Nanotechnology By: Adam Morte

What is Nanotechnology? Nanotechnology is broadly defined as controlling matter on a scale of smaller than one micrometer. It also can be defined as an extension of existing sciences along a nanoscale. Human hair is 80,000 nm wide. One nanometer (nm) is one billionth (10^-9) of a meter

Approaches to Nanotechnology Two main approaches: “bottom-up” & “top-down”. Bottom-up occurs when devices are built from smaller components into more complex assemblies molecule by molecule. Top-down occurs when smaller nano-objects are constructed from larger entities that direct their assembly & built piece by piece in stages, much like the way manufactured items are constructed.

Advantages of Nanotechnology When nanotechnology is applied the ratio of surface area to volume increases & opens possibilities Has ability to improve materials strength and intelligence while enabling products to be smaller, light weight, more flexible, more efficient, and run cleaner. Materials when reduced to a nano-size can show very different properties than on a macro scale. Substances such as aluminum and plastic become combustible & solid gold becomes a liquid. Plastic can conduct electricity very well on nano scale.

Impacts on Computer Speed Improve capabilities of current computer chips Allows speeds that we have never dreamed of In 1995 there was a challenge to make the worlds first nanometer supercomputer that would run billions of times faster than our current computers Deadline is November of 2011

Impacts on Computer Memory Continue to shrink memory components

NVRAM Nano-engineered crystals could lead to the realization of a 50 year old dream of creating Nonvolatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) Laptop computers would no longer need back-up batteries, allowing them to be smaller and lighter.

Far Future Possibilities are endless Nanotechnology is said to potentially allow for entirely new computation methods with algorithms based on quantum principles. Would greatly increase the speed and memory capacity of computer systems.

Risks Little is known about nanotechnology. The extent of the technologies capabilities are still unknown. World take over Unpredictable outcomes

Questions?