What is Nanotechnology?
A basic definition: Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced.
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In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products.
The Meaning of Nanotechnology
When K. Eric Drexler popularized the word 'nanotechnology' in the 1980's, he was talking about building machines on the scale of molecules, a few nanometers wide—motors, robot arms, and even whole computers, far smaller than a cell. Drexler spent the next ten years describing and analyzing these incredible devices, and responding to accusations of science fiction. Meanwhile, mundane technology was developing the ability to build simple structures on a molecular scale. As nanotechnology became an accepted concept, the meaning of the word shifted to encompass the simpler kinds of nanometer-scale technology. The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative was created to fund this kind of nanotech: their definition includes anything smaller than 100 nanometers with novel properties. |
Much of the work being done today that carries the name 'nanotechnology' is not nanotechnology in the original meaning of the word. Nanotechnology, in its traditional sense, means building things from the bottom up, with atomic precision. This theoretical capability was envisioned as early as 1959 by the renowned physicist Richard Feynman.
I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . . The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big. — Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics.
How Nanotechnology Works
There's an unprecedented multidisciplinary convergence of scientists dedicated to the study of a world so small, we can't see it -- even with a light microscope. That world is the field of nanotechnology, the realm of atoms and nanostructures. Nanotechnology is so new; no one is really sure what will come of it. Even so, predictions range from the ability to reproduce things like diamonds and food to the world being devoured by self-replicating nanorobots.
In order to understand the unusual world of nanotechnology, we need to get an idea of the units of measure involved. A centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter, a millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter, and a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter, but all of these are still huge compared to the nanoscale. A nanometer (nm) is one-billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair
As small as a nanometer is, it's still large compared to the atomic scale. An atom has a diameter of about 0.1 nm. An atom's nucleus is much smaller -- about 0.00001 nm. Atoms are the building blocks for all matter in our universe. You and everything around you are made of atoms. Nature has perfected the science of manufacturing matter molecularly. For instance, our bodies are assembled in a specific manner from millions of living cells. Cells are nature's nanomachines. At the atomic scale, elements are at their most basic level. On the nanoscale, we can potentially put these atoms together to make almost anything.
Four Generations
Mihail (Mike) Roco of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative has described four generations of nanotechnology development (Refer to the chart below). The current era, as Roco depicts it, is that of passive nanostructures, materials designed to perform one task. The second phase, which we are just entering, introduces active nanostructures for multitasking; for example, actuators, drug delivery devices, and sensors. The third generation is expected to begin emerging around 2010 and will feature nanosystems with thousands of interacting components. A few years after that, the first integrated nanosystems, functioning (according to Roco) much like a mammalian cell with hierarchical systems within systems, are expected to be developed.
Some experts may still insist that nanotechnology can refer to measurement or visualization at the scale of 1-100 nanometers, but a consensus seems to be forming around the idea (put forward by the NNI's Mike Roco) that control and restructuring of matter at the nanoscale is a necessary element. CRN's definition is a bit more precise than that, but as work progresses through the four generations of nanotechnology leading up to molecular nanosystems, which will include molecular manufacturing, we think it will become increasingly obvious that "engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale" is what nanotech is really all about.
Conflicting Definitions
Unfortunately, conflicting definitions of nanotechnology and blurry distinctions between significantly different fields have complicated the effort to understand the differences and develop sensible, effective policy.
General-Purpose Technology
Nanotechnology is sometimes referred to as a general-purpose technology. That's because in its advanced form it will have significant impact on almost all industries and all areas of society. It will offer better built, longer lasting, cleaner, safer, and smarter products for the home, for communications, for medicine, for transportation, for agriculture, and for industry in general.
Dual-Use Technology
Like electricity or computers before it, nanotech will offer greatly improved efficiency in almost every facet of life. But as a general-purpose technology, it will be dual-use, meaning it will have many commercial uses and it also will have many military uses—making far more powerful weapons and tools of surveillance. Thus it represents not only wonderful benefits for humanity, but also grave risks.
A key understanding of nanotechnology is that it offers not just better products, but a vastly improved manufacturing process. A computer can make copies of data files—essentially as many copies as you want at little or no cost. It may be only a matter of time until the building of products becomes as cheap as the copying of files. That's the real meaning of nanotechnology, and why it is sometimes seen as "the next industrial revolution."
