Nanotechnology : Man ‘s
Symbiosis with nano world
Aditya Jamwal
What is Nanotechnology
►
Nanotechnology refers to a field of applied science and technology
whose theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular
scale, generally 100 nanometers or smaller, and the fabrication of
devices that lie within that size range.
►
Nanotechnology is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as
applied physics, materials science, interface and colloid science, device physics,
supramolecular chemistry (which refers to the area of chemistry that focuses
on the noncovalent bonding interactions of molecules), self-replicating
machines and robotics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering,
biological engineering, and electrical engineering.
►
Nanotechnology is about building things one atom at a time, about
making extraordinary devices with ordinary matter.
Nanobots
►
Small high frequency robots, (or nanites) will work at the
limits of matter processing cheap, abundant components
(molecules).
Defined as a Tiny robots engineered on a microscopic or
even molecular level. Capable of replicating millions or
billions of nanobots, all carrying out their specific tasks at a
molecular level, but in total, producing macro effects
History
►
"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," a talk given by
physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society
meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959 .
►
Jumbotron lamps. For example, a new form of carbon,
the nanotube, was discovered by Sumio Iijima in 1991. In
1995, it was recognized that carbon nanotubes were
excellent sources of field-emitted electrons. By 2000, the
“jumbotron lamp,” was comercially used in atheletic
stadiums.
►
Buckyballs. The discovery of another nanoscale carbon
form, C60, the fullerene (also called the buckyball) brought
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 to Robert F. Curl Jr.,
Sir Harold W. Kroto, and Richard E. Smalley. It also started
an avalanche of research into not only the novel
characteristics of C60, but also other nanoscale materials.
Current Research Status
And
Applications
► Nation
Nanotechnology Initiative.
► MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.
► Center for Nanotechnologies ,University of
Berkeley.
► National Science foundation.
Drug-Delivery Techniques
Dendrimers carrying different materials on their branches
can do several things at one time, such as recognizing
diseased cells, diagnosing disease states (including cell
death), drug delivery, reporting location , and reporting
outcomes of therapy.
Nanofilms
Different nanoscale materials can be used in thin
films to make them
► Water-repellent
► Anti-reflective
► Self-cleaning
► Ultraviolet or infrared-resistant
► Antifog
► Anti-microbial
► Scratch-resistant, or electrically conductive.
Nanofilms are used now on eyeglasses, computer
displays, and cameras to protect or treat the
surfaces.
Solar Plastics
► Thin,
flexible, lightweight rolls of plastics
containing nanoscale materials are being
developed that could replace traditional
solar energy technologies .
► Nanoscale materials absorb sunlight and, in
some cases, indoor light, which is converted
into electrical energy
Nano Transisters
► In
computers, the more transistors, the
greater the power .
► New transistor’s made from a single carbon
nanotube, with minute size and low-energy
requirements .
► Construction capabilities of DNA and the
electronic properties of carbon nanotubes to
create the self-assembling nano-transistor.
Nano Water-filter’s
► Carbon
nanotube-based membranes for
water desalination .
► Nanoscale sensors to identify contaminants
in water systems e.g Nanoscale titanium
dioxide known to neutralize bacteria.
Military Application
► Today’s
hefty radio worn on a harness might
be reduced to a button-sized tab on the
collar.
(The
Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN)
at MIT )
► And a waterproof poncho could be replaced
by a permanent nano-thin coating applied
to everything the soldier carries.
Future
Self-assembling consumer goods
Computers billions of times faster
Extremely novel inventions (impossible today)
► Safe and affordable space travel
► Medical Nano... virtual end to illness, aging, death
► No more pollution and automatic cleanup of already
existing pollution
► Molecular food syntheses... end of famine and starvation
► Access to a superior education for every child on Earth
► Reintroduction of many extinct plants and animals
► Terraforming here and in our Solar System
► Wear-resistant tires made by combining nanometer-scale
particles of inorganic clays with polymers
►
►
►
Disadvantages
► Global
► Loss
Monetary Crisis (money is worthless)
of jobs (manufacturing, farming, etc)
► Oil Becomes worthless
► Diamonds become worthless
► Atomic weapons more accessible and destructive
► Biological warfare
► Health hazards
► Nano waste
Conclusion
Boon to the Human race .
Secure and fast future .
Must be handled carefully in sight of the
major disadvantages.