NANOTECH INNOVATIONS

Nanotechnology is science on a very tiny level—it examines the atoms and molecules of different substances to see how they affect each other. Recently, this research has been put to impressive use.

Nanotechnologists are now saying that they have produced “self-cleaning” products that, when applied to typical household surfaces, simply make the dirt disappear.

Nanotechnology cleaning has several branches and functions in many different ways, but just a few of them are:

Self-cleaning fabrics. Fashionistas, rejoice! Australian researchers have discovered that a thin layer of titanium dioxide nanoparticles will immediately “eat” any stain. This could revolutionize the clothing industry.

So far they’ve only tried this technique on wool and silk, but don’t worry—eventually they’ll get around to all your favorite fabrics.

Cleansing films. These chemical treatments are applied (usually sprayed) onto smooth surfaces that tend to accumulate a lot of grime.

This makes them perfect for the kitchen or bathroom. After being sprayed, the nanotechnology in the chemical breaks down dirt at a molecular level, so that if left on long enough it will completely dissolve. If left to work only a small amount of time, it will at least make the grime easy to wipe off.

One of these films uses titanium oxide nanoparticles as its main ingredient. Titanium oxide is known as a “photocatalyst” because it has the ability to turn ordinary light into energy, and then uses that energy source to kill harmful bacteria. When you use this nano-spray, it literally eats the dirt right off of anything you spray it onto.

This form of nanotechnology cleaning has also been modified to create a super-effective window cleaner. Nanotechnologists have customized the molecular characteristics of thin polymer layers, making a product that you can quickly and easily apply to glass surfaces from your kitchen window to your car’s windshield.

Many people enjoy using it on their windshield because it has long-lasting water repellant properties. This not only makes the windshield easier to keep clean, but also makes driving in the rain much safer.

Nanoparticle soaps. When nanoparticles—or in other words small amounts of a chemical whose structure is based on nanotechnology, are placed within a regular hand soap, they greatly increase the efficiency of the soap.

This is great news for the environment, since nanoparticles can replace other chemicals with harmful byproducts. It also increases the natural efficiency of hand soap to keep your hands clean, making this a win-win situation from many angles.

Silver nanoparticles. This one is still in question because there is some concern that small particles of silver may damage helpful bacteria if they find their way into the water systems, as they inevitably will if used for cleaning purposes.

On the other hand, their antibacterial properties make them great cleaning agents when it comes to the gunk on your counters and floors. Elemental silver naturally kills off harmful bacteria.

Super washing machines. Companies like Samsung have used nanotechnology cleaning to revolutionize the way we clean clothes.

During the wash and rinse cycles, their machines electrolyze silver particles to produce over 400 billion silver ions. These ions penetrate and permeate the clothing inside the washing machine, giving it a deep-clean at the molecular level.

Not only this, but the nano-silver provides a lasting layer of sterilization that eliminates 99.99% of household bacteria on your clothing for up to 30 days. And perhaps best of all for mothers is that it automatically keeps the washing machine clean.

The silver nanoparticles disinfect every little nook and cranny of the washer’s insides. Samsung is also developing a similar product that will keep your refrigerator clean and free of bacteria.

Below is a list of  other household cleaning products that are currently in development:

Altimate Enviorcare. This spray-on film is packed full of titanium oxide nanoparticles and not only kills bacteria, but also eliminates odors.

EnviroSan Products. This line of cleaning products replaces harmful substances with more environmentally-friendly nanoparticles called “micelles,” which remove grease and dirt with unparalleled efficiency.

Nanofilm. As the name suggests, this one is also a liquid film. It uses polymer molecules that bond to glass surfaces like your windshield, protecting it with a thin, strong shield that repels dirt and water. This means that your windshield will self-clean for weeks before another application is needed.

Nanotec.Similar to Nanofilm, but with a more all-purpose application. It can be sprayed on most smooth surfaces and not only cleans the dirt off them, but leaves behind a hydrophobic layer of nanoparticles that repel water and dirt.

Although these miraculous nanotechnology cleaning products are still in their experimental stages, within as little as five years we may find them becoming a central part of our everyday lives. Already there are a handful of everyday cleaning products being developed.

However, the ramifications of this technology will go beyond your living room, although they are useful around the house. Nanotechnology is keeping everything clean, from cars to windows to historical monuments.

Certain important buildings in Rome and Tokyo have already been given a liberal coat of self-cleaning spray to keep grime and dirt from accumulating.

Nanotechnology also creates a positive solution for pollution. The future of nanotechnology is bright, there are endless possibilities, could we invent a substance that eats garbage, who knows ! ? Scientists are conducting research  products of this nature.

