What is Nanotechnology, and Why Should You Care?

If you’ve been alive for a couple decades or more, you’ve probably noticed how things are becoming more and more miniaturized. Phones that used to be the size of a brick are now almost paper thin and barely bigger than a credit card. These devices are not just phones, but pocket computers that are more powerful than machines that used to take up all the room on your desk.

Throughout recent decades, scientists have been developing techniques for manipulating and creating smaller and smaller objects. It has gotten to the point where we can even manipulate individual atoms and molecules. When it gets down to that fundamental level, it’s called “nanotechnology.”

Moving individual atoms around is a pretty amazing accomplishment, but why is it a big deal for science or for regular people? Nanotechnology has enabled a lot of advancements in technology already, which we’ll talk about shortly, but first let’s take a look at how nanotechnology began.

How it all got started

The first scientist to introduce the concept of nanotechnology was the iconic 20^th century scientist, Richard Feynman. He gave a lecture at Caltech in 1959 entitled, “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” in which he described a way that individual atoms and molecules could be manipulated.

The term “nanotechnology” was not officially coined until decades later by K. Eric Drexler in his book, “Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology.” This book, published in 1986, took Feynman’s idea and modified it to describe nano-structures that could reproduce themselves via computer control.

Early applications of nanotechnology

There first major breakthrough that actually applied nanotechnology occurred in 1981 with the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. This amazing device was able to create images of and even manipulate individual atoms. In 1989 the device was famously used to arrange atoms to form the IBM logo.

Another early breakthrough was the discovery of fullerenes in 1985, which are tiny objects constructed from individual carbon atoms into the shapes of spheres, tubes and other forms. The cylindrical form is what came to be known as carbon nanotubes, which are constructed from one-dimensional sheets of a carbon material called graphene. Graphene has been highly publicized as the strongest known substance in the universe. It also has the highest conductivity of any substance and a variety of other extraordinary properties.

Nanotechnology today

There are many nanotech-produced products and industrial applications that are either currently being sold to consumers or are soon to be mass produced.

OLED screens

Many people are familiar with LG’s OLED TVs and the AMOLED screens on some of the latest smartphones. OLED is an acronym that stands for organic light emitting diode. This technology is more advanced than standard LED screens because each individual pixel has its own light source. This allows brightly-lit pixels to shine right next to perfectly black areas of the screen. The level of detail in darker areas becomes much more apparent on OLED screens. It also allows a level of light and dark contrast that is almost comparable to real-world environments.

Molecule printers

3D printers have been around for many years now. They can print out many things, including human organs and parts for electronics. Researchers have recently developed a printer that can produce custom-made molecules from individual atoms. This could have some amazing applications, especially for new medicines.

Quantum computers

Individual atoms and even subatomic particles like photons are currently being used to create a completely new type of computer called a quantum computer. The quantum computer uses the strange behaviors of quantum particles to perform parallel processing on a scale that is impossible for current “classical” computers. A quantum computer with only 50 qubits may be able to perform calculations that are impossible for the largest supercomputers.

Water and stain-repellant fabrics

Companies are using nanotechnology to make fabrics water and stain resistant. They have essentially found a way to mimic the way plants like the lotus flower are able to repel water. Another approach is to pack nanotech particles so closely together that dirt and water droplets are unable to attach themselves to the fabric. One material, called “Mincor,” is used to create umbrellas, tents and awnings.

Future applications

Nanobots

Nanobots would be less than 10 micrometers in length, which is about the size of a single-celled microorganism. These extremely tiny robots can be designed to do all kinds of amazing things in the microscopic world. This is not unlike what our individual cells do in our bodies. The main difference is we could have control over exactly what the nanobots do.

One of the most intriguing ideas for nanobots is to ingest them or inject them into a person’s body. They could then act like microscopic doctors that can diagnose diseases or even perform surgeries. They could seek out and destroy viruses, harmful bacteria and even cancer cells. They could also close up wounds or bond broken bones back together within seconds after an injury occurs.

Not only could nanobots eliminate diseases and heal injuries, but they could also repair cells that are damaged over time, effectively halting the aging process. Renowned futurists such as Michio Kaku and Ray Kurzweil believe that nanotechnologies like this will soon enable some humans to be effectively immortal.

Molecular manufacturing

The replicator machines in Star Trek may soon become a reality. Researchers believe that microscopic machines could manipulate individual atoms and molecules to change materials and form them into whatever we want. You could take some inert scrap material and turn it into an electronic device or even food.

Since this technology would involve manipulating individual atoms, it would take trillions of tiny machines working together in order to form a useful object. In order to produce trillions of microscopic assembler robots, scientists believe they would probably need to be able to replicate themselves rapidly. This is similar to how animals and humans are able to grow from a single cell into a large organism consisting of trillions of cells.

Shape-changing objects

The best way to imagine this is to think of the liquid-metal thing from Terminator 2. The material that the uber-terminator was made of was actually trillions of smart particles that could rearrange themselves into any shape. The metal could also change its texture to resemble clothing or human flesh. Once nanotechnology manufacturing is able to create nano-particles that are smart and highly functional, this type of miracle will become a reality.

When will shape-changing objects and immortality happen? Some scientists believe we will see these things in our own lifetimes, while others believe it is only likely to happen in the distant future. Nanotechnology may be a buzzword that won’t catch on in the market for a long time, like 3d movies and virtual reality games. Then again, it could spread like wildfire, as was the case with tablets and smartphones.