There is much anticipation surrounding nanotechnology. Dubbed as “the next great thing”, it is estimated that this emerging technology will explode in mainstream consciousness in less than a decade with products made through nanotechnology becoming as common as computers are now. Let us take a look at what nanotechnology is and why not only the science community is excited but big businesses as well.

How It Started

As defined today, nanotechnology is the science that deals with design and engineering at the atomic or molecular scale. The unit of measurement, called a nanometer, is so minute that it is equal to 1 billionth of 1 meter. This concept started with a lecture on the subject presented by Richard Feynman, a Nobel Laureate, in the late 1950s.

At the time of Feynman’s lecture, manipulating atoms or molecules has never been done. However, a development came about some twenty years later when the computer technology company IBM invented a special microscope that could view individual atoms. The microscope was known as the “Scanning and Tunneling Microscope” or STM. Using STM in 1990, IBM was able to manipulate individual atoms of xenon on the surface of a nickel to form their company name.

Also in 1985, a group of chemists was able to create a molecule in the shape of a soccer ball consisting of 60 atoms of carbon. This molecule, called the “buckyball”, was later used to make tiny carbon tubes known as nanotubes, which have 100 times the strength of steel but weighs six times lesser than steel. These nanotubes were then used in the manufacturing of plastics, fibers and fabrics, electronic chips and etcetera.

Although most nanotechnology inventions are still in research and testing stages today, many engineers have already employed this amazing technology to make a variety of tiny objects ranging from transistors, to robots, to motors and even musical instruments. Nanotechnology is expected to become part of almost everything humans do in the near future.

Expectations

One of the first areas where nanotechnology offers the greatest promise is medicine. Scientists have already created what they call smart bombs to locate tumors and destroy them. Some examples of future nanotechnology creations are “nanoparticles” that can stop the growth of cancer cells and “nanocameras” that doctors can use to examine a person’s body cells.

Another area that will benefit from nanotechnology is computer technology with future microchips becoming even more powerful even as they get smaller and smaller. Today’s energy problems can also be helped by nanotechnology inventions like light sources that are much more energy-efficient to replace the light bulbs we use today. Nanotechnology is also expected to further contribute to the protection of the environment. At present, nanotechnology is used in the detection and filtering of harmful elements like bacteria in supplies of water. 

Reality Check

While majority of the members of the scientific and business community is hopeful and enthusiastic about nanotechnology, there are some who are calling for a pause on nanotechnology research. These people argue that there has been little research on disadvantages of nanoparticles such as the possibility of toxic effects.

According to a study commissioned by a renowned global environmental organization, nanotechnology has risks but they are far outweighed by its benefits to the environment.

Some groups suggest that industry research and development should be regulated by the government.

Nanotechnology is widely believed to become an innovation as equally significant as the Internet is to the modern world. However, it is also true that there is much more to be learned about it. Scientists have yet to discover the technology’s applications to man’s daily life. The good thing is, scientists have many areas to start on with their big dreams of making the world a better place using this “small” technology.