Imagine a medical device that travels through the human body to seek out and destroy small clusters of cancerous cells before they can spread. Or a box no larger than a sugar cube that contains the entire contents of a Library. Or materials much lighter than steel that possess ten times as much strength. — U.S. National Science Foundation.

The tremendous positive aspects of nanotechnology or the 21^st century revolution and the unbelievable size of each atom (the precision creation and manipulation of matter on the atomic scale), made me pick such a title for this blog. Start imagining biscuit factories and bread factories on a desktop, such is this technology. Everything in miniature form. I am finding it hard to believe that we are still in the age of human beings and not robots!! Again this is not my subject, but an interest in nanotechnology has inspired me to write this. Hope you would enjoy reading this and at the same time gain some knowledge about this amazing technology.

In 1959 the Nobel Prize winning American physicist, Richard Feynman gave a public lecture, and he proposed that a set of robot arms could manufacture a miniature set of arms, one tenth the original size and then these arms could replicate themselves, again at a tenth of their size. Ultimately reaching the size of the individual molecule and called this molecular manufacture. No one bothered about his lecture until 1980 when Eric Dexler and engineer from Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) termed Feynman’s idea as nanotechnology.

One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 10^-9 of a meter. How tiny is that? For comparison, a DNA double-helix has a diameter around 2 nm. On the other hand, the smallest cellular life forms, the bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma, are around 200 nm in length.

Relevance in day-to-day essentials (a few examples)

Polymer dispersions contain polymer particles ranging from ten to several hundred nanometres in size. They are found in exterior paints, coatings and adhesives, or are used in the finishing of paper, textiles and leather.

Many lemonades and fruit juices contain these specially formulated additives, which often also provide an attractive colour.

In the cosmetics sector, UV absorbers based on nano particulate zinc oxide, are incorporated in sun creams, the small particles filter the high-energy radiation out of sunlight. Because of their tiny size, they remain invisible to the naked eye and so the cream is transparent on the skin.

Tiny heated nano-probes beat cancer in mice- Nano-probes travel through the blood stream and identify cancer causing cells and destroy them. How convenient?

Nano-textile- stain repellent textile that is developed by coating the surface of the fabric with 10-100nm fibres

Carbon nanotubes are as stiff as diamond, 100 times stronger than steel and 6 times lighter than steel. These are all attributes that make them an ideal material for sports equipment, where strength and light weight are essential. (Used to make Aerosol Nike trainers).

More than 600 companies worldwide are already involved in nanotechnology. In the last year alone, corporations and governments worldwide have spent over $4 billion into research and development in this exciting new sector.

Responsible nanotech Vs irresponsible nanotech.

So far I have been talking about the positive aspects, but there are as much negative impacts, as beautifully told in the Science thriller ‘Prey’ by Michael Crichton. He described tiny self-replicating nanobots which could escape and destroy everything that comes its way. i.e.; invading a human body, killing the cells one by one. Like bacteria and viruses it can replicate and repair itself. Can you imagine self-replicating nanobots that could invade a neighbouring country? Think about it. Let us all ‘pray’ that we don’t fall ‘prey’ for this latest technology!

(I take this opportunity to thank all my rediffiland friends for leaving your comments on my previous blog ‘Why do this to me?’ Thank you so much for your time. Elamor).