Skip to main content

Translate

Nanotechnology - an Introduction

 Nanotechnology - an Introduction

Nanotechnology

Anybody who doesn't know much about nanotechnology should begin with geckos. These are the lizards that are probably the world's best climbers. Watching them climb upside down on a horizontal pane of glass, you realize that spiderman should really have been called geckoman. These guys outclimb spiders any day.

With perfect ease they can hang from a single toe, and they do so by pure adhesion, not by sticking a toe in a hole or by curling it round something they can grip. With all the toes on the glass scientists estimate that if the rest of the body were strong enough it could take the weight of a 100kg person suspended below it. Although each toe is equipped with a tiny hook-like claw at the end, these are of no use on the glass. What keeps them up there is the amazing structure of the skin of the toe.

Seen under the microscope each toe has around two million tiny hairs on its underside. Under the higher magnification of an electron microscope the end of each of these hairs is seen to split into hundreds of even tinier nano-hairs, which scientists have called spatulae. These hairs are so small that they are able to establish contact with the molecular structure of the surface the gecko is walking on. With that near-perfect contact the hairs are stuck to the surface by elctromagnetic forces called van der Waals forces. The molecules on the feet and on the surface have areas of slight positive or negative charge that attract each other like mini magnets when they get really close.

Scientists have been working for over 15 years now to try to unlock the secrets of the stickiness of gecko toes and find a way to artificially reproduce the same structure of nano-hairs. The hypothesis at the moment is that if any material can be shaped into nano-hairs they will have the same properties as those on gecko toes, so scientists are looking for an alternative material with which to manufacture the stickiest synthetic surface ever.

This is one example of research in the field now known as nanotechnology. In this field, the technology being created can be measured in a few nanometres (one nanometre is a millionth of a millimetre). Interest in developing technology at this level was largely inspired by Richard Feynman at the beginning of the 1960?s, but the 'nano' catchphrase was coined in the 1990?s by Dr. Eric Drexler, who spurred scientists on through a series of speeches and a book entitled "Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology".

The scientists working on the geckos envisage an enormously wide range of possible applications for the kind of adhesive nanotechnology that they will develop. The one that will make the biggest splash in the media will be the gloves and the boots that will allow rock-climbers to take their sport to hitherto undreamed of heights. But the technology could also be used in surgery to keep the edges of wounds together without the need for stitches. There will also be a huge potential in the manufacturing sector to stick millions of components together tighter than ever before without glues or screws.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Poems

Next

"Love is in the Air" An English Story in Short

"Love is in the Air" An English Story in Short learning English by story Every summer, Penny travels to a family reunion barbeque. Penny is never excited, and this year is no different. She dreads the drive.  She does not like talking to her relatives. And she does not like the smell of hamburgers. (Penny is a vegetarian.) When Penny arrives, she sees lots of familiar faces. It is July and Uncle Vernon is wearing a sweater. Uncle Vernon is always cold. It’s very mysterious.  She sees her cousin Polly. Polly has six children. The youngest one screams. Then the oldest one screams. Polly’s children are always screaming.  She sees many of her other cousins in the field playing softball. They play a softball game every year, and it always ends in a big argument.  Penny wonders, again, why they never solve it. Then Penny sees an incredibly handsome man. She stares at him. He catches her staring. He smiles and walks over to her. Penny is very nervous. She is nervous because a handso

Some Great Short Stories Collection

Some Great Short Stories Collection Daddy Hands Face Difficulties Positively The Magic Paintbrush Love on the rock Willie Brains hooked up to computers Isaac Newton Our colourful world Mine The missing watch Kalpana Saroj's Life Romeo and Juliet A traditional wedding The death car Radiant hearts To love and to be loved Moving Day A couple's heartbreak The sad man Buying an hour of daddy's time A pound of butter Letter of life The half moon Love and insult How to kill ? The last riddle Connoisseur...Coffee...Or Blood! Seule love The three trash bins How should I feel happy for ? Who is the guy upstairs ? The Alien The wild life Snake bites boy

"Find your own destiny" An English Short Story with moral

"Find your own destiny" An English Short Story with moral Once five men were caught in a thick forest. The first man said, I will go left. Because my Intuition said so. The second one said, I will go the right because the right comes from the word rightness. The third one said, I will go back the way we came. The fourth one said, I will go straight. We should move forward, the forest will end and we will go somewhere new. The fifth one said, you are all wrong. There is a better solution. Wait for me.He climbed the tallest tree he could find while everyone else went their own way. From above he saw the shortest way to exit. He could also see the order in which the others would exit. He understood the problem and found the best solution. He knew that he did everything right. The others are were wrong. They were stubborn and they didn't listen to him. He was the real wise man. But he was wrong. Everyone was right. They were all wise. The man who went to t

"The Hospitality of The Pigeon" An English Story in Short

"The Hospitality of The Pigeon" An English Story in Short learning English by story Once upon a time, there lived two pigeons. They were husband and wife. They spend their day looking for food. In the evening they would come and rest on their favorite tree in the forest.  One evening, the wife returned home early. A usual she was waiting for her husband, when suddenly it started raining. She strated to worry. “Where are you, my dear? You never get so late," she whispered to herself.   Just then she saw a bird-catcher coming towards her. In a cage he had a pigeon. It was her husband. “OH no, what shall I do now" I wish I can help my husband," she said. She desperately tried to distract the bird-catcher by flapping her wings, but all in vain.  Soon, it stopped raining. “Brrr! It is so cold," said the bird-catcher. His clothes were wet. He decided to sit under the same tree where the two pigeons lived.  The poor wife sat by her husband’s cage. And she started

"A MAD MAN IN THE CITY" Short Story in English

A MAD MAN IN THE CITY Julian finally left his village when there was no one left living there. He had never left his beloved village before, but intrigued by the fact that everyone had gone to the city, he decided to go and see for himself what wonderful things those cities had. So he packed a knapsack with a few clothes, put on his best smile, and off he went to the city. On reaching the city, he was given a most unexpected welcome. A couple of policemen stopped Julian and questioned him in great detail. It turned out that Julian had seemed 'suspiciously happy' for someone with hardly any possessions. In the end, the police had to let him go, but they were still suspicious about this apparently simple and good-natured fellow. The first thing Julian noticed about the city was all the rushing around. Everyone was in such a hurry that he thought that there must be something special happening that day, which no one wanted to miss. Curious as to what it was, Julian started followin

"A BIRD IN A CAGE" An English Story in Short

"A BIRD IN A CAGE" An English Story in Short learning English by story One day, when I was a young bird, my life completely changed. I do not know how long ago it was, but I still remember flying through the sky looking down at the green forest below.  All of a sudden, while I was looking for food, everything went black.  I crashed into something soft and was unable to move. I struggled to get loose, but I was not able to get free. I was put into a box. The walls were very hard, and I did not have much room to move. I hit the walls with my wings and yelled for help. After a while, since no one came to help me, I just gave up.  Inside the box, I found some water and food to eat. I do not know how long I was in the box.  Suddenly, the box opened and a bright light blinded me. I dropped to the ground. I felt the warmth of the sun on my back. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light. When I was able to see, I looked around. I was FREE!  I stretched my wings and waved t

"Love and Time" Short Story with Moral

"Love and Time" Short Story with Moral Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment. When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh . . . Love, I

"All the Difference in The World' An English Story in Short

"All the Difference in The World' An English Story in Short Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by th is lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush. “Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.” She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It ca

Here are the top five most read stories of this week that you will love.

1. The Four Smart Students  : In this story four college students were out partying late night and didn’t study for the test which was scheduled for the next day. You must read this story once which is with a good moral.