What is Nanotechnology?
Thesis: "I have one word for you -- Plastics." - The Graduate
"Nanomaterials." - Michael Dell, on what he would pursue today if he had to do it all over again.
What is Nanotechnology?
When people hear "nanotech" they often conjure up some vague image of invisible "nanobots" zipping through the molecular realm to eradicate disease and fabricate infinite wealth for the human race. Although this utopian vision is considered distant, if not impossible, by many luminaries in the scientific community, it's a pervasive and lasting image of what may be possible with nanotech. Twenty years after the early apostles of nanotech captured the public's imagination and coaxed open government coffers, we are on the cusp of a revolution more practical in nature. No, you won't live forever, and no, you won't go to work in a skyscraper made of diamond, but you will begin to see some improvements in just about product you use on a day-to-day basis.
Nanotechnology simply means controlling matter on the sub 100 nanometer scale. Ten atoms lined up side-by-side equals 1 nanometer, so it implies the manipulation of atoms and molecules. This approach to product design is fundamentally different from anything we've attempted in the past. Since the dawn of man, we have used the materials made available to us by Mother Nature, and these materials come biggie-sized. In a top-down approach, we carve out raw materials from the earth, joining them, sautering them, and mixing them to create the products we desire. Even microprocessors, the tiniest tech we have to date, are created top-down using ultraviolet radiation to burn an image into a big slab of silicon. Nanotech goes the opposite direction--bottom up, building materials one atom at a time.
So what. Why is nanotech so great?
By obtaining the ultimate control over matter, we can build novel materials. The forces and properties of the atomic world are very different from the macro-world. Gravity is an important force in the macro-world because it keeps us securely fastened to this whirling planet. On the atomic level, gravity is a negligible force because individual particles have so little mass. Instead, the atomic world is dominated by certain inter-molecular forces we do not experience in the macro-world, like Vander Walls forces. At the nanoscale, the Newtonian phenomena of bulk materials breaks down--and with it, the focus on planes, trains and automobiles--and we are left with the Alice-in-Wonderland rule book of quantum physics to focus on the creation of a whole new set of play-things, like carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and dendrimers.
What can nanotech do for me?
-Carbon nanotubes, which are fabricated bottom-up and do not exist naturally, are 100 times stronger than steal and 1/4 the weight. These tubes are already being used to enhance top-of-the-line sporting equipment and as the basic platform technology for the next generation of flatscreen TVs.
-Quantum dots are tiny energy wells that, when exposed to light, emit a certain color depending on their size. When packaged together, these dots can emit a barcode of light. Scientists are embedding these quantum beads in genes to better understand and track the inner-workings of the human body.
-Dendrimers are a tailor made set of bicycle spokes on the atomic level that surround a protected center. Do you ever hear a television advertisement rapidly describe the fifteen side effects you'll suffer if you use a particular medicine? The reason is imperfect drug delivery; as a fraction of the drug reaches its target, the remainder poisons your body. Properly constructed, dendrimers could act as capsules that carry the medicine, but with spokes that seek out specifically the target, deliver the cargo and leave a record of the delivery at the scene. Such technology could even help target cancer cells.
These are just a few of the products made possible by nanotechnology.
What can I expect from the Nanotech revolution? Boom, bubble, bust?
Try not to think of the nanotech revolution as a specific product or industry that will be spawned in the next 5 - 15 years. What makes the nanotech revolution so exciting is that it's a process, or a way of developing technology. It has applications in virtually every industry and product. From fashion to deep sea fishing, every existing business model and technology out there is at risk. As biology, chemistry, physics and engineering finally converge at the nanoscale, we will enter a sustained and comprehensive technological revolution.
Okay great, but aren't you a little early to the party?
"Nanomaterials." - Michael Dell, in response to what he would pursue if he had to do it all over again today.
Fashionably late is great, except when your talking about money. The fact is, nanotech is about to takeoff, and takeoff big-time. First, the government is well aware of nanotech. Hilary Clinton recently remarked that the only bipartisan issue in Washington is nanotech. It's true. Bush's Dec. 2004 multi-billion dollar nanotechnology bill sailed through congress with flying colors. The government is currently spending more than double on nanotech than what it spent on the human genome project at its peak, and nanotechnology is the most well-funded scientific initiative since the space race.
Thanks to a steady stream of funding over the past decade, the torch is finally being passed to the private sector as commercialization increasingly becomes a reality. Lux Research, the premier nanotechnology research firm, estimated that private sector spending outpaced government spending on nanotechnology for the first time in 2004. The Forbes/Wolf Nanotech Report stated in 2004 that over 1500 companies worldwide have publicly announced their involvement in "nanotechnology," and hundreds of start-ups have been launched in the United States alone. Meanwhile, the heavyweights--IBM, HP, Intel, Dupont, BASF, and others--have research divisions dedicated to nanotechnology, and they're ready to do battle.
Haven't heard the buzz? You will soon. The number of references to "nanotechnology" in scientific journals have increased exponentially, from hundreds to tens of thousands, in a matter of years. The same goes for media references. Currently there are about 10 - 15 pureplay nanotech companies tee-ed up to IPO. Once they go, you'll know it's 1993 all over again; Michael Dell is putting his money on nanotech--where are you putting yours?
