Technology of the Future Jon Cascio Seth Williams Kyle Barrett

How it works Nanotechnology works by three steps: manipulation create assemblers use replicators

Areas Affected By Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology and Computers Moore’s Law “The number of transistors on a CPU will double in number every 18 months.”

Nanocomputers Nanometer Transistors 1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter 1/500th width of a human hair Transistors Not small enough Top Down  Bottom up Nanotubes

Nanotubes Sheets of graphite rolled into a tube 50x stronger than steel 1-2 nanometers in diameter Controlling

Nanocomputers Using microwave energy and magnets Computers 200 – 500 times faster More reliable Cheaper 5-10 years

Ferroelectric Materials Voltage changes polarity Use like Binary Non-Volatile RAM Make computers lighter and smaller Won’t need back-up batteries

Problems So Far…. Not going to happen overnight Costs Production Programming

Nanotechnology and Medicine Engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale Hybrid of chemistry and engineering Purpose of nanotechnology is to align individual atoms into the desired structure

Medicine Intro Nanotechnology has several possible medical uses: A combatant against cancer Improve oxygen circulation in the body Molecular level tissue mapping

Cancer Research Nanorobots identify tumor Attach to the tumor Release toxin for that type of tumor Systems allow nanorobot to travel the body

Circulation Structures can house oxygen Oxygen is released at certain conditions Possible to replace red blood cells

Tissue Mapping Nanotechnology can provide a much closer look at tissues Tissues are fixed Nanorobot scans tissue Data processed by external computer

Nanotechnology and the Environment

Advantages Help clean up toxic spills Detect pollutants Expand available resources Glean materials before they become wastes Reduce energy consumption on the demand side

Nanoenergy and a Green Economy Harness solar energy with nanocells Membranes to convert sunlight into energy High efficiency solar cells Nano-photosynthesis Nanotechnology will be pollution free and use one-hundred percent recycled materials.

Food Production Nano-photosynthesis produces paper, sugar, and other materials to ease real environmental products Super efficient nanobots will make food last longer and have more minerals and vitamins. Maintain greenhouses

Pollution One hundred percent biodegradable and recyclable products Reduction of CFC’s and other toxic materials Reduction of smog and acid rain Prevention of global warming by using less fossil fuels

Future of Environmental Nano-technology Solar cells Nano-particle transportation throughout the environment Increasing food supplies Reduce and clean up of pollution

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-12/ru-nae120401.php http://www.tainano.com/TOWARD%20REAL%20SUSTAINABILITY%20BY%20NANOTECHNOLOGY.htm http://www.physorg.com/news70201487.html http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2001-07/dnl-flc060602.php http://www.actionbioscience.org/newfrontiers/merkle.html