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The problem of small
things
The new technology transforms everyday products and the way they are made by manipulating atoms so that materials can be shrunk, strengthened and lightened all at once. To date only modest nanotech-based products—such as stain-resistant fabrics and fresh food packaging — have entered the market, but some scientists predict nanotechnology will eventually be the only game in town. "It will be a ubiquitous technology," says George Stephanopoulos, professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He echoes other nanotech supporters who say industrial countries are already sliding towards its use in every aspect of manufacturing. But with such a huge gap between what is and what might be, it remains a difficult realm for investors, who cannot yet be confident that the global market will reach $1 trillion by 2015, as the US government predicts. Theory says it is all possible. A nano is a measurement of a billionth of a metre or about the size of 10 hydrogen atoms. That translates into 1/80,000 the diameter of a human hair. Aided by recent advances in microscopes, scientists can now place single atoms where they want for the first time. The potential applications are numerous, with microscopic computers, cancer-killing antennae and non-polluting car engines on the distant horizon. Impediments When it’s all going to happen, though, is another matter. According to most scientific accounts, the nanotech future may be 10 to 20 years off. Major hurdles need to be jumped. First, there is a lack of economic mass production. Some of the more complicated devices would require exact placement of billions of atoms. "It may take the lifetime of the universe to complete the construction of (such a) device," George Barbastathis, assistant professor in mechanical engineering at MIT tells Reuters. Another challenge is bridging the nanoscale and macroscopic, he says. In other words, the smallness of a nano device is useless when it must be attached to large wires. It’s unclear how scientists will overcome these problems. "There’s too much hype about making things small without too much reasoning," says Francesco Stellacci, MIT assistant professor of materials science and engineering. And fears derived from science fiction threaten to derail nanotechnology even as it emerges, in much the same way that popular anxiety over "superweeds" and "frankenfoods" have hobbled biotechnology in agriculture and fear of "designer babies" has set back stem-cell research. Environmental groups have called for a moratorium on nanotech research until any risks to society, the environment or human health have been established. That looks unlikely, given the political support for cutting-edge technologies across the world. The US Congress last year increased funding for nanotechnology research to $3.7 billion over four years. The European Union and Japan are also investing heavily in research into the new technology. Huge potential Major corporations do not want to be left behind either. Lured by a market with billions of dollars in potential profits, giants like GE, Intel, Motorola and IBM are already heavily involved in research. There are also a number of
leading start-ups, like Carbon Nanotechnologies (CNI) in Houston and
Frontier Carbon, a Mitsubishi Chemical joint venture. Worldwide, the two
industries with the potential to win big with nanotechnology are
electronics and biotechnology, according to MIT researchers. On the
biotech front, scientists are promoting the notion of nanoparticles made
from gold that could be triggered remotely to heat and kill individual
cancer cells. It’s that kind of project that gives nanotech the same
appeal as biotechnology had in the 1980s, when scientists and
entrepreneurs worked in tandem to fuel an industry with new advances in
genetic research. Nanotechnology holds equal promise for wealth
creation, but there isn’t a consensus among venture capitalists on how
to realise it. "Which direction is it going to work out in? That’s
the question on everyone’s mind," Gang Chen, an associate
professor of mechanical engineering at the MIT, told scientists at a
Boston nano gathering. Venture capitalists are finding a confusing assortment of new applications for a science that can baffle even the most experienced investor. Unlike biotech, where a
range of prospective products is mostly limited to those aimed at
treating various human diseases, potential nanotech-based products can
be applied to healthcare to chip making to aerospace, posing challenges
for venture capitalist specialists trained in only one area. |
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NANOTECHNOLOGY,
according to its fans, will jumpstart a new industrial revolution with
molecular-sized structures as complex as the human cell and 100 times
stronger than steel.