"Nanomaterials." - Michael Dell, on what he would pursue today if he had to do it all over again.
What is Nanotechnology?
When people hear "nanotech" they often conjure up some vague image of invisible "nanobots" zipping through the molecular realm to eradicate disease and fabricate infinite wealth for the human race. Although this utopian vision is considered distant, if not impossible, by many luminaries in the scientific community, it's a pervasive and lasting image of what may be possible with nanotech. Twenty years after the early apostles of nanotech captured the public's imagination and coaxed open government coffers, we are on the cusp of a revolution more practical in nature. No, you won't live forever, and no, you won't go to work in a skyscraper made of diamond, but you will begin to see some improvements in just about product you use on a day-to-day basis.
Nanotechnology simply means controlling matter on the sub 100 nanometer scale. Ten atoms lined up side-by-side equals 1 nanometer, so it implies the manipulation of atoms and molecules. This approach to product design is fundamentally different from anything we've attempted in the past. Since the dawn of man, we have used the materials made available to us by Mother Nature, and these materials come biggie-sized. In a top-down approach, we carve out raw materials from the earth, joining them, sautering them, and mixing them to create the products we desire. Even microprocessors, the tiniest tech we have to date, are created top-down using ultraviolet radiation to burn an image into a big slab of silicon. Nanotech goes the opposite direction--bottom up, building materials one atom at a time.
So what. Why is nanotech so great?
By obtaining the ultimate control over matter, we can build novel materials. The forces and properties of the atomic world are very different from the macro-world. Gravity is an important force in the macro-world because it keeps us securely fastened to this whirling planet. On the atomic level, gravity is a negligible force because individual particles have so little mass. Instead, the atomic world is dominated by certain inter-molecular forces we do not experience in the macro-world, like Vander Walls forces. At the nanoscale, the Newtonian phenomena of bulk materials breaks down--and with it, the focus on planes, trains and automobiles--and we are left with the Alice-in-Wonderland rule book of quantum physics to focus on the creation of a whole new set of play-things, like carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and dendrimers.
What can nanotech do for me?
-Carbon nanotubes, which are fabricated bottom-up and do not exist naturally, are 100 times stronger than steal and 1/4 the weight. These tubes are already being used to enhance top-of-the-line sporting equipment and as the basic platform technology for the next generation of flatscreen TVs.
-Quantum dots are tiny energy wells that, when exposed to light, emit a certain color depending on their size. When packaged together, these dots can emit a barcode of light. Scientists are embedding these quantum beads in genes to better understand and track the inner-workings of the human body.
-Dendrimers are a tailor made set of bicycle spokes on the atomic level that surround a protected center. Do you ever hear a television advertisement rapidly describe the fifteen side effects you'll suffer if you use a particular medicine? The reason is imperfect drug delivery; as a fraction of the drug reaches its target, the remainder poisons your body. Properly constructed, dendrimers could act as capsules that carry the medicine, but with spokes that seek out specifically the target, deliver the cargo and leave a record of the delivery at the scene. Such technology could even help target cancer cells.
These are just a few of the products made possible by nanotechnology.
What can I expect from the Nanotech revolution? Boom, bubble, bust?
Try not to think of the nanotech revolution as a specific product or industry that will be spawned in the next 5 - 15 years. What makes the nanotech revolution so exciting is that it's a process, or a way of developing technology. It has applications in virtually every industry and product. From fashion to deep sea fishing, every existing business model and technology out there is at risk. As biology, chemistry, physics and engineering finally converge at the nanoscale, we will enter a sustained and comprehensive technological revolution.
Okay great, but aren't you a little early to the party?
"Nanomaterials." - Michael Dell, in response to what he would pursue if he had to do it all over again today.
Fashionably late is great, except when your talking about money. The fact is, nanotech is about to takeoff, and takeoff big-time. First, the government is well aware of nanotech. Hilary Clinton recently remarked that the only bipartisan issue in Washington is nanotech. It's true. Bush's Dec. 2004 multi-billion dollar nanotechnology bill sailed through congress with flying colors. The government is currently spending more than double on nanotech than what it spent on the human genome project at its peak, and nanotechnology is the most well-funded scientific initiative since the space race.
Thanks to a steady stream of funding over the past decade, the torch is finally being passed to the private sector as commercialization increasingly becomes a reality. Lux Research, the premier nanotechnology research firm, estimated that private sector spending outpaced government spending on nanotechnology for the first time in 2004. The Forbes/Wolf Nanotech Report stated in 2004 that over 1500 companies worldwide have publicly announced their involvement in "nanotechnology," and hundreds of start-ups have been launched in the United States alone. Meanwhile, the heavyweights--IBM, HP, Intel, Dupont, BASF, and others--have research divisions dedicated to nanotechnology, and they're ready to do battle.
Haven't heard the buzz? You will soon. The number of references to "nanotechnology" in scientific journals have increased exponentially, from hundreds to tens of thousands, in a matter of years. The same goes for media references. Currently there are about 10 - 15 pureplay nanotech companies tee-ed up to IPO. Once they go, you'll know it's 1993 all over again; Michael Dell is putting his money on nanotech--where are you putting yours?
posted by Clayton at 9:04 PM
1 Comments:
Penny Stock board here has a chat going on about nanotech stocks
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