SIZE MATTERS: Nanotechnology, What’s It All About?
article by ELIZABETH FIEND
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As an avid cyber punk fan I’ve been longing for William Gibson’s future, where I could step into a convenience store nano-dispenser and emerge clad in a swirling, gleaming, electronic nano-dress, one that changes motif with my every thought. A world where my social calendar, stored in a nano-rhinestone atop my sunglasses, would be filled with the wild parties of tomorrow.
Today’s nanotechnology isn’t quite as sexy as that, but it’s just as unrestrained. Currently nanotechnology centers around the production of super-teeny-tiny materials and chemicals. We’re talking small, atomic scale small, the size of a molecule – like a particle one thousandth the width of a human hair. Specifically, one nano-metre is equal to one billionth of a meter. As more and more particles are being manufactured with lengths between 1 and 100 nanometers, industry experts say these materials may pose unpredictable risks to the public. OK, I’m going to go out on a limb here and go on record right now: I predict that these super-small materials will pose unexpected problems.
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What’s so great about being so small? The whole point of nanomaterials is that by bunching together a mass of very teensy particles, you increase surface area – a lot. Take a moment to think about that.
Nanotech is invading almost every industry – plastics, energy, medicine, electronics, food packaging, all the way up to the atmosphere via the aerospace industry. These novel material structures and their unique properties make stuff really strong and long lasting, they allow materials to absorb and radiate extremely specific wavelengths of light, and by being so small they have the ability to penetrate cellular barriers. They’re also extremely chemically active.
































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