The Importance of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the study and application of extremely small things and can be used across other science fields. In the article, Can Nanotechnology save lives? Rosenwald talks about how Whitesides believes that nanotechnology will change medicine as we know it. Rosenwald uses this quote from one of Whitesides books, ‘Discovering these differences at the smallest scale is wonderfully engrossing, and using them can change (and has changed) the world'(Rosenwald, 2010).

Nanotechnology was discovered by physicist Richard Feynman. He first came to the idea when he imagined how the whole entirety of the Encyclopaedia Britannica could be written on the head of a pin. From his idea, the first carbon nanotubes were created in the 1950s. Carbon nanotubes are ‘tiny tubes of carbon atoms, which are very strong yet very light’ (Why is Nanotechnology Important?).

Nanotechnology puts science, engineering, and technology at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology researchers that understand the properties at the nanoscale (1-100 nanometres) call there efforts nanoscience. Some researchers also focus on ways to effectively use the properties which are called nanoengineering. There are multiple ways to use nanotechnology but everything has the same measurement standards such as meters and kilograms, but nanotechnology uses more than just measurement standards. To ensure accuracy there are standards of practice and standards for verification.

Nanotechnology is helping to improve, many technologies and industry sectors such as information technology, homeland security, medicine, transportation, energy, food safety, and environmental science, and many others. The benefits of nanotechnology come from the fact of whether or not combining structures of materials at small scales to obtain specific properties is possible. By using nanotechnology, materials can be made stronger and more durable. For example, the nanotechnology is medicine is called, nanomedicine, and it is helping to improve the use of medical tools and therapies, preventing diseases, treatments, and more.

The future study of nanotechnology is only limited by the creativity of researchers. If we can master nanotechnology then we can the opportunity to improve all sorts of areas of modern life. Areas such as little doctors inside your body, there are electronic tattoos that can sense our vital signs, but we could go further by injecting tiny sensors inside our bodies. This would capture much more detailed information allowing doctors to give the correct treatment. What if structures could ‘heal’ themselves? In the future, nanotechnology could have the potential to allow materials to ‘heal’ themselves from damage. ‘For example, dispersing nanoparticles throughout a material means that they can migrate to fill in any cracks that appear. This could produce self-healing materials, preventing small fractures from turning into large, more problematic cracks'(Prodromakis,2016).

Nanotechnology can also help against fighting climate change. So far, nanotechnology has helped create batteries that can store more energy for electric cars and has solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. For both of these inventions to work, they use nanotexturing or nanomaterials. These nanomaterials can turn flat surfaces three-dimensional, giving them a greater surface area. Which means that there will be more space for energy storage to take place. With this technology, in the future, we could create objects that harvest energy from their environment. ‘New nano-materials and concepts are currently being developed that show potential for producing energy from movement, light, variations in temperature, glucose and other sources with high conversion efficiency'(Prodromakis,2016).

There are multiple ways that nanotechnology has affected our daily lives. Nanotechnology is rapidly expanding and scientists and engineers are succeeding in making materials to take advantage of enhanced properties such as higher strength, lighter weight, increased electrical conductivity, and chemical reactivity.

These are ten ways of what nanotechnology is doing in our everyday lives. Nanotechnology makes computers faster, smaller, and more powerful than ever before. Computer now consume less power and have longer lasting batteries by using circuits that are made from carbon nanotubes that maintain the power of the computer. Nanotechnology has made medical diagnostic by creating equipment that is functional and accurate. This technology allows the delivery of medical care to become faster. Nanotechnology has helped in pharmaceuticals by creating products with nanoparticles that absorb into the body easier. These nanoparticles can also help cancer patients by using them to deliver chemotherapy drugs to certain cells. Nanotechnology improves regulation of fuel in vehicles and protects vehicle parts from being corroded by using nanocomposite material. Nanofilters are also using in vehicles to remove particles from the air to improving gas mileage.

Nanotechnology uses nanoparticles in fabrics to help them to be stain, water, and flame resistant. Nanotechnology is also used in water filters to remove all viruses and bacteria from the water we drink. Nanoparticles are used sunscreens to protect us from ultraviolet sunlight. These same nanoparticles are also used in food packaging to prolong shelf life and nanoclay is in drink bottles increase resistance to oxygen and moisture. Nanotechnology has also helped create a variety of chemical sensors that detect chemicals at low levels. These chemical sensors can be used to surveil labs, industrial sites, and airports to detect chemicals that could have leaked into the air and surrounding areas.

After thinking about what nanotechnology’s greatest potential is for improving the world, in the article “10 Ways Nanotechnology improves Our Lives”, Crawford states that Markus Antonietti has the best response by saying “‘The technology already exists to fix the atmosphere… but there also needs to be a focus on education and getting information to the public at large. Most people still don’t know about these technologies. The best part is that all of this could happen immediately, if we simply spread the information in an understandable way. People don’t read science journals, so they don’t even know that all of this is possible’”(2016).