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| Courtesy of wikipedia.org |
We live in a world of endless
possibilities. Every day we see new and amazing discoveries, events and
inventions. Science fiction becomes science fact faster and faster as we move
further into the 21st century. Everyone is always looking for the
“Next BIG Thing.” But what if the next
big thing is really very small. What I’m
talking about is the rapidly rising realm of nanotechnology. While the term has been around for a few
decades, the emergence of Nanotech onto the world stage has, to date been more
of a whimper than a bang. Well, all that
is set to change soon as the very tiny makes a quantum leap onto the world
stage. These tiny giants will have a bigger impact on your world than the birth
of the microcomputer.
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| Courtesy of wikipedia.org |
The Birth of Nanotech
As early as 1959, when
physicist Richard Feynman postulated that it might soon be possible to
manipulate individual atoms to create unique structures at the microscopic
level. However, it wasn’t until K. Eric Drexler’s 1986 book, “Engines of
Creation,” that Dr. Feynman’s dream of a billion tiny factories finally began
to take shape. The shape of Nanotech
innovation in the 1980’s was relegated to two researchers by the name of Don
Eigler and Erhard Schweizer, both of whom worked at IBM’s Almaden Research
Center, who arranged 35 xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo. While an
interesting parlor trick, the technique was nonetheless the harbinger of more
exotic constructions at
the molecular level.
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| Courtesy of wikipedia.org |
The 1990’s saw the
application of nanotechnology in everything from electronics and
pharmaceuticals, to textiles and communications. Still to the world at large, Nanotech was not
exactly a household word. Let’s be
honest, when Moungi Bawendi at MIT devised a method for controlled synthesis of
nanocrystals, otherwise known as quantum dots, he had hardly achieved the kind
of rock star status that Steve Jobs and Woz did when they introduced the Apple
II. Still, Bawendi and other
researcher’s progress did not go entirely unnoticed. Slow but steady progress was being made in
molecular manipulation. New
technologies, such as nanolithography were developed by 1999 that allowed the
writing of electronic circuits and the manufacturing of biomaterials used in
biological research.
The Presidents Give Nanotech a Boost
In 2000, Bill Clinton
gave a speech at Cal Tech where mentioned the infant Nanotech industry. "Some of our research
goals may take twenty or more years to achieve, but that is precisely why there
is an important role for the federal government."
During the same speech,
President Clinton also announced the founding of the National Nanotechnology
Initiative (NNI), during which he pledged $500 million in government
funding. When George Bush took the helm
as Commander in Chief, he signed into law the 21st Century
Nanotechnology research and Development Act, which increased the government’s
commitment to this initiative by pledging an additional $3.63 billion over 4
years.
Nanotechnology was soon introduced
to President Obama in a big way when a nanotechnology researcher at the
University of Michigan decided to immortalize the President by etching microscopic
copies of Barack Obama’s likeness on a metal substrate. The video
of this creation went viral when the “Nanobama’s” were published
online. Nanobama’s notwithstanding, the
President has continued to fund NNI to the tune of $1.5 billion in 2015.
Watch the video on YouTube
Early Nanotech Seemed Like Nano-Hype
While some new uses of Nanotech
saw the light of day during the first 10 years of the new millennium, including
the introduction of passive nanoparticles in disinfectants and sunscreen,
clothing and cosmetics, the promise of nanomachines far outstripped their
reality, causing some pundits such as David
Berube to wonder what all the Nano-Hype was all about.
According to Wikipedia, “His study concludes that much of what is
sold as “nanotechnology” is in fact a recasting of straightforward materials
science, which is leading to a “nanotech industry built solely on selling
nanotubes, nanowires, and the like” which will “end up with a few suppliers
selling low margin products in huge volumes." Further applications which
require actual manipulation or arrangement of nanoscale components await
further research. Though technologies branded with the term 'nano' are
sometimes little related to and fall far short of the most ambitious and
transformative technological goals of the sort in molecular manufacturing
proposals, the term still connotes such ideas. According to Berube, there may
be a danger that a "nano bubble" will form, or is forming already,
from the use of the term by scientists and entrepreneurs to garner funding,
regardless of interest in the transformative possibilities of more ambitious
and far-sighted work.”
Up until few years ago, the
naysayers had a point. While more
effective sunscreen had its place, where were the self-replicating nanobots
that everyone had long awaited? What
happened to Eric Drexler and Richard Feynman’s “Engines of Creation” that could
turn out nanites by the billions? Where
was the Nano-Beef?
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| Courtesy of wikipedia.org |
It’s Alive! Alive!
While whipping up a batch of
bacteria might not seem like an earth shattering accomplishment, bear in mind
that this was the first time in 4 billion years that anyone on the planet had
managed to create a living creature that was not only viable, but able to
reproduce. Armed with this knowledge, it
wasn’t long before other researchers applied the discovery to their own work.
Whether
you realize it or not, there are already a number of products on the market
that contain Nanotech elements, such as:
Paper
Batteries - http://www.engineering.com/Videos/VideoPlayer/tabid/4627/VideoId/1127/Nanotechnology-Breakthrough-Invention-Of-Paper-Battery.aspx
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| Courtesy of wikipedia.org/ |
Targeted
Pharmaceuticals - http://www.scribd.com/doc/270376215/Personalized-Medicine-Targeted-Therapeutics-and-Companion-Diagnostic-Market-to-2019
Nanofood
- http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2009/03/nanofood_safe_and_green_cuisine.html
The
next few years will see these tiny things becoming bigger and bigger players,
as the world as we know it is literally transformed from the inside out. At the same time these devices will also
become smaller and more capable of replicating and working (some say living) on
their own. These devices will radically change the world we live in. Are you
ready for this sea change?
Thanks
for taking the time to visit with us.
In
this article I have covered the evolution and the revolution that is Nano
technology. Nanotech as its call is already change our world in medicine, biology,
manufacturing and materials science. This article provide a wide overview and
many links so that the ready can grasp the magnitude of this sea change.
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If you’d like to learn more about the coming Nanotech revolution, check out this week’s Working the Web to Win radio show, where we will explore how something very small will soon be very BIG.
If
you found this article useful please share it with your friends, family and
co-works. If you would like to learn more about this subject, visit
the notes page on this blog for the BlogTalkRadio
show dated 7/7/2015. I recommend checking out "Birth of the Bionic Man" or "The Basics of Biohacking". You can also search
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It looks like are technology is starting to catch up to Star Trek
ReplyDeleteIt looks like are technology is starting to catch up to Star Trek
ReplyDeleteThis is just simply amazing.... it's hard to fathom how they work with something so small.
ReplyDelete