woodchurch science » nanotechnology

smart materials nanotechnology podcast

woodchurchscience — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:54:03 +0000

here’s a link to the guardian’s tech page which in this episode discusses smart materials and nanotechnology applications. good for a listen while you’re doing something else. you can even download it for your mp3 player.

nanotechnology news in the guardian

woodchurchscience — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:13:57 +0000

this link should contain the most recent news in the nanotechnology area.

nano scale help

woodchurchscience — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:09:17 +0000

this link from new scientist gives you an idea of how small things are on the nanoscale. a good introduction.

nanotechnology work from ms oldham’s group

woodchurchscience — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:42:30 +0000

some excellent work here: laura cross, jenna-leigh rimmer and ross rule, rachel and toni, kate leadbetter, amy cook, richard noonan. well done everyone.

restoration of paintings – nanocontainers

woodchurchscience — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:04:14 +0000

by suspending tiny droplets of oil inside water ‘nanocontainers’ scientists have been able to gently clean old frescoes and renaissance paintings. the university of florence has shown that a liquid made up of these nanobuckets contained 95% less organic solvent than usual so it can lift grime without damaging the paint. this is especially important where paint has been apllied directly to the plaster and so flakes off more easily. here’s the abstract.

nanotechnology presentation links

woodchurchscience — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:23:43 +0000

carry out a web search and prepare a presentation on any of these subjects.
what is nanotechnology? nanowerk, google
ceramic nanoparticles for cleaner diesel fuel: oxonica, nanowerk, google
nanotechnology for athletic clothing and footwear: nanovic, nanovip, p2i technology, google
lightweight longer life mobile batteries: nanotecture, mphase, google
nano and micro medicine including cancer treatments: google
nanotechnology and cosmetic dentistry: google
self-cleaning glass: google
new sun-block creams: google
dangers and concerns about nanoscience: safenano, google

be prepared to speak for 2 to 3 minutes about your chosen subject

geckoman versus spiderman!

woodchurchscience — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:00:56 +0000

forget spiderman, geckoman is the stickiest superhero. according to the university of turin, the secret of making a sticky yet non-stick material could lie in the branching bristles from fine carbon nanotubes. these would mimic the sticky nature of a gecko’s feet allowing to hang effortlessly upside down on even the smoothest of surfaces. coming soon? who knows we may all be able to chase each other up walls and across ceilings.

windows that clean themselves!

woodchurchscience — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:38:41 +0000

here’s a couple of presentations (danny ormond / katie jones) about pilkington’s aktiv glass and a general presentation on the subject of nanotechnology (tom hunt).

…in a nutshell leaflets

woodchurchscience — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:43:56 +0000

a collection of downloadable leaflets with current and hot topics in science. they are written mainly for journalists (lazy ones onviously!) who can’t be bothered researching stuff.
nanotechnology…in a nutshell
genetics…in a nutshell

mr pooley, where should this be filed? B1a, B1b or B2?

so how small is a nanometre?

woodchurchscience — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:23:20 +0000

this animation tries to explain it.

nanotechnology faq

woodchurchscience — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:22:31 +0000

what is nanotechnology?
it’s a broad term used when referring to any science or technology that manipulates things at the atomic level, measured in nanometres. it comprises a diverse collection of fields, touching on biology, medicine, computing, materials, manufacturing, physics and many others.

what’s so good about nanotechnology?
the central theory of nanotechnology is that almost anything that doesn’t contradict the laws of physics can be built atom by atom by scientists. it was first introduced in 1959 by richard feynmann. a key understanding of nanotechnology is that it offers not just better products, but a vastly improved means of production. scientists believe that one day manufacturing will be as easy and cheap as copying computer files. that is why it is sometimes seen as the next industrial revolution.

how big is a nanometre?
a nanometre is one billionth of a metre. for example the width of a human hair is approximately 80,000 nanometres and human fingernails grow roughly one nanometre per second. a nanometre sized particle is also smaller than a living cell and can be seen only with the most powerful microscopes available today.

what is the difference between microtechnology and nanotechnology?
aside from the obvious difference in scale (nanoscale is one to three orders of magnitude smaller than the microscale), nanotechnology is based on the principles of quantum physics, which means different laws of physics apply in the nanoscale.

what is molecular nanotechnology?
it is the concept of building machines out of precisely designed molecules. most nanotech research occurs in this field,

what are the current uses of nanotechnology?
there are numerous products available to industry and consumers today which benefit from nanotechnology. most computer hard drives on the market today depend on nano-thin layers of magnetic materials to increase their storage capacity. nanomaterials are also used to produce anti-scratch surfaces and paints, protective and glare-reducing coatings for glasses and cars, several kinds of cosmetics and stain-free clothing.

how will nanotechnology affect our lives in the future?
the first major improvement will be in manufacturing techniques. due to the precision of working in the atomic scale manufacturers would have a better understanding of the building of things and greater flexibility in the types and quantities to build. consequently the cost of manufacturing would decrease significantly. in medicine the expected applications of nanotechnology are dramatic: machines would be able to travel through blood vessels, cleaning arteries or repairing damaged tissue from the inside. ‘nanobots’ could also be used as a helping hand against cancer cells or infections.

any other questions? please ask at the comments link.