Picture of the day

Based on an interpretation of existing and potential nanoscale technology, a "Stinger" engages in a delicate surgical operation to remove a cancer tumor. The Stinger nanorobot can inject a toxin or medicine of choice, either autonomously, or through teleoperation.

Visit artist Erik Victor's website

As with the previous picture, I will post the others in this series over time. To see it all now, visit the Nanotechnology Now Gallery.

Quote of the day

If the U.S. could manufacture large-scale products with high flexibility, high quality, and extremely low cost, it would possess an economic driver much larger than the whole of computing technology in the last quarter century. This is not an exaggeration, nor is it a description of a free lunch. It is the recognition of an economic opportunity that will accrue to any country that develops molecular manufacturing first.

~Neil Jacobstein, Ralph Merkle, Robert Freitas
Balancing the National Nanotechnology Initiative's R&D Portfolio

Building Materials and Housing Systems

One of the things my clients rely on is my keeping them up to date on current and future applications of nanoscale materials.

Today, while researching the building materials industry, a tidy little article by NanoVic crossed my desk.

Normally I won’t use this space to report news, but in this case I think an exception is warranted.

Here is an excerpt, which, taken as a whole (and including all the usual caveats), seems very promising:

Building materials

* Corrosion protective roofing and cladding using nanometer scale corrosion inhibitor coatings.
* Glass with properties such as self cleaning coatings. Transparent / opaque switchable glass, UV blocking glass, heat management glass coatings.
* High performance insulation materials based on nanoporous aerogel materials.
* Paint coatings with enhanced UV protection, and durability using transparent UV adsorbing nanoparticles, nanodyes, and nanoadditives.
* Antibacterial household fittings based on silver nanoparticles or light activated nanoparticles.
* Fire retardant materials using nanoparticles or nanoclays.
* Easy clean surfaces based on surface nanostructures that produce water-repellent surfaces.

Housing systems

* Water treatment systems based on nanofiltration and light activated nanoparticles that facilitate household water recycling.
* Energy efficient lighting using light conducting materials that transmit light and energy efficient LED and electroluminescent based lighting.
* Advances in energy generation using solar generation and advanced energy storage systems will enable freedom from grid electricity and environmental sustainability
* Intelligent housing systems that respond to stimuli such as temperature, light, and airflow to continually optimize the environment inside the building.

This list is by no means exhaustive, it does however, give you a glimpse into areas where nanoscale materials are making inroads. Areas that, collectively, represent hundreds of billions of dollars in annual revenues, and a huge number of jobs.

Read the entire article here

Picture of the day

2D electrons under Quantum Hall effect

2.5x2.5 microns topographic map of random potential by SPM microscopy (Scanning capacitive mode). SPM image courtesy Prof. Gleb Finkelstein. Duke University Physics Department. Acknowledgements: A. Hatzor & B. A. Mantooth. ScienceGL - Advanced 3D visualization software for microscopy

As with the previous picture, I will post the others in this series over time. To see it all now, visit the Nanotechnology Now Gallery.

Quote of the day

The companies that survive for the long term are unlikely to be strictly nanotechnology companies, per se. They will, however, almost certainly understand how nanotechnology can and must be applied to create new applications and new products. And, ultimately, it is these advances -- and the revenues they generate -- that will determine which companies are still around in two decades and which have gone the way of U.S. Leather and Tennessee Coal & Iron.

~Jack Uldrich link

Nanotubes, Pt III

Credit: Peihong Zhang. From the lab of Prof. Vincent H. Crespi “…nanotubes are the strongest fibers known.” See a video presentation

As a result of the research I have been conducting on carbon nanotubes for one of my clients, I can make the following observations:

     In the time since my 2003 survey (1), there are now a lot more varieties of nanotubes and nanotube-based products (resins and composites) being sold and used.

     In general, prices have gone down. However, certain varieties remain very expensive, and none are “industrial quantities” cheap.

     You can now buy bulk nanotubes in the $5 - $8 per gram range. They won’t be “pure.” They will, however, give you an opportunity to “play” with them without breaking the bank. (When you view the 2003 survey you will note low cost nanotubes; by and large these were small quantity lots, not kg quantities as is available today.)

     Purity is definitely an issue; most producers of nanotubes now sell them based on “percent pure.” The higher the purity the higher the cost, well above $1,000 per gram in many cases.

     Purity is related to “what percent is nanotubes and what is impurities” as well as “what percent is a certain type of nanotube, while the remainder is another.”


In recent conversations with one of the leading nanotube researchers and one of the leading visionaries of nanotube-enable products, I came away with a couple insights:

     Nanotubes will be a huge part of the advanced materials world where strength and weight are primary concerns.

     Given recent progress in production increases and reasons to believe separation issues will be solved soon, use of nanotubes in consumer products and military applications should start to take off within the next year or so. (For instance, CNTs are being added to most Li-ion batteries produced in Japan, and the US military has several near-future applications being jointly developed by industry, university and government labs.)

The visionary closed our conversation with “We can't talk publicly about what we are doing yet but, yes, 2007 will be an interesting year.” When their news hits the streets, expect big, bold headlines.


(1) http://www.nanotech-now.com/nanotube-survey-april2003.htm