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Why nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology holds various benefits and applications in our everyday lives. It offers use in precision manufacturing, material reuse, and miniaturization to manufacture nanoscale computers. Not only can nanotechnology be applied in manufacturing, it also has uses in medicine such as pharmaceutical creation, surgery by the help of nanomachines, and disease treatment by the help of drug delivery, etc. It even has potential use in environmental aspects like toxic clean up and recycling.
Nanotechnology has especially beneficial uses for developing countries where it can be used to control hunger by increasing crop production through nanoporous fertilizers that exponentially increase crop growth and nanosensors that monitor crop health. Also it may be used to provide clean drinking water and sanitation through the help of nanoclays and nanomembranes made of carbon nanotubes that purify water better than present day viral and bacterial filters. It may offer its application in providing cheap renewable energy by the help of quantum dots that reduce the cost of conventional solar cells.

Commercial Nanotech Applications

Commercial Nanotech Applications :
At SEMICON West the Extreme Nano session pointed to the fact that miniscule dreams are beginning to become reality. Applications such as nanoclusters for cleaning and implants, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) used for transparent conductive films and next-generation memory cells are finally becoming commercial realities.
The presentations offered as part of the Extreme Nano session point to the fact that miniscule dreams are beginning to become reality, as once-exotic nanoscale materials leave the labs to be applied to some real-world products. Applications such as nanoclusters for cleaning and implants, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) used for transparent conductive films, and next-generation memory cells are finally (albeit slowly) becoming commercial realities.
created as CMOS continues to be scaled down.
It focused on CNTs' tremendous promise for applications ranging from improving the performance of sporting goods, to highly conductive printable electronics. "There is serious investment underway in building manufacturing capacity for CNTs, though applications are still in their infancy.
CNTs can function as semiconductors or metallic conductors, and when applied in nanometer thick films, can provide conductive transparent films with excellent overall properties. Unidym is deploying its CNT-based transparent conductive film platform in applications that include resistive and capacitive touch panels and other display applications such as LCD, OLED and EPD. Production-length rolls of optical, conductive films have been produced that have been incorporated into prototype devices including flexible displays, touch panels and TFT-LCD. The performance attributes demonstrate a level of robustness and processing ease not offered by the old-generation ITO films. "To fully commercialize these films, certain customer processes might have to be modified or optimized.
An example is the patterning process, where we have found that laser etching will be a highly efficient and environmentally friendly method."
In his presentation on high-resolution thick copper interconnects. As we expect more mobile functionality from our personal electronics, new standards are being developed to allow greater data rates between these low-power devices and the infrastructure in which they are moving .
Significant benefits can be obtained in these application areas by the ability to integrate thick copper interconnect layers (≥10 µm) at high resolution into the top metal layers of these devices.These benefits are multiple, having a positive impact on circuit performance, power consumption, form factor, system reliability and cost." Being able to perform this integration economically and robustly opens up new perspectives for these types of devices, especially as application frequencies start to move up into the tens of gigahertz to exploit new possibilities within the electromagnetic spectrum and to simplify the implementation of new techniques such as cognitive radio.

The Nature of Technology

Technology has a number of distinct characteristics:
1. It is Related to Science?Although there is certainly a relationship between science and technology, there is, except in certain high technology industries, very little technology that could be classified as applied science. Technology is marked by different purposes, different processes a different relationship to established knowledge and a particular relationship to specific contexts of activity. Change in the material environment is the explicit purpose of technology, and not, as is the case with science, the understanding of nature; accordingly its solutions are not right or wrong, verifiable or falsifiable, but more or less effective from different points of view.
2. It Involves DesignAt the centre of technology lies design. That “design is the very core of engineering” is affirmed by the requirement that all degree engineering courses should embody it. The design process in technology is a sequential process which begins with the perception of a need, continues with the formulation of a specification, the generation of ideas and a final solution, and ends with an evaluation of the solution.
3. It Involves MakingThe motivating factor behind all technological activity is the desire to fulfil a need. For this reason all designs should be made or realised - whether that be through prototype, batch- or mass- production or some form of three-dimensional or computer model - if the need is to be truly fulfilled, the design is to be legitimately evaluated, and the design activity is to have been purposeful and worthwhile.
4. It is Multi-DimensionalNot only may design and production involve co-operation between different specialisms (between, for example, designer, production engineer and materials scientist), but may involve “technologists” in performing a multitude of functions, such as working with others, operating within budgets, persuading decision makers, communicating to clients and working to deadlines.
5. It Is Concerned With ValuesTechnology is informed by values at every point. Value decisions may be called for not only in relation to the specific design criteria (i.e. aesthetic, ergonomic and economic judgements, suitability for purpose and ease of manufacture) but also in relation to the rightness or wrongness of a particular solution in ethical terms.
6. It is Socially Shaped/ShapingTechnological enterprises are determined not by advances in knowledge nor simply by the identification of needs, but by social interests. Of the potential new technologies available at any one time only a few are developed and become widely implemented. In this way technology is shaped by society, by consumer choice. yet it could also be argued that technology shapes society - the technology of the motor car, for example, has shaped our environment and our whole way of life.

