Nanotechnology ?
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Physicist Richard Feynman, the father of nanotechnology.Feynman described a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules. Over a decade later, in his explorations of ultraprecision machining, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology. It wasn't until 1981, with the development of the scanning tunneling microscope that could "see" individual atoms, that modern
nanotechnology began.
Nanotechnology is the science and technology of small things – in particular things that are less than 100nm in size. One nanometer is 10-9 meters or about 3 atoms long. For comparison, a human hair is about 60-80,000 nanometers wide.
There are many different views of precisely what is included in nanotechnology. In general , however, most agree that three things are important:
- Small size, measured in 100s of nanometers or less
- Unique properties because of the small size
- Control the structure and composition on the nm scale in order to control the properties.
One area of nanotechnology has been evolving for the last 40 years and is the source of the great microelectronics revolution- the techniques of micro- and nano-lithography and etching. This is sometimes call “top-down†nanotechnology. Here, small features are made by starting with larger materials and patterning and “carving down†to make nanoscale structure in precise patterns. Complex structures including microprocessors containing 100s of millions of precisely positioned nanostructures can be fabricated. Of all forms of nanotechnology, this is the most well established. Production machines for these techniques can cost millions of dollars and a full scale microprocessor factory can cost one billion dollars. In recent years, the same “top down†nanoprocessing techniques have enabled many non-electronic applications, including micromechanical. microptical, and microfluidic devices.
The other fundamentally different area of nanotechnology results from starting at the atomic scale and building up materials and structures , atom by atom. It is essentially molecular engineering- often called molecular or chemical nanotechnology. Here we are using the forces of nature to assemble nanostructures – the term “self assembly†is often used. Here, the forces of chemistry are in control and we have, at least to date, somewhat less flexibility in making arbitrary structures. The nanomaterials created this way ,however, have resulted in a number of consumer products. Significant advances are expected in the next decade in this area as we understand more completely the area of chemical nanotechnology.
APPLICAtions:
Medicine
Researchers are developing customized nanoparticles the size of
molecules that can deliver drugs directly to diseased cells in your body.
When it's perfected, this method should greatly reduce the damage treatment such
as chemotherapy does to a patient's healthy cells. Check out our
Nanotechnology Applications in Medicine
page to see how nanotechnology is being used in medicine.
Electronics
Nanotechnology holds some
answers for how we might increase the capabilities of electronics
devices while we reduce their weight and power consumption.
Check out our
Nanotechnology Applications in Electronics
page to see how nanotechnology is being used in electronics.
Food
Nanotechnology is having an impact on several
aspects of food science, from how food is grown to how it is packaged.
Companies are developing nanomaterials that will make a difference not only in
the taste of food, but also in food safety, and the health benefits that food delivers.
Check out our
Nanotechnology Applications
in
Food
page for the details.
Fuel Cells
Nanotechnology is being used to reduce the cost of
catalysts used in fuel cells to produce hydrogen ions from fuel such as
methanol and to improve the efficiency of
membranes used in fuel cells to separate hydrogen ions from other gases
such as oxygen. Check out our
Nanotechnology Applications in Fuel Cells page
for the details.
Solar Cells
Companies have developed nanotech solar cells that can be
manufactured at significantly lower cost than conventional solar cells. Check out our
Nanotechnology Applications in Solar Cells
page for the details.
Batteries
Companies are currently developing batteries using nanomaterials.
One such battery will be a good as new after sitting on the shelf for decades.
Another battery can be recharged significantly faster than conventional
batteries. Check our our
Nanotechnology Applications in Batteries
page for details.
Space
Nanotechnology may hold the key to making space-flight more practical.
Advancements in nanomaterials make lightweight spacecraft and a cable
for the space elevator possible. By significantly reducing the amount of rocket
fuel required, these advances could lower the cost of reaching orbit and
traveling in space. Check our Nanotechnology Applications
in Space page for details.
Fuels
Nanotechnology can address the shortage of fossil fuels such as diesel and
gasoline by making the production of fuels from low grade raw materials economical,
increasing the mileage of engines, and making the production of fuels from normal raw materials more efficient.
Check our Nanotechnology Applications in Fuels
page for details.
Better Air Quality
Nanotechnology can improve the performance of catalysts used to transform vapors
escaping from cars or industrial plants into harmless gasses. That's because
catalysts made from nanoparticles have a greater surface area to interact with
the reacting chemicals than catalysts made from larger particles. The larger
surface area allows more chemicals to interact with the catalyst simultaneously,
which makes the catalyst more effective.
Check our Nanotechnology and Air Quality
page for details.
Cleaner Water
Nanotechnology is being used to develop solutions to three very different
problems in water quality. One
challenge is the removal of industrial wastes, such as a cleaning solvent called
TCE, from groundwater. Nanoparticles can be used to convert the contaminating
chemical through a chemical reaction to make it harmless. Studies have shown
that this method can be used successfully to reach contaminates dispersed in
underground ponds and at much lower cost than methods which require pumping the
water out of the ground for treatment. Check out our
Nanotechnology and Water Quality
page for details.
Chemical Sensors
Nanotechnology can enable sensors to detect very small amounts of chemical vapors. Various types of detecting elements, such as carbon nanotubes, zinc oxide nanowires or palladium nanoparticles can be used in nanotechnology-based sensors. Because of the small size of nanotubes, nanowires, or nanoparticles, a few gas molecules are sufficient to change the electrical properties of the sensing elements. This allows the detection of a very low concentration of chemical vapors. Check out our Nanotechnology Applications in Chemical Sensors page for details.Sporting Goods
If you're a tennis or golf fan, you'll be glad to hear that even
sporting goods has wandered into the nano realm. Current nanotechnology
applications in the sports arena include increasing the strength of
tennis racquets, filling any imperfections in club shaft materials and
reducing the rate at which air leaks from tennis balls. Check out our
Nanotechnology Applications in Sporting
Goods page
for details.
Fabric
Making composite fabric with nano-sized particles or fibers allows improvement of fabric properties without a significant increase in weight, thickness, or stiffness as might have been the case with previously-used techniques. For details see our Nanotechnology in Fabrics page."The U.S. Nanotechnology community will come together to celebrate the first National Nanotechnology Day on October 9, 2016 (an homage to the nanometer scale, 10-9 meters). The annual event will serve as a day to inform the public about nanotechnology, to share the accomplishments of the industry and to promote the future possibilities and benefits nanotechnology offers."
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