The Nanotech BC Blog: Enabling the Enabling Technology

At Nanodot Christine Peterson briefly raises the issue of advanced software and its implications for nanotechnology. She rightly points out that nanotechnology with real molecules is difficult and expensive. The alternative is computer simulations.

Right now though even the most powerful computers are struggling to fold proteins -- the complexities of nanotechnology highlight the leap we are going to need in computing power in order to accurately model nanotech.

In her post Ms. Peterson refers to AI and the Singularity Summit, but there is no reason that AI has to be part of the ability to model nanotechnology. Perhaps the most promising means of bringing computing power to the necessary level doesn't involve AI: quantum computing.

Quantum computing is spooky stuff -- using the quantum features like superposition and entanglement to do computations that are impossible any other way. Quantum computing is farther along than most people think; D-Wave, the worlds first private quantum computing company is alive and well in British Columbia and they are well aware of how their work could accelerate nanotechnology in powerful ways.

The Nanotech BC Blog: The More Things Change...

Maybe Charles Babbage was onto something...

Computers have become so integrated into our lives that it's sometimes easy to forget how much energy is required to keep them going. Silicon chips use a lot of power and Nanowerk has a great article today on the consequences of that energy use:

...about 200 billion kWh of electricity a year used by computers.... That means that generating the electricity for using 1 billion computers will release some 128 million tonnes of CO₂ (280 billion pounds) into the air.

Maybe we can find the way forward by looking backwards.

Dr. Robert Blick at the University of Wisconsin is developing nanomechanical computational devices -- chips that sacrifice a degree of speed but in return are vastly superior to silicon in terms of energy consumption and robustness. Soft Machines adds to the discussion and distinguishes Dr. Blick's work from Eric Drexler's rod logic.

The Nanotech BC Blog: Aim for where the Target is Going to Be

Two interesting recent posts from the Nanotechnology Development Blog.

First, they mention how nanotechnology is being used to develop "green" packaging. By adding nanoparticles to the bioplastic Plolylactic acid (PLA), bags made from it become stronger while still maintaining their transparency. The great thing about PLA bags is that they are made from corn, biodegradable and require less energy to create than conventional plastic bags. A few fewer plastic bags in the world might not seem like a big deal -- but it is.

The other post that I thought was interesting was about the increasing demand for Electron Microscopes. Apparently the spiraling decent of semiconductors to the nano-scale is making Electron Microscopes essential for product inspection. This should really have been an easy trend to predict.

Here's a prediction of my own -- a lot of money is going to be made by companies that take the adoption of nanotechnology as a given, and position themselves to provide goods or services that make that adoption easier.

The Nanotech BC Blog: 3 Views of the Nanotech Mountain

Long View:

Nanoscale memory devices made of quantum dots and viruses -- could lead to disease treating nanorobots.

Short View:

Simple magnet can control the color of a liquid through affecting nano-particles of iron oxide -- could lead to new display screens and electronic paper and ink.

Panoramic View:

NanoArt -- science, technology, photography and sculpture; beautiful snapshots of the nanoworld.

The Nanotech BC Blog: Why Stretching Matters

Perhaps the most surprising recent story in consumer electronics is the phenomenal success of Nintendo's Wii. Overpowered by Microsofts X-Box and Sony's Playstation 3, the Wii has none the less been flying off the shelves since it was introduced -- all because of an intuitive, candy-bar shaped controller and the fact that Nintendo understands a truth that too often gets lost: The way we interact with technology is just as important as technology itself.

Tech companies are starting to realize that faster and cheaper are no longer enough -- usefulness is king. Unfortunately, that often turns out to be extremely difficult because many of the materials that are central to electronics don't lend themselves to the kind of flexible use that our lives demand.

Nanotechnology may be the solution to this problem. By altering materials at the nano-scale it's becoming possible to create new capabilities in crucial materials. Physorg.com reports on advances in stretchable silicon. Advances like these beg the question, what could we do with computers in gloves or cloths or blankets? What would the ability to break computing power out of the boxes it's locked in mean to our everyday lives? Nanotechnology may be the key to finding out.