The study of materials at the nanoscale. What is Nanoscience? The study of materials at the nanoscale. follow the youtube link - http://www.youtube.com/user/tcdnanoscience#p/a/556DA4E9D467F799/0/9PRSzkqFLEs

Nano means small... very small It is a million times smaller than the smallest measurement you can see on your ruler!

It is the unit we use to measure the building blocks of everything. a nanometre is… 0.000000001 metres OR 1 nm Converting meters into nanometers It is the unit we use to measure the building blocks of everything.

5 nanometres every second. A human fingernail grows e.g. A human fingernail grows 1 nanometre every second, the fact that you don’t see your nails growing shoes how small a nanometre is. A man’s beard grows 5 nanometres every second. A human fingernail grows 1 nanometre every second.

This is a silver nanowire resting on a human hair This is a silver nanowire resting on a human hair. Look at a strand of your own hair and imagine how small that is… This slide shows a picture of a silver nanowire resting on a human hair, the nanowire would not be visible with the naked eye.

Which of these is Gold? They both are! shutterstock_569689481.jpg mining.com They both are!

At the nanoscale, strange things happen to materials – their properties can change. Different sizes of particles react to light differently. The colour of gold can range from purple to red depending on the size of the atom clusters. The colour materials reflect and absorb light depends on the size of the molecule. Image: http://www.nano.uts.edu.au/pics/au_atoms.jpg

Hundreds of years ago it was known as art Red stained glass gets its colour from nanoparticles of gold that are only 20 nanometres across. Orange glass gets its colour from gold nanoparticles that are 80 nanometres across. church-stained-glass-windows. co.uk Salado Indian, Arizona worldssmallestmuseum.com Now we call it nanotechnology

Why is small good?

Can get into small spaces Cheaper More energy efficient Why is small good? Faster Lighter Can get into small spaces Cheaper More energy efficient There are a number of potential advantages to nano-enabled devices. Information can move faster through thin wires. If things are smaller they will be lighter and can be utilised in smaller spaces. Smaller materials tend to be cheaper to make. They also generally more energy efficent as they weigh less and require less energy to run.

for example zinc particles in sun cream Large Zinc Oxide particles appear white. Nano-scale ZnO particles appear clear. Both block harmful radiation Here a comparison is made between large and nano size zinc oxide particles–– particles typically found in sunscreen. Image: sydney.edu.au

The use of nano ideas to make things better and cheaper. Nanotechnology The use of nano ideas to make things better and cheaper. Here is a definition of nanotechnology.

How do we build small things? “Top-down”– building something by starting with a larger part and carving away material (e.g. like a sculpture). In nanotechnology, chips for computers are made by using acid to dissolve away unwanted material to get the right piece. Nanomaterials can be manufactured using a focussed beam of ions that can cut away materials with atomic precision.

“Bottom-up”– building something by assembling smaller parts (e. g “Bottom-up”– building something by assembling smaller parts (e.g. like building a car engine or Lego). In nanotechnology, atoms and molecules interact to make making nanowires from metals like silver, or carbon nanotubes. Nanoscience uses self assembly which is the arranging of particles into an ordered system.

Uses of nanotechnology Health: Diagnostics, Cancer treatment and targeted drug delivery. The following slides are covered in more detail in the individual modules. The pictures here show a stent used to keep arteries open made of carbon. A artists representation of a lab on a chip which would allow quick diagnosis with a single drop of blood. Magnetic nanoparticles being used in the treatment and diagnosis of illnesses.

Uses of nanotechnology Materials: Sports industry, cosmetics, clothing and space elevators. Waterproof clothing such as rain jackets use nanoscience to create the waterproofing. Nanoparticles are also used in cosmetics such as sunscreen and anti wrinkle creams. Carbon fibre nanoparticles are used in sports equipment. In the future scientists are hoping to develop a space elevator to orbiting stations. Image: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/27jul_nanotech

Uses of nanotechnology Faster processing, computers and smaller, more powerful mobile devices. Nanotechnology is helping to develop smaller, faster and more powerful computers.

Uses of nanotechnology Environment Cleaner energy, better energy storage (batteries) and treatment of water. Nanotechnology is helping to develop more efficient ways of capturing energy from sustainable sources like the sun. It is also being used to develop more effective methods of treating water. Image : http://www.exposolar.org

Our bodies can detect nanoparticles. Summary Nanoscience is about understanding how materials behave at the nanoscale. Properties of materials are different at the nanoscale compared to bulk materials. Nanotechnology is about applying our understanding of materials to make new products and improve existing ones. Points to remember: How big a nanometre is. Our bodies can detect nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are not all man made. howsmall.jpg http://www.discovernano.northwestern.edu/whatis/index_html/howsmall_html

Activity 1 You will need A height chart or two metre rules.   Fix the height chart vertically on a wall, or the two rules together. Lean your back against the height chart and stand up straight, heels touching the wall. Get someone to measure your height on the chart. Use a book held flat on your head for an accurate measurement – why?  Write your name on the chart. Write your height on the chart. How tall are you in nanometres? In metres?

Activity 2 Each group has nine test-tubes carefully filled with 9 ml of water and numbered 1 to 9 First person - with the Pasteur pipette, carefully measure 1 ml of food colouring and add it to tube number 1. Mix the tube thoroughly so that the colour is even throughout. Everybody smell the tube What does it smell of? Does it smell the same as the original food colouring? Put a stopper in the tube or tape over the top. .

Activity 2 page 2 *The next person takes 1 ml of liquid from the tube just closed and adds it to the next tube of water. Reseal the previous tube. Mix the tube thoroughly so that the colour is even throughout. Everybody smell the tube? What does it smell of? Does it smell the same as the original food colouring?* Repeat the instructions in red from * to * for each tube, one at a time. You are diluting the contents of tube 1 into tube 2, tube 2 into tube 3, and so on, until you dilute the contents of tube 8 into tube 9, repeating the mixing and smelling before doing the next dilution.

At what point can you no longer see any red in the tubes? Activity 2 page 3 At what point can you no longer see any red in the tubes? At what point can you no longer smell anything in the tubes? Is there a difference? In each tube the food colouring is ten times more dilute than the previous tube. By the time you reach the ninth tube the original food colouring has been diluted by a billion times, so for every part of food colouring there are a billion parts of water.   This experiment shows the sensitivity of our senses. Our sense of smell allows us to detect very dilute amounts of food colouring after we are no longer able to see any trace of it. We can only see relatively large objects, but our sense of taste and sense of smell can detect individual molecules which are just tens of nanometres in size.