1. Nanotechnology Fact or Myth? Science of Technology
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2. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
There are currently biological nano-machines that naturally exist in your body.
Viruses are nano-sized biological machines that currently exist inside the body. Viruses can self-replicate within a cell, which means that virus parts spontaneously come together to create new viruses.
The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent this illness is by getting a flu vaccination each fall.
Every year in the United States, on average:
- 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu
- more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and
- about 36,000 people die from flu. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications.
New influenza virus variants result from frequent antigenic change (i.e., antigenic drift) resulting from point mutations that occur during viral replication.
Influenza virus particle

3. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
2. Tiny nanotweezers can be used to pick up nanometer-sized molecules and move them around to build different structures.
True, but a major challenge is the stickiness of materials at the nanoscale. Many materials adhere to the tweezers and refuse to be released. Picking up is easy, but putting down is difficult.

4. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
3. Gold nano-sized balls can be injected into the body to kill cancer cells.
Tiny gold capsules, a few nanometers in diameter, are coated with antibodies. The capsules adhere to a tumor. As the capsules are irradiated with a laser, the gold heats up, destroying the tumor while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue unharmed.

5. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
MYTH
4. Engineers have created a nano-sized car that has four doors, tires, and tiny seats and can move around freely.
Engineers have made a car with wheels made of buckyballs and a chassis and axle made of organic molecules that can move. The car is 4 nanometers across. It does not have doors, tires, or seats.
Buckyball image

6. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
5. There are clothes that do not stain due to nanotechnology. You can spill juice on your nanopants and the juice just rolls off.
Textile chemical engineers can treat fabric with a special process to alter the fabric’s properties at the nanoscale. The fabric resists stains and repels spills.
Future of Fabric

7. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
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Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
6. Through nanotechnology, ice cream is being made that is lower in fat and healthier for you.
Using nanotechnology in ice cream has created a tighter matrix in the ice cream that results in smaller ice crystals. This makes a smoother and creamier ice cream that is lower in fat.

8. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
MYTH
7. NASA plans to build a space elevator that would use carbon nanotubes to move materials from Earth to outer space.
Liftport, a space-infrastructure company, supports construction of a space elevator. The concept includes long thin cables made of carbon nanotubes anchored to a platform at sea that, with the help of robots, would move materials to outer space.

9. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
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Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
8. Wilson Double Core Tennis Balls last longer because a thin layer of nanocoating is applied to the rubber lining.
Nanolok™ is applied via a roll, dip, or spray coating process onto a rubber substrate. Once dry, a thin coating (10-30 microns) of Nanolok™ forms on the substrate. A thin layer of Nanolok™ on the inner rubber lining of these balls increases air retention compared to the uncoated rubber.

10. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
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Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
FACT
9. Self-cleaning toilets are now available. These toilets are made with nanotechnology that keeps the porcelain clean.
CeFIONtect, Ceramic Fine Ion Technology, is a ceramic glaze that prevents waste particles, bacteria, or mold from attaching to a surface. This permanent stain-resistant surface lasts as long as the product is in use.

11. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
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Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Fact or Myth?
MYTH
10. Through nanotechnology, steaks can be made atom-by-atom such that cows are no longer needed to produce the meat.
Currently there is no way to make complex proteins like those found in steak. Food chemists are looking at new food additives and ways to keep food from spoiling through nanotechnology.

12. Nanotechnology, Fact or Myth?
PLTW Gateway
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Image Resources
Microsoft, Inc. (2009). Clip Art. Retrieved January 30, 2009, from