Basic nanomachines are already in use. Nanobots will be the next generation of nanomachines. Advanced nanobots will be able to sense and adapt to environmental stimuli such as heat, light, sounds, surface textures, and chemicals
Basic nanomachines are already in use. Nanobots will be the next generation of nanomachines. Advanced nanobots will be able to sense and adapt to environmental stimuli such as heat, light, sounds, surface textures, and chemicals; perform complex calculations; move, communicate, and work together; conduct molecular assembly; and, to some extent, repair or even replicate themselves. Nanoindia.blogspot.com is an informational site that provides information on both recent developments and future applications at the intersection of nanotechnology and robotics.
Although nanotech processes occur at the scale of nanometers, the materials and objects that result from these processes can be much larger. Large-scale results happen when nanotechnology involves massive parallelism in which many simultaneous and synergistic nanoscale processes combine to produce a large-scale result.
Nanotechnology spans and merges disciplines dealing with matter at the micro level (physics, chemistry, and biology) with those dealing with matter at the macro level (engineering, materials science and computer science).
Nanotechnology coatings are already being used to make clothing with stain-resistant fibers. Nanotech powders are already being used to formulate high-performance sun-screen lotions. Nanoparticles are already helping to deliver drugs to targeted tissues within the body. Additional applications are underway in the areas of: medical diagnosis and treatments; biotechnology; advanced development of pharmaceuticals; cosmetics; aerospace and automotive industries; security, defense, and environmental protection; electronics, computers and communication; energy production, storage, and lighting; and manufacturing and product design.
Nanomanufacturing is the creation of materials and products through:
(1) Direct Molecular Assembly (DMA)
Discrete, directed assembly of individual atoms and molecules into macroscale materials and products;
(2) Indirect Crystalline Assembly (ICA)
Creation of conditions that foster the growth of nanoscale crystals that are then combined into macroscale materials and products;
(3) Massive Parallelism Assembly (MPA)
The creation of many nanomachines or nanobots whose operating parameters cause them to work synergistically to assemble atoms and molecules into macroscale materials and products.
What defines life? Is it the ability to …reproduce? … adapt to the environment? …think and learn? Or is life determined by structure and origin rather than function and ability?
Nanotechnology may be able to create nanobots that emulate certain functions of biological entities, but the structures and origin of nanobots will likely remain quite different than those of biological entities.
Nanotechnology has the potential to completely revolutionize the electronics industry.Nanomachines may some day create computer circuits from the “bottom up” -- one atom at a time. This would allow the manufacturing of nanochips on a much smaller scale than chips created with current “top down” etching techniques.
For example: (1) carbon nanotubes grown in targeted micro-environments can have super-conductive properties; and (2) nanowires as small as strings of atoms can be grown like crystals and then assembled into circuits. Circuits created atom-by-atom or grown using nanocrystalline techniques will be much smaller, lighter, efficient, cooler, stronger, and faster than circuits made with conventional manufacturing processes.
Nanotechnology has numerous energy-related applications. Nanophotonics is the application of nanotechnology to the transformation of electricity to light or light to electricity. In this area, nanocrystals or nanophosphores can make this transformation with greater efficiency than traditional incandescent lighting or solar panels. Using nanoceramic material as the covering for batteries absorbs electromagnetic waves and prolongs battery life. Nanopolymers provide high-performance insulation for energy transmission lines and decrease energy loss across long distances.
In the telecommunications industry, nanotechnology will play an important role in the coming years particularly with respect to fiber optics. Nanocrystalline materials can be made with finer resolution than standard fibers for enhanced optic cables, switches, lenses and junctions. In telecommunications more generally, the fields of nanotechnology and holotechnology will overlap in the design of the projection screens and user interfaces of the next generations of holographic cell phones, “Holographones,” and televisions, “HoloTVs.”
Nanotechnology is already being used for several sports and recreation related applications. For example, nanotech tennis rackets and golf clubs are 