Exponential Proliferation
Nanotechnology not only will allow making many high-quality products at very low cost, but it will allow making new nanofactories at the same low cost and at the same rapid speed. This unique (outside of biology, that is) ability to reproduce its own means of production is why nanotech is said to be an exponential technology. It represents a manufacturing system that will be able to make more manufacturing systems—factories that can build factories—rapidly, cheaply, and cleanly. The means of production will be able to reproduce exponentially, so in just a few weeks a few nanofactories conceivably could become billions. It is a revolutionary, transformative, powerful, and potentially very dangerous—or beneficial—technology.
How soon will all this come about? Conservative estimates usually say 20 to 30 years from now, or even much later than that.
However, CRN is concerned that it may occur sooner, quite possibly within the next decade. This is because of the rapid progress being made in enabling technologies, such as optics, nanolithography, mechanochemistry and 3D prototyping. If it does arrive that soon, we may not be adequately prepared, and the consequences could be severe.
Frequently Asked Questions |
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Q: What are the expected benefits of nanotechnologies for consumers and society as a whole?
A: The applications of nanotechnologies are expected to bring everyday benefits for consumers through new products, novel health applications and reduced environmental impacts. Applications already appearing include improved materials and surfaces, information and communication technologies, medical diagnostics, therapeutic tools, textiles, household products and so forth.
Q: Why are nanotechnologies important for the economy, industry and job creation?
A: Nanotechnologies are pervasive enabling technologies with far-reaching effects. They are expected to help address many problems facing today's society. They are also expected to provide a new competitive edge to European industry and to the European economy as a whole, and to contribute to job creation. Market analysts foresee a world market for nanotechnologies worth EUR 750-2000 billion by 2015, and estimate that 10 million nano-related jobs will be created by 2014, i.e. 10% of all manufacturing jobs world-wide. The Commission expects nanotechnologies to contribute directly to the revised Lisbon Strategy, including to the competitiveness of the European industry.
Q: What are the expected benefits of nanotechnologies for the environment?
A: Nanosciences and nanotechnologies can contribute to a more sustainable use of natural resources, due to processing and production systems that use energy and raw materials more efficiently. Substitution of certain environmentally harmful materials (e.g. lubricants) could be possible. The development of nanotechnology-based remediation methods may in the future help clean up environmental damage and pollution. Research in energy efficiency, production and storage (e.g. through novel catalysts and more efficient solar panels), lightweight materials and modern insulation construction materials may likewise contribute to climate change mitigation.
Q: What are the potential risks of nanomaterials to human health and the environment?
A: Because nanomaterials exhibit novel properties, they may expose humans and the environment to new risks. To identify the potential risks created by nanomaterials in specific applications, the Commission is relying on advice from the Scientific Committees and Panels of the European Community.
In its 2006 opinion, the Scientific Committee for Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) stated that although the existing toxicological and ecotoxicological methods are appropriate to assess many of the hazards associated with the products and processes involving nanoparticles, they may not be sufficient to address all the hazards. Current risk assessment procedures therefore need to be modified to take account of nanoparticles. The SCENIHR also identified the main gaps in the knowledge necessary for risk assessment.
Advantages on NanoTechnology:
NanoTechnology lets us make almost every manufactured product faster, lighter, stronger, smarter, safer and cleaner, and even more presice. We can already see many of the possibilities as these few examples illustrate.
New products that solve new problems in new ways are more difficult to foresee, yet their impact is likely to be even greater. In not many years, we are going to be able to manufacture products with almost every atom in its right place, without much of a big cost. (As for example, continue the revolution form computer hardware, to gates and wires; very light and strong materials, as diamonds of the precise shape we want, being less heavier than a piece of steel of the same length; cars that weight 50 kg, full sized sofas that could be picked up with one hand; and surgical instruments as to operate cells and even molecules!)
Disadvantages on NanoTechnology:
- The biggest disadvantage is that NanoTechnology is actually VERY expensive, so not everyone can buy it or afford it.
- The manufacturing cost is very high because the product is fully made of molecules.
- The initial investment is very high. If a failure of product means there is lot of loss. So it takes full of risk.
- The damage of the Nanotechnology product may cause not recover the original product. There is a maintenance cost is high.
Many more things will be developed, but this will take a while. While some advances are made through serendipitous accidents or a flash of insight, others require more work. It seems unlikely that a scientist would forget to turn off the Bunsen burner in his lab one afternoon and return to find he’d accidentally made a Space Shuttle.
Like the first human landing on the moon, the Manhattan project, or the development of the modern computer, the development of molecular manufacturing will require the coordinated efforts of many people for many years. How long will it take? A lot depends on when we start.
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