.
In the military nanotechnology is being researched from Europe to Asia. Nanofabrics are currently
being researched to improve the use of camouflage within the military. Nanofabrics will use Active
Camouflage which basically uses panels and coating to change their appearance. An example of
Active Camouflage is the chameleon. It uses a form of Active Camouflage to hide from its predators.
Another development of nanotechnology is use of liquid body armour in Kevlar vests. Upon impact
the armour stiffens up and distributes the energy evenly to reduce the impact of the bullet or knife.
The key component behind liquid armour is shear thickening armour or STF which is what provides
the vest with its strong properties. STF is composed of hard particles, which are suspended in a liquid
form.
Another use that is important as it will affect the everyday individuals is advances in computing. In
today’s computers silicon based CMOS technology will eventually fail at making smaller products
faster and cheaper. However with the use of carbon nanotubes in computers will be able to be meet
the future standards. In 2013 a group of Stanford University engineers created the very first carbon
nanotube computer. The computer was slow and simple however its creators say that carbon
nanotube computers have potential to overtake silicon electronics in the future. For this reason IBM
is one of the main corporations investing in nanotech research.
Another potential application of nanotech is the assistance in worldwide problems. Nanotechnology
has potential to help real world problems. As fossil fuels are becoming scarce the world needs to
turn to other forms of energy. Solar energy is one of these alternatives however they could be far
better. With the use of nanotechnology solar panels will be able to trap more energy than ever
before. Pollution is also another serious threat to our environment, however with nanotechnology
we might be able to make nanofilters that will be able to suck up pollution from lakes and rivers.
Nanotechnology isn't all good though, there are risks involved. Extremely small nanomaterials have
unique characteristics that lead scientists to question how they might affect our health. Some of the
issues that nanotechnology creates are health issues and environmental issues. Research is needed
to determine whether exposure to manufactured nanomaterials can lead to adverse effects to our
body, heart, lungs and skin. Nanotechnology can affect the environment as some nanomaterials can
be toxic, this could impact a change in the temperature, the salinity of soil or the quality of water.
Nanotechnology: the possibilities really are endless.
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