Nanotechnology

nanotechnology Nanotechnology is engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers current work and concepts that are more advanced. In its original sense, nanotechnology refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up. nanotechnology
nanotechnology IBM's nanotechnology research aims to devise new atomic- and molecular-scale structures and devices for enhancing information technologies, as well as discover and understand their scientific foundations. Leading the development of nanotechnology, IBM's scientists have made numerous breakthroughs in the study of these nano-scale technologies. In particular, carbon nanotubes and scanning probes derived from the atomic force microscope -- cousin of the scanning tunneling microscope -- show particular promise in enabling dramatically improved circuits and data storage devices. Research on nanoparticles leads to applications in biomedicine as well as hard disk drive storage. Photonic bandgap materials -- on-chip nanoscale structures the size of a wavelength of light -- will manipulate light as optical waveguides, splitters and routers. Research into nanomechanical information storage, such as IBM's Millipede project, continues to increase the possibilities for increased areal storage density.
nanotechnologyIBM's research into nano-scale structures that self-assemble may one day obviate the need to "hand-position" atoms. Nanotechnology will allow the design and control of the structure of an object on all length scales, from the atomic to the macroscopic enabling more efficient and vastly less expensive manufacturing processes and providing the hardware foundation for future information technology. nanotechnology
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"Nanotechnology is an area which has highly promising prospects for turning fundamental research into successful innovations. Not only to boost the competitiveness of our industry but also to create new products that will make positive changes in the lives of our citizens, be it in medicine, environment, electronics or any other field."
(European Commissioner for Science & Research, Janez Poto?nik)
Nanotechnology comprises technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0.1 to 100 nm (1/1,000 ?m, or 1/1,000,000 mm). A possible way to interpret this size is to take the width of a hair, and imagine something ten thousand times smaller. The term has sometimes been applied to microscopic technology.
Nanotechnology is any technology which exploits phenomena and structures that can only occur at the nanometer scale, which is the scale of several atoms and small molecules. The United States' National Nanotechnology Initiative website defines it as follows: "Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications." Such phenomena include quantum confinement--which can result in different electromagnetic and optical properties of a material between nanoparticles and the bulk material; the Gibbs-Thomson effect--which is the lowering of the melting point of a material when it is nanometers in size; and such structures as carbon nanotubes.
Source: wikipedia.org

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History of nanotechnology

The first mention of some of the distinguishing concepts in nanotechnology (but predating use of that name) was in "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. Feynman described a process by which the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed, using one set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, so on down to the needed scale. In the course of this, he noted, scaling issues would arise from the changing magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would become less important, surface tension and Van der Waals attraction would become more important, etc. This basic idea appears feasible, and exponential assembly enhances it with parallelism to produce a useful quantity of end products.
The term "nanotechnology" was defined by Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi in a 1974 paper (N. Taniguchi, "On the Basic Concept of 'Nano-Technology'," Proc. Intl. Conf. Prod. Eng. Tokyo, Part II, Japan Society of Precision Engineering, 1974.) as follows: "'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule." In the 1980s the basic idea of this definition was explored in much more depth by Dr. Eric Drexler, who promoted the technological significance of nano-scale phenomena and devices through speeches and the books Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology and Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation, (ISBN 0-471-57518-6), and so the term acquired its current sense.
More broadly, nanotechnology includes the many techniques used to create structures at a size scale below 100 nm, including those used for fabrication of nanowires, those used in semiconductor fabrication such as deep ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam machining, nanoimprint lithography, atomic layer deposition, and molecular vapor deposition, and further including molecular self-assembly techniques such as those employing di-block copolymers. It should be noted, however, that all of these techniques preceded the nanotech era, and are extensions in the development of scientific advancements rather than techniques which were devised with the sole purpose of creating nanotechnology or which were results of nanotechnology research.
Technologies currently branded with the term 'nano' are little related to and fall far short of the most ambitious and transformative technological goals of the sort in molecular manufacturing proposals, but the term still connotes such ideas. Thus there may be a danger that a "nano bubble" will form from the use of the term by scientists and entrepreneurs to garner funding, regardless of (and perhaps despite a lack of) interest in the transformative possibilities of more ambitious and far-sighted work. The diversion of support based on the promises of proposals like molecular manufacturing to more mundane projects also risks creating a perhaps unjustifiedly cynical impression of the most ambitious goals: an investor intrigued by molecular manufacturing who invests in 'nano' only to find typical materials science advances result might conclude that the whole idea is hype, unable to appreciate the bait-and-switch made possible by the vagueness of the term. On the other hand, some have argued that the publicity and competence in related areas generated by supporting such 'soft nano' projects is valuable, even if indirect, progress towards nanotechnology's most ambitious goals.
Source: wikipedia.org

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Potential benefits

Nanotechnology covers a wide range of industries, and therefore the potential benefits are also widespread. Telecommunications and Information technology could benefit in terms of faster computers and advanced data storage. Healthcare could see improvements in skin care and protection, advanced pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems, biocompatible materials, nerve and tissue repair, and cancer treatments. Other industries benefits include catalysts, sensors and magnetic materials and devices.
Potential risks

For the near-term, critics of nanotechnology point to the potential toxicity of new classes of nanosubstances that could adversely affect the stability of cell membranes or disturb the immune system when inhaled, digested or absorbed through the skin. Objective risk assessment can profit from the bulk of experience with long-known microscopic materials like carbon soot or asbestos fibres. Nanoparticles in the environment could potentially accumulate in the food chain. [3] An often cited worst-case scenario is "grey goo", a hypothetical substance into which the surface objects of the earth might be transformed by self-replicating nanobots running amok.(Due to recent suggestions, this case has been proven as "impossible".) Societal risks from the use of nanotechnology have also been raised, such as hypothetical nanotech weapons (e.g. a nanomachine which consumed the rubber in tires would quickly disable many vehicles), and in the creation of undetectable surveillance capabilities.
Source: wikipedia.org

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