New Materials May Emerge Solely to Support Nanotechnology

Self-assembling materials may require new directions in materials development. One of the most amazing advancements in nanotechnology is the ability to engineer materials to self-assemble into new materials or add new attributes.  The ability of certain molecules to bond in planned ways with others and produce new materials is at the cutting edge of nanotechnology product development, and will probably remain there for some time to come.

One-by-one assembly of nano-scale devices is practically useless for most applications. The assembly of nano-scale devices on a one-by-one basis yields so few of the devices that it has little practical use except in research.  To make practical use of nanotechnology devices it is necessary to make them in enormous numbers and, so far, self-assembly seems the only option.  Inventing new materials with applications in self assembly could be one of the next big directions in science.

A key direction for advancement is in the mastery of self assembly at larger scales. While nanotechnology products are currently limited mostly to coatings and special materials, the promise of micro-scale and larger devices being produced by self assembly is great.  After all, every living thing is an instance of self assembly.  While we are a long way from creating life forms, this hints at amazing advances in functionality for the devices we will create.

New materials that can be used in self-assembly processes could gain major importance. Materials that previously had no useful application may turn out to have potential as catalysts of self assembly, or as supporting materials in self assembly processes.  Devices larger than nano scale might be self-assembled in fluid suspensions, and the fluids involved may be new to us, for example.  Chemistry and physics will be key disciplines in the pursuit of commercial viable self assembly processes, and the results will be exciting.

As always, I welcome your comments.  – Tim

Interesting Information:
Self Assembly and Nanotechnology,  George M. Whitesides, Department of Chemistry, Harvard University

Can a Video Screen Be Painted on Using Nanotechnology?

Combining the ideas of wi-fi, nanotechnology, microtechnology, and optics could produce a video screen that can be painted on a surface in layers that will then self-assemble into operating, light-producing video screens.  Perhaps each pixel could be a tiny nanobot incorporating one or more colors of LED that it can turn on and off.  Energy can be derived from a gel or circulating liquid bath (with the added advantage of cooling the nanobots).  The controls to make each nanobot turn its light sources on and off can be implemented through data-encoded near infrared light so as to be invisible.  Such a light might provide an energy source to the pixelbots as well.  Could a modulated light source transmit enough data to address each nanobot individually  and pass control information quickly enough for the whole screen assembly to produce real-time video?

We Are Nanotechnology

All life is composed of nanotechnology. From the original molecular structures that developed the ability to replicate themselves a billion or more years ago to the most sophisticated life forms, we all have resulted from an evolutionary process that started with, and uses at every level, nanotechnology concepts.  Life started at nano-scale, and a huge majority of all life forms, the greatest bio-diversity, still exists at nano-scale.

Could Nanotechnology-Enhanced Fabrics Yield High-Tech Clothing?

High-tech clothing could help us save energy in the future. Could nanotechnology be used to create fabrics that modify their insulating or heat-transferring capabilities on demand?   Clothing already exists with built in solar cells and connections to charge one’s cell phone or MP3 player.  In the future, though, saving energy on our biggest uses such as home heating will be important, and clothing that allows us to turn down the thermostat could be a great application for nanotechnology.

Future Nanotechnology Could Change Warfare in Places Like the Pakistani-Afghani Mountains

What future military equipment might succeed in the mountains on the Afghan-Pakistani border? Why has Osama Bin Laden been able to successfully hide for years in the mountains on the Afghani-Pakistan border?  Modern military equipment and strategies have failed in this rugged environment, first for the Russians and more recently for the U.S. Can a new high technology approach be devised, incorporating nanotechnology, that will enable the capture of Osama Bin Laden and his Al Quaida commanders? It may take years more, but the technology and strategy to carry out difficult operations like this are not far in the future.

Nanotechnology Has Amazing Implications for Surveillance Industry

Could there soon be spy devices too small to easily detect? Imagine microscopic (or nanoscopic?) “bugs” that could be planted on a person through their food, inhaled, or sprayed on their clothes, and which would travel in their blood stream or hide in their hair or pores, transmitting audio or vital signs to nearby data collectors, themselves microscopic, which could forward the information farther along wirelessly. An intelligence agency could achieve greatly expanded capacity to observe and intervene, all without anyone being able to detect the devices with the human eye. Nanotechnology could certainly make the professional spy’s job easier.

Wi-Fi Equipped Nanobots Could Revolutionize Medicine

Nano-inspirations often hit first thing in the morning. A concept for nanobot application occurred to me when I awoke this morning that could revolutionize neurology. If nanobots can be built to receive radio signals, then they can also be engineered to detect weak electrical fields such as those that traverse our nervous systems. The proximity of nanobots in the bloodstream to the nerve cells would permit sensitivity to such weak fields, and if the nanobots could transmit weak, narrow-band radio signals to provide measurements of nerve activity, it is possible that much new information could be learned about the nervous system. Of course, the subject would need to be in an electrically quiet environment such as a Faraday cage (no cellphones allowed), and all equipment inside the cage would need to be carefully shielded and bypassed to further eliminate unwanted electrical fields, but the concept seems feasible. Since nano-scale radio receivers have already been demonstrated (link), it doesn’t seem far fetched to have them transmit as well, and, with enough sophistication and computing power, achieve the capability for Wi-Fi-like networking (link).  So how could this capability be applied?