Nanotech solve many human problems

Technology is not a panacea. However, it can be extremely useful in solving many kinds of problems. Improved housing and plumbing will increase health. More efficient agriculture and industry save water, land, materials, and labor, and reduce pollution. Access to information, education, and communication provides many opportunities for self improvement, economic efficiency, and participatory government. Cheap, reliable power is vital for the use of other technologies and provides many conveniences. Today, technology relies on distributed manufacturing, which requires many specialized materials and machines and highly trained labor. It is a difficult and slow process to develop an adequate technology base in an impoverished area. However, molecular manufacturing does not require skilled labor or a large supporting infrastructure: a single personal nanofactory (PN) with a single chemical supply and power supply can produce a wide range of useful, reliable products, including copies of itself to double the manufacturing infrastructure in hours desired.

Nanotechnology Safety Initiative

Nanotechnology is defined by the National Nanotechnology Initiative as "the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications." These materials can, in theory, be engineered from nearly any chemical substance; semiconductor nanocrystals, organic dendrimers, and carbon fullerenes and carbon nanotubes are a few of the many examples. Nanoscale materials are already appearing in commerce as industrial and consumer products and as novel drug delivery formulations. Commercial applications and resultant opportunities for human exposure may differ substantially for "nanoscale" compared with "bulk" materials.
There is very little research focus on the potential toxicity of manufactured nanoscale materials. The unique and diverse physicochemical properties of nanoscale materials suggest that toxicological properties may differ from materials of similar composition but larger size.
Surface properties can be changed by coating nanoscale particles with different materials, but surface chemistry also is influenced by the size of the particle. This interaction of surface area and particle composition in eliciting biological responses adds an extra dimension of complexity in evaluating potential adverse events that may result from exposure to these materials.
The NTP is engaged in a broad-based research program to address potential human health hazards associated with the manufacture and use of nanoscale materials. This initiative is driven by the intense current and anticipated future research and development focus on nanotechnology. The goal of this research program is to evaluate the toxicological properties of major nanoscale materials classes which represent a cross-section of composition, size, surface coatings, and physicochemical properties, and use these as model systems to investigate fundamental questions concerning if and how nanoscale materials can interact with biological systems.

Communication and Debate
Nanotechnology is likely to change our lives in many ways. It is important that nanotechnology is developed in a responsible way – in a way that responds to the needs and concerns of the citizens. An open debate involving the public is indispensable. This will allow a shared analysis of benefits and risks (both real and perceived) and their implications for society. Providing accessible information will allow people to better understand what nanotechnology is, how it will be applied, and its implications for society. Interested people must be enabled to reach their own informed and independent judgements
Education and Mobility:
Our capability to generate knowledge depends upon the up-to-date education, training and lifelong learning of researchers, engineers and other skilled personnel. At the same time, mobility across borders and disciplines and between academia and industry improves the quality of education and training, particularly in nanotechnology where progress is fast and interdisciplinarity plays a determinant role. For achieveing these goals, it is indispensable to attract the young public to science in general and nanotechnology in particular. Special attention has to be paid to the participation of girls and women in order to increase and strengthen the human resources basis.

Nanotechnology Applications

The Understanding Nanotechnology Website is dedicated to providing clear and concise explanations of nanotechnology applications. Scan the listings below to find an application of interest, or click any topic on the navigation bar to the left to go directly to the page discussing an application of interest.

Nanotechnology Applications in:
Medicine
Researchers are developing customized nanoparticles the size of molecules that can deliver drugs directly to diseased cells in your body. When it's perfected, this method should greatly reduce the damage treatment such as chemotherapy does to a patient's healthy cells.Nanomedicine refers to future developments in medicine that will be based on the ability to build nanorobots. In the future these nanorobots could actually be programmed to repair specific diseased cells, functioning in a similiar way to antibodies in our natural healing processes.
Nanoelectronics: Nanotechnology in Electronics
How can nanoelectronics improve the capabilities of electronic components?
Nanoelectronics holds some answers for how we might increase the capabilities of electronics devices while we reduce their weight and power consumption. Some of the nanoelectronics areas under development, which you can explore in more detail by following the links provided in the next section, include:
Improving display screens on electronics devices. This involves reducing power consumption while decreasing the weight and thickness of the screens.
Increasing the density of memory chips. Researchers are developing a type of memory chip with a projected density of one terabyte of memory per square inch or greater.
Reducing the size of transistors used in integrated circuits.

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