Researchers at the University of South Australia’s Ian Wark Research Institute have found a way to purify drinking water with nanotechnology, something that is increasingly crucial in today’s world. Poor-quality drinking water continues to be a dangerous health issue for the majority of the earth’s population.

It’s no secret to the scientific world that carbon nanotubes are changing the face of science—in fact, researchers and scientists are spending more and more time these days developing and discovering new means of using carbon nanotubes to do…well, just about everything. Since 2005, nanotube water has been a hot topic of discussion, although carbon nanotubes have made quite a few other advances as well.

If you have a plant that isn’t drinking enough water to survive, pump it full of carbon nanotubes. If you have a sensor machine that doesn’t detect chemical gases fast enough, make a new one with carbon nanotubes. If you have a car that’s not strong enough and weighs too much to be profitable, rebuild it using carbon nanotubes. In fact, carbon nanotubes are so light, that you could carry a thousand of them in your pocket and not even know that they there. In addition, they’re so strong that you could shoot a bullet from an AK-47 at close range and the bullet would simply bounce back without even making a dent.

Recent findings that say nanoparticles can help purify water seem like something you can expect from a science fiction movie or something that you can read from a book by Jules Verne. Can nanoparticles really help give us cleaner and purer water, and if so, how does it work to do this?

When you talk about nanoparticles, you may begin to visualize those little robots that a certain cartoon character developed to help him with certain tasks and deeds. These are nano-bots and are not what scientists in universities in Mexico have developed in order to help clean water of toxic substances in less than an hour.

How this happens seems to need the power of the sun or of ultraviolet light to complete the purification process. What the researchers in these universities used was titanium oxide nanoparticles that have been made to adhere to glass with the use of heat.

Once water in these glass containers that have been treated with these nanoparticles is hit by sunlight or by UV rays, the water is then purified.

This same concept is actually being used by certain companies who purify water but not as their main water purification mode. Instead, the use of nanoparticles for purification is a secondary method used with other water purification methods to further remove toxins and dirt from water.

What these companies do is to add porous nanoparticles to water-purifying membranes to help increase their water purification efficiency and to enhance productivity without compromising quality. This method is often seen as doubly effective as current water purification methods and would help with increasing volume while reducing energy requirements.

This new idea for purifying water is paired off with reverse osmosis and is seen as the new solution to the ever-increasing need for clean drinking water in a time when water supplies are fast disappearing. This new technology for making fresh water can be used with desalination and can make fresh water out of saltwater faster and with the use of less energy.

This may seem too good to be true since saltwater has seldom been purified with the use of membranes like the one used in reverse osmosis due to the energy needs that are required by such an action.

The use of nanoparticles in this equation seems to not only help purify water effectively by removing the toxins that can be found in the water being cleaned, it also helps increase the production of clean water due to the water-attracting or hydrophilic properties that this membrane now has due to these nanoparticles.

While this may seem way too idealistic, the company that seems to have developed this technology is set to put out their water purification system for commercial use in the coming year. Sounds too good to be true? Probably, but imagine if this produces what it says it can produce.

You will be able to solve the water pollution problem that a lot of countries around the world are experiencing—and all you will need is this new nanoparticle water purification system and a salt water source and you have water that you can drink safely.

Utilizing the unique technology of nanoscience, nanotechnology water heaters are today’s must-have in every household as they deliver all the benefits that a water heater should provide plus more—providing additional perks that include reducing the household’s water and electric costs, lowering energy consumption, reducing space requirement, and conserving electricity.

The science behind these water heaters seems complicated but is actually easy to understand. They were designed without the use of metallic heating tubes to eliminate corrosion and hard water buildup.

The choice of using quartz instead was decided not only because there is an abundant supply of the mineral worldwide but also because it presents an impeccably rapid thermal capacity and stability even after many years of constant use without any hint of deterioration on its performance.

Combined with PID controllers, special circuit breakers, and leakage current protection, nanotechnology water heaters provide every home their much-needed hot water supply in a very safe and cost-effective way.

Understanding the Product

More and more eco-conscious companies and organizations are spending millions of dollars to fund research and development of eco-friendly products that are not only functional and effective but are likewise ecologically friendly. And one of these innovative nanoscience solutions that are fast gaining popularity worldwide is the nanotechnology water heater.

The new-generation water heater is the first to utilize nanoscience technology that combines the accuracy of PID temperature controller with the efficiency of the heating properties of nonmetallic quartz. These state-of-the-art water heaters were practically designed for reliability, dependability, economy, and most vital of all, for the home’s safety.

