Nanotechnology

When I say, “Scientific Revolutions of the twenty-first century” do you automatically think of nanotechnology? If you don’t, well, you better change your way of thinking because advancements in nanotechnology has dramatically increased in the past few years.

Nanotechnology is the study, understanding, and control of matter on the nanoscale. The nanoscale ranges roughly between one and one-hundred nanometers. Matter on the nanoscale is smaller than micro organisms. To give you some examples, human hair is between 60 – 120k nm and red blood cells are between 2 -5k nm.

So what’s so interesting about nanotechnology? What’s interesting is that, “Unusual physical, chemical, and biological properties can emerge in materials at the nanoscale. These properties may differ in important ways from the properties of bulk materials and single atoms or molecules.” (http://www.nano.gov/index.html). Basically, with the right technology scientists are able to change the properties of elements at the nanoscale or even create their own molecules by building them up, atom by atom.

We are already starting to see nanotech appear in commercial consumer products today. Some common nanotech items include; sunscreen that gives extra UV protection, faster recharging batteries, lightweight tennis rackets, longer lasting rubber tennis balls, stain resistant clothing, odor “eating” socks, circuitry in cell phones and other electronic devices. Basically, the idea is that just about everything can be enhanced by some sort of nanotechnology whether it’s making materials stronger, sturdier, lighter, more conductive, more flexible, or even more reactive.

Nanotechnology in non-commercial fields is rapidly advancing as well. Government and military research facilities have recently been developing groundbreaking nanotechnology. The Air Force Research Laboratory has developed nickel nanofibers that can be added to paints, adhesives, polymers, and ceramics to make materials lightning-proof. This weather protection will possibly be applied to all aircrafts and vehicles in the near future. In addition to that, the AFRL has created flexible silicone circuit board electronics. They accomplished this by changing the properties of silicone on the nanoscale. These flexible electronics are some of the worlds fastest to date and are the most damage resistant. The flexible electronics and circuit boards are currently only for satellite use. They are meant to be lightweight, compact, and undamageable by vibration.

Of course, there are going to be several risks and dangers involved when dealing with nanotechnology. It’s a relatively new field and nobody is really certain of the effects nanoparticles and materials will have on the human body. Many believe that stray nanoparticles from products on the market today can cause Morgellens disease. Morgellens is a reoccurring skin irritation that causes stinging, crawling, or biting sensations in selective areas.

Just about every scientific advancement has its own science fiction apocalyptic theory. For nanotech, the Grey Goo is what spells disaster for the human race. The Grey Goo theory is the theory that self-replicating nanobots will reprogram themselves to eat carbon. Thus, devour everything on the face of the earth. Luckily, for us, self replicating nanobots do not exist yet.

So when I say, “Scientific revolutions of the twenty-first century” Hopefully nanotechnology will pop into your head. And if for some reason it doesn’t, click the links in this article such as, “THIS ONE” or, “THIS ONE” or the links previously seeded in the text above until your brain is so full of information about nanotechnology that when asked questions completely unrelated to this subject, like, “What time is it?” or, “Where’s the beef?” you will think nothing but thoughts of nanotech.

Works Cited

Miracle, Daniel. "Dr. Daniel B. Miracle." AFRL Nanoscience Technologies (Applications, Transistions, and Innovations) 01-15. Web. 4 Nov 2009. www.nano.gov/AFRLNanobooklet.pdf>.

"What is Nanotechnology?". Center for Responsible Nanotechnology. 11/04/09 .

"Research Home." National Nanotechnology Initiative. US Government, Web. 4 Nov 2009. www.nano.gov/index.html>.

"Grey Goo". Wikipedia. 11/04/09 .