Nanotechnology
What is Nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is a field of research and innovation concerned with building 'things' - generally, materials and devices - on the scale of atoms and molecules. A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre: ten times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. The diameter of a human hair is, on average, 80,000 nanometres. At such scales, the ordinary rules of physics and chemistry no longer apply. For instance, materials' characteristics, such as their colour, strength, conductivity and reactivity, can differ substantially between the nanoscale and the macro. Carbon 'nanotubes' are 100 times stronger than steel but six times lighter.
What Can Nanotechnology Do?
Nanotechnology is hailed as having the potential to increase the efficiency of energy consumption, help clean the environment, and solve major health problems. It is said to be able to massively increase manufacturing production at significantly reduced costs. Products of nanotechnology will be smaller, cheaper, lighter yet more functional and require less energy and fewer raw materials to manufacture, claim nanotech advocates.
What are the Experts Saying About Nanotechnology?
In June 1999, Richard Smalley, Nobel laureate in chemistry, addressed the US House Committee on Science on the benefits of nanotechnology. "The impact of nanotechnology on the health, wealth, and lives of people," he said, "will be at least the equivalent of the combined influences of microelectronics, medical imaging, computer-aided engineering and man-made polymers developed in this century
Concerns About Possible Effects on Human and Environmental Health
Others, however, are as cautious as Smalley is enthusiastic. Eric Drexler, the scientist who coined the term nanotechnology, has warned of developing "extremely powerful, extremely dangerous technologies". In his book Engines of Creation, Drexler envisioned that self-replicating molecules created by humans might escape our control. Although this theory has been widely discredited by researchers in the field, many concerns remain regarding the effects of nanotechnology on human and environmental health as well as the effect the new industry could have on the North-South divide. Activists worry that the science and development of nanotechnology will progress faster than policy-makers can devise appropriate regulatory measures. They say an informed debate must take place to determine the balance between risks and benefits.
The Global Market for Nanotechnology Products
Given the promise of nanotechnology, the race is on to harness its potential - and to profit from it. Many governments believe nanotechnology will bring about a new era of productivity and wealth, and this is reflected by the way public investment in nanotechnology research and development has risen during the past decade. In 2002, Japan was dedicating US$750 million a year to the field, a six-fold increase on the 1997
Effects of Nanotechnology on Health and Sanitation
Nanotechnology is already useful as a tool in health care research. In January 2005, researchers at the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology used 'optical tweezers' - pairs of tiny glass beads are brought together or moved apart using laser beams - to study the elasticity of red blood cells that are infected with the malaria parasite (see Tiny tools tackle malaria). The technique is helping researchers to better understand how malaria spreads through the body.
Nanotechnology is a field of research and innovation concerned with building 'things' - generally, materials and devices - on the scale of atoms and molecules. A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre: ten times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. The diameter of a human hair is, on average, 80,000 nanometres. At such scales, the ordinary rules of physics and chemistry no longer apply. For instance, materials' characteristics, such as their colour, strength, conductivity and reactivity, can differ substantially between the nanoscale and the macro. Carbon 'nanotubes' are 100 times stronger than steel but six times lighter.
What Can Nanotechnology Do?
Nanotechnology is hailed as having the potential to increase the efficiency of energy consumption, help clean the environment, and solve major health problems. It is said to be able to massively increase manufacturing production at significantly reduced costs. Products of nanotechnology will be smaller, cheaper, lighter yet more functional and require less energy and fewer raw materials to manufacture, claim nanotech advocates.
What are the Experts Saying About Nanotechnology?
In June 1999, Richard Smalley, Nobel laureate in chemistry, addressed the US House Committee on Science on the benefits of nanotechnology. "The impact of nanotechnology on the health, wealth, and lives of people," he said, "will be at least the equivalent of the combined influences of microelectronics, medical imaging, computer-aided engineering and man-made polymers developed in this century
Concerns About Possible Effects on Human and Environmental Health
Others, however, are as cautious as Smalley is enthusiastic. Eric Drexler, the scientist who coined the term nanotechnology, has warned of developing "extremely powerful, extremely dangerous technologies". In his book Engines of Creation, Drexler envisioned that self-replicating molecules created by humans might escape our control. Although this theory has been widely discredited by researchers in the field, many concerns remain regarding the effects of nanotechnology on human and environmental health as well as the effect the new industry could have on the North-South divide. Activists worry that the science and development of nanotechnology will progress faster than policy-makers can devise appropriate regulatory measures. They say an informed debate must take place to determine the balance between risks and benefits.
The Global Market for Nanotechnology Products
Given the promise of nanotechnology, the race is on to harness its potential - and to profit from it. Many governments believe nanotechnology will bring about a new era of productivity and wealth, and this is reflected by the way public investment in nanotechnology research and development has risen during the past decade. In 2002, Japan was dedicating US$750 million a year to the field, a six-fold increase on the 1997
Effects of Nanotechnology on Health and Sanitation
Nanotechnology is already useful as a tool in health care research. In January 2005, researchers at the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology used 'optical tweezers' - pairs of tiny glass beads are brought together or moved apart using laser beams - to study the elasticity of red blood cells that are infected with the malaria parasite (see Tiny tools tackle malaria). The technique is helping researchers to better understand how malaria spreads through the body.
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