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Table of Contents
1
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 2
Nanotechnology.............................................................................................................................. 2
2.1
What is nanotechnology?....................................................................................................... 2
2.2
2.3
Limitations.............................................................................................................................. 5
Conclusions.................................................................................................................................... 6
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................... 7
1 Introduction
This report is being written to investigate the properties, benefits and potential
uses of nanotechnology. Modern nanotechnology is a relatively new science, with
its origins based on the development of the scanning tunnelling microscope
which enabled scientists to see individual atoms for the first time ever in 1981.
It is now an accepted technology and used in a wide variety of fields including
medicine, the games industry, the manufacturing industries and clothing
production. This report will first analyse what nanotechnology is and how it
started, before detailing the current and potential uses and how they weigh up
against its limitations.
2 Nanotechnology
2.1
What is nanotechnology?
The terms nanotechnology or nanoscience include any work that involves the
moving or manipulation of the individual atoms of a material. Clearly it is
impossible to see an atom with the human eye which is why nanotechnology
wasnt formally a science until the invention of really good microscopes like the
scanning tunnelling microscope and the atomic force microscope. These scopes
enabled scientists to see nano-particles (atoms) for the first time and
furthermore, to start actually manipulating them. Humans have actually been
manipulating atoms to change the properties of its material for centuries;
however it is only relatively recently that they realised and started observing the
process. For example, artists as far back as the 16 th century would create stained
glass windows using processes that actually changed the atomic composition of
the materials they were using, they just didnt realise it.
The nanoscale is defined as anything with at least 1 dimension that measures
between 1 and 100 nanometres. Anything bigger than that is on the micro scale
and anything smaller is on the atomic scale. In the SI system, a nano is 10 -9.
Therefore a nanometre is 10-9 metres or 1 billionth of a metre. An atom is
actually roughly 0.1nm in diameter and the atoms nucleus a tiny 0.00001nm
diameter! Below are some examples of how big some common items are
compared to a nanometre.
Item
DNA
Red Blood Cell
Strand of Hair
Head of a Pin
Number of Nanometres
2.5nm diameter
2,500nm diameter
100,000nm diameter
1,000,000nm diameter
2.2
The potential advancement of human life using nanotechnology is vast and not
yet completely chartered. There are many things the greatest scientists and
engineers still dont know. What we do know is that using nanotechnology we
can create new materials with enhanced properties over existing materials.
Materials that are stronger, lighter, more flexible or much harder.
An example of this is the carbon nanotube. A single layer of carbon atoms when
folded creates new bonds and, more importantly, a new type of structure with its
fellow carbon atoms. Different structures are created by folding (or rolling) the
tube in a different manner which then give the new materials new properties.
With the right arrangement of atoms, you can create a carbon nanotube that's
hundreds of times stronger than steel, but six times lighter (HowStuffWorks,
2014).
In the future, engineers hope to make new materials out of such nanostructures
which would enhance the transport industry alone by creating lighter and
stronger vehicles to increase fuel efficiency and passenger safety.
Another use currently being explored for nanotubes is as semi-conductors. Being
able to build even tinier transistors to power modern integrated circuits will lead
to more processing power and more memory in the same space for home
computing. Currently, intel are planning to release integrated circuits containing
transistors that are only 10nm wide to general manufactures and retailers by
2016 and plan to halve that to 5nm by 2020!
Below is a table showing some products already on the market that have been
enhanced by nanotechnology.
Self-Cleaning
Glass
Sun Cream
Clothing
Some scientists have even theorized that once we create nano-machines that
can assemble different atoms together on command (by computer) we will be
able to create anything from anything. Of course even if one nano-machine (or
nano-bot) could piece together many atoms per second it would still take millions
of years to create anything life-sized. The theory continues to state that if 1
nano-bot was created and instructed to recreate itself, then those two nano-bots
were instructed to recreate themselves again and so on, they would expand at
an exponential rate and soon be able to work collaboratively to create life-sized
items in realistic timescales. Although these are only theories (that many
discount), if they were proved true, they could spell the end of famine, disease,
poverty and even genetic disabilities.
2.3
Limitations
3 Conclusions
In conclusion, the potential for nanotechnology is absolutely huge, however, so
are the associated risks if not correctly researched and precautions put into
place. Nanotechnology is a quickly expanding field of research backed by
scientists, engineers and educational bodies collaboratively and, in the future,
could serve as a viable answer to world poverty and the renewable energy race.
The successful development of nanotechnology relies upon careful research into
each potential application and by studying the physics and quantum mechanical
properties of each material to ascertain the potential risk to health and
ecological environments before recklessly pursuing the new technologies.
4 Bibliography
Bonsor, K. & Strickland, J., 2014. How Nanotechnology Works [online]. Atlanta,
GA: HowStuffWorks. Available from:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.htm [Accessed 02/10/14]
NNI1, 2014. What Is Nanotechnology? [online]. Arlington, VA: NNI. Available from:
http://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition [Accessed 02/10/14].
Pheonix, C. & Treder, M., 2003. Safe Utilization of advanced nanotechnology
[online]. Virtual2: CRN3. Available from: http://www.crnano.org/safe.htm
[Accessed 02/10/14].
1 National Nanotechnology Initiative
2 A no bricks or mortar company. A company that is fully virtualised and online with no physical or geographical location.
3 Center for Responsible Nanotechnology