Not only does it provide continuous and long-lasting hot water supply for the household, it likewise poses no harm to the environment while at the same time ridding the household of maintenance worries and costs.

Understanding the Design

With these water heaters that were nanotechnologically designed, you are guaranteed to experience incomparable quality, value, and efficiency never before experienced with electric water heaters, solar water heaters and gas water heaters.

With that said, these patented nanotechnology water heaters offer great advantages that include the following:

They provide “energized” water heaters that are healthy for the skin and the body.

They provide purified soft water sans the need for either the costly filters and water softeners.

They eliminate sediment buildup and unhealthy corrosion that are typically associated with heating elements.

They require far less electric consumption compared to the regular water heaters.

They do not post any maintenance problems and costs.

Water heaters developed through nanotechnology have set a new standard in water heating and other related applications that will surely oblige more green companies to exert more effort in coming up with similar products that provide far more than just simply hot water.

With the evident effects of environmental neglect, energy all over the world is becoming more and more depleted. With energy sources becoming scarce, it generally results to a stiff competition to obtain the limited sources for energy resulting to high power charges. There are several sources of energy, and some of them are even natural resources such as wind, solar, and hydro. But even if the sources of energy are natural resources and should be delivered to the people at a lower cost, still, power costs are high due to expenses incurred while generating electricity.

For several years now, scientists and researches has been looking at other means to obtain the following:

Achieving These Goals Using Nanotechnology Solar Panel

Nanotechnology aims to build important things with the use of tiny machines or by producing highly advanced, essential, and quality products using tools and techniques provided by nanotechnology.

Part of the researches being conducted is to come up with a solar panel that would accurately capture solar energy that can be utilized at home, in the office, and even in large-scale industrial areas. Although there are already solar panels available in the market today, these solar panels that are usually made of silicone panels only capture 67.4% light incident or solar energy emitted by the sun. Whereas, with nanotechnology, industrial and electrical manufacturers can now produce a coating for solar panels using nanorods that can capture 96.7 % light incident.

The way we see, feel, and touch things is about to change. In fact, the change has already begun and though it hasn’t touched our lives in any significant manner yet the day when that happens is around the corner.

From self-cleaning windows to super energy efficient lighting, nanotechnology is revolutionizing the way we live.

Lighting has been an important aspect of our lives, of our existence.

Due to the awareness that the world is fast running out of fossil fuels and other natural sources of energy, the need for finding green and efficient lighting sources has become even more important.

CFL and LED or light emitting diodes lights are just two of the most common examples of green lighting sources.

However, as technology improves, and newer grounds are covered in science, the use of nanotechnology to further increase the efficiency of LED lighting has started looking more realistic.

LED Lighting

LEDs were first discovered in the 1920s. They are semi-conductors that have the capability to change electricity into light. Once the light switch is turned on, electrons journey through an area with larger numbers to an area with lesser numbers, and release small pools of energy or photons (which is the lowest form of light).

The best part about LED lights is that they don’t release any heat unlike traditional tungsten bulbs.

So also, LED lighting uses only a small percentage of energy as required by regular bulbs and they don’t contain any toxic metals like mercury that are used in CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs. All this makes LED lights efficient, durable, and longer lasting.

LED Lighting Colors

You’ve probably seen LED lighting in colors like blue, green, yellow, and white. The color of the LED lights is dependent on the type of semiconductors used. Red colored LEDs were the first on the scene, followed by orange.

After many years, the most commonly used, blue LED lights used in mobiles, laptops, CD players, and other electronic appliances, were developed. However, the most important of all LED lights are the white LEDs.

There is no such thing as a true white LED. The white LED used is actually blue LED filtered through a coating of yellow phosphorus that emits faux-white light that has a perceptible bluish hue.

Experts believe that if white LEDs are paired with green LEDs, we should be able to get lighting in almost every visible color.

If a high performing green LED light can be developed, it would pave the way for high performing, energy efficient electronic devices like LED TVs, Computer monitors, and many others.

One of the frequent scourges that affect mankind is the problem related to the human immunodeficiency virus that is more popularly known as HIV. Affecting Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia, and some parts of Europe, the HIV problem is of pressing need to man and governments because of its impact to health. This is why researches for the development of cures for HIV has been in feverish pitch since the disease was first discovered in the early 80s. However, despite all these, cures for HIV are something that is still elusive. That was the case until nanotechnology came along and gave mankind its first real hope of winning against this dreaded disease. Today, various products of nanotechnology that might cure HIV are seriously pursued in the hope that it will put an end to man’s worrying of the disease.