WHAT IS NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanotechnology is a highly
multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as applied physics, materials
science, interface and colloid science, device physics, supramolecular
chemistry (which refers to the area of chemistry that focuses on the
noncovalent bonding interactions of molecules), self-replicating machines and
robotics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, biological engineering,
and electrical engineering. Grouping of the sciences under the umbrella of
"nanotechnology" has been questioned on the basis that there is
little actual boundary-crossing between the sciences that operate on the
nano-scale. Instrumentation is the only area of technology common to all
disciplines; on the contrary, for example pharmaceutical and semiconductor
industries do not "talk with each other". Corporations that call
their products "nanotechnology" typically market them only to a
certain industrial cluster.[1]
Two main approaches are used in nanotechnology. In the "bottom-up"
approach, materials and devices are built from molecular components which
assemble themselves chemically by principles of molecular recognition. In the
"top-down" approach, nano-objects are constructed from larger entities
without atomic-level control. The impetus for nanotechnology comes from a
renewed interest in Interface and Colloid Science, coupled with a new
generation of analytical tools such as the atomic force microscope (AFM), and
the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Combined with refined processes such
as electron beam lithography and molecular beam epitaxy, these instruments
allow the deliberate manipulation of nanostructures, and lead to the
observation of novel phenomena.
Examples of nanotechnology are the manufacture of polymers based on molecular
structure, and the design of computer chip layouts based on surface science.
Despite the promise of nanotechnologies such as quantum dots and nanotubes,
real commercial applications have mainly used the advantages of colloidal nanoparticles
in bulk form, such as suntan lotion, cosmetics, protective coatings, drug
delivery,[2] and stain resistant clothing
[edit] Origins
Buckminsterfullerene C60, also known as the buckyball, is the simplest of the
carbon structures known as fullerenes. Members of the fullerene family are a
major subject of research falling under the nanotechnology umbrella.Main
article: History of nanotechnology
The first use of the concepts in 'nano-technology' (but predating use of that
name) was in "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," a talk given by
physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on
December 29, 1959. Feynman described a process by which the ability to
manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed, using one set of
precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, so on
down to the needed scale. In the course of this, he noted, scaling issues would
arise from the changing magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would
become less important, surface tension and Van der Waals attraction would
become more important, etc. This basic idea appears plausible, and exponential
assembly enhances it with parallelism to produce a useful quantity of end
products. The term "nanotechnology" was defined by Tokyo Science
University Professor Norio Taniguchi in a 1974 paper[3] as follows:
"'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of, separation,
consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or by one
molecule." In the 1980s the basic idea of this definition was explored in
much more depth by Dr. K. Eric Drexler, who promoted the technological
significance of nano-scale phenomena and devices through speeches and the books
Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (1986) and Nanosystems:
Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation,[4] and so the term
acquired its current sense. Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology is considered the first book on the topic of nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology and nanoscience got started in the early 1980s with two major
developments; the birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning
tunneling microscope (STM). This development led to the discovery of fullerenes
in 1986 and carbon nanotubes a few years later. In another development, the
synthesis and properties of semiconductor nanocrystals was studied; This led to
a fast increasing number of metal oxide nanoparticles of quantum dots. The
atomic force microscope was invented six years after the STM was invented. In
2000, the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative was founded to
coordinate Federal nanotechnology research and development. One nanometer (nm)
is one billionth, or 10-9 of a meter. To put that scale in context, the
comparative size of a nanometer to a meter is the same as that of a marble to
the size of the earth.[5] Or another way of putting it: a nanometer is the
amount a man's beard grows in the time it takes him to raise the razor to his
face.[5]
Typical carbon-carbon bond lengths, or the spacing between these atoms in a
molecule, are in the range 0.12-0.15 nm, and a DNA double-helix has a diameter
around 2 nm. On the other hand, the smallest cellular lifeforms, the bacteria
of the genus Mycoplasma, are around 200 nm in length.
Nanotechnology is a highly
multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as applied physics, materials
science, interface and colloid science, device physics, supramolecular
chemistry (which refers to the area of chemistry that focuses on the
noncovalent bonding interactions of molecules), self-replicating machines and
robotics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, biological engineering,
and electrical engineering. Grouping of the sciences under the umbrella of
"nanotechnology" has been questioned on the basis that there is
little actual boundary-crossing between the sciences that operate on the
nano-scale. Instrumentation is the only area of technology common to all disciplines;
on the contrary, for example pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries do not
"talk with each other". Corporations that call their products
"nanotechnology" typically market them only to a certain industrial
cluster.
Two main approaches are used in nanotechnology. In the "bottom-up"
approach, materials and devices are built from molecular components which
assemble themselves chemically by principles of molecular recognition. In the
"top-down" approach, nano-objects are constructed from larger
entities without atomic-level control. The impetus for nanotechnology comes
from a renewed interest in Interface and Colloid Science, coupled with a new
generation of analytical tools such as the atomic force microscope (AFM), and
the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Combined with refined processes such
as electron beam lithography and molecular beam epitaxy, these instruments
allow the deliberate manipulation of nanostructures, and lead to the
observationofnovelphenomena.
Examples of nanotechnology are the manufacture of polymers based on molecular
structure, and the design of computer chip layouts based on surface science.
Despite the promise of nanotechnologies such as quantum dots and nanotubes,
real commercial applications have mainly used the advantages of colloidal
nanoparticles in bulk form, such as suntan lotion, cosmetics, protective
coatings, drug delivery,[2] and stain resistant clothing
[edit] Origins
Buckminsterfullerene C60, also known as the buckyball, is the simplest of the
carbon structures known as fullerenes. Members of the fullerene family are a
major subject of research falling under the nanotechnology umbrella.Main
article: History of nanotechnology
The first use of the concepts in 'nano-technology' (but predating use of that
name) was in "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," a talk given by
physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on
December 29, 1959. Feynman described a process by which the ability to
manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed, using one set of
precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, so on
down to the needed scale. In the course of this, he noted, scaling issues would
arise from the changing magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would
become less important, surface tension and Van der Waals attraction would
become more important, etc. This basic idea appears plausible, and exponential
assembly enhances it with parallelism to produce a useful quantity of end
products. The term "nanotechnology" was defined by Tokyo Science
University Professor Norio Taniguchi in a 1974 paper[3] as follows:
"'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of, separation,
consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or by one molecule."
In the 1980s the basic idea of this definition was explored in much more depth
by Dr. K. Eric Drexler, who promoted the technological significance of
nano-scale phenomena and devices through speeches and the books Engines of
Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (1986) and Nanosystems: Molecular
Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation,[4] and so the term acquired its
current sense. Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology is
considered the first book on the topic of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology and
nanoscience got started in the early 1980s with two major developments; the
birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope
(STM). This development led to the discovery of fullerenes in 1986 and carbon
nanotubes a few years later. In another development, the synthesis and
properties of semiconductor nanocrystals was studied; This led to a fast
increasing number of metal oxide nanoparticles of quantum dots. The atomic
force microscope was invented six years after the STM was invented. In 2000,
the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative was founded to coordinate
Federal nanotechnology R &D.
BY
CREANOVAENGINEERS[creanovaengineers.blogspot.in]
