Nanotech gets its incredible potential from the unusual properties that materials sometimes exhibit at the nano-scale. That potential is a double-edged sword however -- we don't know very much about the toxicity of most nano-particles or how they interact with natural environments. This should, and is being studied.
At the same time nanotechnology promises new technologies that have the potential to address some of our most serious environmental problems. Nanowerk brings up a further use for nanotechnology -- to substitute for dangerous chemicals that are in use now.
The key to nanotechnology is that it allows us, to an extent, to rationally design our materials. This isn't a simple process but it holds the promise of allowing us to create new substances that can meet our needs without the often very serious drawbacks of conventional chemicals.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Nanotech BC Blog: Watch and Learn
Soft Machines led me to homunculus which in turn led me to Nano2Hybrids...
It's one thing to read about nanotechnology, but now you can watch it happening. Over the next three years Nano2Hybrids is going to be posting video diaries recording real experimental nanotechnology research.
Are you ready to see what science looks like? It might not be pretty...
Not quite ready for that? Brush up on the basics with the Top 10 things to know about nanotechnology.
It's one thing to read about nanotechnology, but now you can watch it happening. Over the next three years Nano2Hybrids is going to be posting video diaries recording real experimental nanotechnology research.
Are you ready to see what science looks like? It might not be pretty...
Not quite ready for that? Brush up on the basics with the Top 10 things to know about nanotechnology.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Nanotech BC Blog: Worm's Eye View
Watching new advances in nanotechnology come rolling in everyday is exciting -- but with all the single-molecule sensors and nano-wagon wheels, it's easy to loose sight of what "nanotechnology" means to the average consumer.
For anybody interested in a worm's eye view of nanotechnology, take a few minutes to go through the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. It's a consumer product inventory focused on nanotechnology.
Browsing the inventory is an educational experience, if only for the number of dubious claims you're likely to encounter. For a lot of products "nano" seems like magic, imparting remarkable qualities by virtue of association alone (Galaxia Nano Technology Limited Nano Cup Group Aerobics Living Supply Box.) There are also a lot of cases where limited nanotechnology, in the form of nano-particles like nano-silver is being used, even though there isn't yet a real sense of the long term health or safety consequences of some of these applications.
This is just a roundabout way of saying that nanotechnology is new and complicated. It takes time and patience to tell the snake-oil from the real medicine. Consumer groups play an important role in this process. It's also important for people to understand how really big (ironically enough) the word "nano" is -- encompassing a huge range of sciences, technologies and even particle types. Christine Peterson does a great job in today's Nanodot post of getting across how important it is for everybody, particularly consumers to recognize the variety within the nano lable.
For anybody interested in a worm's eye view of nanotechnology, take a few minutes to go through the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. It's a consumer product inventory focused on nanotechnology.
Browsing the inventory is an educational experience, if only for the number of dubious claims you're likely to encounter. For a lot of products "nano" seems like magic, imparting remarkable qualities by virtue of association alone (Galaxia Nano Technology Limited Nano Cup Group Aerobics Living Supply Box.) There are also a lot of cases where limited nanotechnology, in the form of nano-particles like nano-silver is being used, even though there isn't yet a real sense of the long term health or safety consequences of some of these applications.
This is just a roundabout way of saying that nanotechnology is new and complicated. It takes time and patience to tell the snake-oil from the real medicine. Consumer groups play an important role in this process. It's also important for people to understand how really big (ironically enough) the word "nano" is -- encompassing a huge range of sciences, technologies and even particle types. Christine Peterson does a great job in today's Nanodot post of getting across how important it is for everybody, particularly consumers to recognize the variety within the nano lable.
Monday, July 9, 2007
The Nanotech BC Blog: Nano-Agony and Nano-Ecstasy
It's not winning that counts, it's how you play the game.
The SFU team at the Nanogram division of the 2007 RoboCup ran into trouble with their plastic-based "Whirling Dervish" entry to the worlds smallest soccer competition. It seems the robot -- less than one-sixth the size of an amoeba -- didn't have the weight to move smoothly across the "field."
Complications notwithstanding, the nanogram soccer competition is succeeding admirably at its goals: raising nanotechnology's profile in a fun and exciting way, and providing proof of principal for more demanding future nanotechnology applications off the soccer field.
The SFU team at the Nanogram division of the 2007 RoboCup ran into trouble with their plastic-based "Whirling Dervish" entry to the worlds smallest soccer competition. It seems the robot -- less than one-sixth the size of an amoeba -- didn't have the weight to move smoothly across the "field."
Complications notwithstanding, the nanogram soccer competition is succeeding admirably at its goals: raising nanotechnology's profile in a fun and exciting way, and providing proof of principal for more demanding future nanotechnology applications off the soccer field.
Friday, July 6, 2007
The Nanotech BC Blog: Everyday I Write the Book
I keep stumbling upon great nanotech blogs:
Nanotechnology Development Blog -- articulate and wide ranging. I've only read the first four or five posts, but they seem to have a nice balance between research and business. It's definitely on my daily reading list from now on.
Blog-Nano: Nanoscale Materials and Nanotechnology -- I hadn't even gotten through the Weekly Round-up post before I linked to it. In particular I'm grateful for the link to SFU's grand achievement in fine-print: the Worlds Smallest Book. Here's a picture, but make sure you have your glasses (or a scanning electron microscope) handy.
Finally, I can't finish the week without linking to something a bit more mind expanding. Nanowerk has a great article about nanotechnology and neural interfaces. Nanotech is starting to blur the line between human and machine, raising questions that we need to start considering.
Nanotechnology Development Blog -- articulate and wide ranging. I've only read the first four or five posts, but they seem to have a nice balance between research and business. It's definitely on my daily reading list from now on.
Blog-Nano: Nanoscale Materials and Nanotechnology -- I hadn't even gotten through the Weekly Round-up post before I linked to it. In particular I'm grateful for the link to SFU's grand achievement in fine-print: the Worlds Smallest Book. Here's a picture, but make sure you have your glasses (or a scanning electron microscope) handy.
Finally, I can't finish the week without linking to something a bit more mind expanding. Nanowerk has a great article about nanotechnology and neural interfaces. Nanotech is starting to blur the line between human and machine, raising questions that we need to start considering.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The Nanotech BC Blog: Very Small Soccer
Under-20 is one thing; under a micron is something else. I've never been too interested in FIFA, but I'll be cheering for the Simon Fraser University team competing in the nanogram division of the 2007 RoboCup. Even the Vancouver Sun is following the game!
PhD Students Daniel Sameoto, See-Ho Tsang and Ian Foulds have developed a soccer team so small you need a scanning electron microscope to follow the action. Soccer might not be the first thing you think of when you hear "nanotechnology", but success on the playing field could be the first step to more significant applications in medicine, electronics and a wide range of other fields.
Go Canada!
PhD Students Daniel Sameoto, See-Ho Tsang and Ian Foulds have developed a soccer team so small you need a scanning electron microscope to follow the action. Soccer might not be the first thing you think of when you hear "nanotechnology", but success on the playing field could be the first step to more significant applications in medicine, electronics and a wide range of other fields.
Go Canada!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
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.
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.
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