A Trip to the Nanotech Dentist

Will nanobots someday clean my teeth? In the future, will my dentist spray a fine mist of nanobots into my mouth? Then, will he activate the nanobots with a remote control, after which the nanobots will identify where plaque and other undesirable materials bond to the enamel of my teeth and dissolve those bonds? Some of the nanobots would also move into the space between the teeth and gums and break up bacteria and the acid molecules they excrete, and possibly even repair cell damage. Then, ten minutes later, will I just rinse my mouth, have an inspection from the dentist, make my appointment for next time, and leave?

Could Nanotechnology Someday Replace Toilet Paper?

The “throne room” is a great place for coming up with new ideas.  Sitting on the throne (toilet) recently, I was moved to consider that most basic commodity of civilization, toilet paper.  Surely, like deodorants and hot showers, this is one of the key enablers of our civilized lifestyle.  As time progresses, however, this might change.  Might we someday find that the manufacture of toilet paper uses more resources and energy than can be economically justified?  What will we do then?  Can nanotechnology provide an answer?

If the Bees Disappear, Can We Make Our Own?

Humans are a creative lot.  Having seen many articles and references to the declining bee population and the phenomenon of bee colonies becoming sick and dying off, it suddenly occurred to me: if the bees for some reason are no longer pollinating our crops, can we create tiny flying microbots to do the job in their stead?

How Might Nanotechnology Change Human Culture?

Mass media, enhanced by technology, has a big impact on American culture. A prime example can be seen in how mass media instigates fears that changes the cultural mindset and people’s behaviors. In my lifetime I have seen a big shift in American culture relating to the fear we all feel sometimes involving possible violence, catastrophes, illness and epidemic, and other themes.  I have always believed that most of this increase in fear is related to the increasing penetration of mass media into our lives, along with the globalization of communications and the rise of sensationalistic journalism, in which ratings drive profits and are themselves derived from arousing people’s emotions and thereby capturing their interest.  Fear has often been used to control masses of people in history, but the effectiveness of new communications technologies in instilling it has been profound.  Future developments could make even more striking changes in our culture.

Technological advances have enabled mass media to penetrate our lives ever more deeply. Radio, television networks, and now the internet have driven fears into our lives that have deeply affected our behavior.  The change is evidenced in many areas of life, including, for example, the number of people who allow their children to play outside unattended, and the number of parents who struggle to keep their children continuously involved in supervised sports and other activities, for fear that a child predator could kidnap or harm them, or that they could fall under negative influences.  Since media technology is such a powerful force in our society, and is advancing at a rapid rate, especially in miniaturized electronics and electromechanical technologies ranging down to nanotechnology, I want to conjecture on where it all might lead in the next few decades.  The impact of any new technology is ultimately cultural, so how might nanotechnology affect us in North America (and, by extension, the rest of the developed countries)?

Biotechnology and Nanotechnology Are Merging … in the Classroom

Biotech is coming, quickly, and with nanotechnology helping.  NPR broadcast an item in the past week about college students at MIT engineering e. coli bacteria to have a minty fresh smell (instead of poopy one) when growing, and then a banana smell when the culture is mature (link) (link).  This reveals a technological capability that was unthinkable to most of us a decade or less ago and goes far beyond the chemistry sets children got for their birthdays in the 1950’s.  Young people today are making biotech and the custom engineering of microorganisms an increasingly casual undertaking, as nanotechnology-enhanced bioengineering demonstration kits are appearing in classrooms.  How long will it be before bioengineering is a popular hobby among young people, and … what happened to working on cars and playing in rock bands?

Funding Issues Slow Nanotechnology Development

Nanotechnology is a good example of a budding area of science that has much promise, but appears to be just scratching the surface of possibility. Progress appears slow to those of us reading the glowing, science fiction-like predictions of future applications. Curiously, many of the predictions I have read ignore applications in medical, semiconductor, and materials technology, the largest areas of increase in research funding in the past couple of decades (link).  Many center instead on the idea of tiny robots with sophisticated, autonomous functions, a concept which may never come to pass given the limits of physics.  This may be part of the perception that progress is not what many are hoping for, but the reality may be more that, while much research is going on, there are a number of factors slowing progress, most related to funding and investment. 

The Future of the Paper Towel, and Related Nano-Thoughts

I guess I just worry too much, but, lately, every time I take a paper towel from the dispenser at work or toss a bit of plastic wrap in the trash, I can’t help but have thoughts like “Here goes another cup of oil.”,  ”How can we handle 6+ billion people all doing this, every day?”, and ”Where will the energy and material come from to permit this in the future?”.  Then, in lieu of feeling depressed and more worried, I have to spur myself to think creatively about it, and sometimes I run to the computer to write another entry in this blog.  So … how ARE we going to handle 6 billion people who all want to have paper towels, electric lights, houses, cars and other modern conveniences when they actually get them?