1. So What Is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
So What Is Nanotechnology?

2. What Is Nanotechnology?
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
What Is Nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology allows the manipulation of atoms or molecules to create or modify materials at the nanoscale.
“If I were asked for an area of science and engineering that will most likely produce the breakthroughs of tomorrow, I would point to nanoscale science and engineering.”
~Neal Lane
Former Assistant to the President for Science and Technology

3. What’s So Special About Nanotechnology?
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
What’s So Special About Nanotechnology?
Materials can have different properties at the nanoscale
Better at conducting electricity or heat
Stronger
Different magnetic properties
Reflect light better
Change color
Larger surface area, so more surface is available for interactions with other materials
To illustrate the importance of surface area, think of a piece of gum chewed into a ball. Then think about stretching that gum into as thin a sheet as possible. The surface, or area visible on the outside, is much greater for the stretched out gum than it is for the wad of gum. The stretched gum is likely to dry out and to become brittle faster than the wad due to more contact at the surface with the air around it.

4. Nanotechnology Products
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Products
Anti-bacterial wound dressings
Nanoscale dry powder neutralizes gas and liquid toxins in chemical spills
Batteries deliver more power, more quickly, and with less heat
Sunscreen to prevent sunburns
Scratch and glare resistant coatings for eye glasses, windows, and car mirrors

5. So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
What Is a Buckyball?
Hollow spherical molecule made up of 60 carbon atoms arranged into 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons
1 nanometer in diameter
Resembles the shape of a soccer ball, but is 10 septillion times smaller (10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)
1 nm
22 cm

6. So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Buckyball
Extremely strong for use in building materials
May replace silicon in electronic devices
Scientists and engineers are exploring their usefulness in:
Vehicles for drug delivery
Tiny environmental sensors
Light detectors
Surface coatings to improve wear resistance

7. What’s a Carbon Nanotube (CNT)?
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
What’s a Carbon Nanotube (CNT)?
Tubular form of carbon with diameter of 1 nanometer and length of few nanometers to microns
Graphene sheet rolled into a tube
Carbon nanotubes are long cylinders made from rolled up sheets of carbon that are 1 atom thick. Their length to diameter ratio is very large (1,000,000 to 1). They have a large surface area compared to other materials and a low density.

8. So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Nanotubes
Extraordinary properties
Stiff as a diamond
Very high tensile strength
Strongest and most flexible molecular material
Can be metallic or semiconducting
Very high current-carrying capacity
Theoretically, carbon nanotubes are the strongest and stiffest known materials, with a tensile strength of more than 10,000,000 tons per foot. They are 11 times stronger than carbon fiber. Not only are carbon nanotubes very strong, they are also very light.

9. Tools for Nanotechnology
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Tools for Nanotechnology
New tools are needed to manipulate and measure objects this small
The field of nanotechnology is focused on manipulating materials, devices, and systems at the nanoscale level.

10. Scanning Electron Microscope
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Scanning Electron Microscope
A three-dimensional ultrastructural image analysis of a T-lymphocyte (right), a platelet (center), and a red blood cell (left) using a scanning electron microscope (SEM)
Used to show detailed, three-dimensional images at very high magnification
Extends observation beyond objects that are too fast, too small, too far away, or invisible to the naked eye
The hyperlink takes you to:
Use the click to advance slide show.
How the SEM Works

11. Atomic Force Microscope
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Atomic Force Microscope
Used to image, measure, and manipulate matter at the nanoscale
Information gathered by “feeling” the surface with a mechanical probe
Atomic force microscope topographical scan of a glass surface.

12. Microscopes Help Us See
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Meter
Centimeter
Ruler/Caliper
Millimeter
Optical Microscope
Micrometer
Electron Microscope
Nanometer
Atomic Force Microscope

13. So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Clean Room
Scientists and engineers build structures at the nano scale in clean rooms.
They wear suits to protect the clean room from dirt that may be on clothes, bodies, or shoes.

14. Nanotechnology Applications
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Applications
Nanoelectronics and computing
Diodes and transistors
Capacitors
Data storage
Flat panel displays
Energy efficient processors
Structural, mechanical
Composites
Cables, beams
Multifunctional materials
Body armor, space suits
Self-healing materials
Carbon nanotubes used in bats and racquets because of their great strength

15. Nanotechnology Applications
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Applications
Sensors
Force
Pressure
Chemical
Batteries
Life detection
Biomedical
Drug delivery
DNA sequencing
Artificial muscles
Bone replacement
Bionic eye
Drug Delivery

16. Nanotechnology Applications
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Applications
Energy and Environment
Clean, less expensive sources
High efficiency and durable lighting
Transportation
Wear resistant coatings
High strength, light weight composites – increase fuel efficiency
Improved displays
Battery technology
Wear-resistant tires
Automated highways
Water Filtration

17. Nanotechnology Applications
So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Applications
National Security
High sensitivity, low power sensors to detect threats
Light weight military platforms
Reduce carry-on weight of soldier gear
Space
Probes for planet surfaces
Micro-Rovers
“Thinking” spacecraft

18. So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Summary
Nanotechnology is an enabling technology that will impact
Electronics and computing
Materials and manufacturing
Energy and environment
Health and medicine
National security
Space exploration
. . . the possibilities are endless

19. So What is Nanotechnology?
Gateway To Technology
Unit 5 – Lesson 5.2 – Nanotechnology
Image Resources
Microsoft, Inc. (2008). Clip art. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (n.d.). Nanotechnology: Opportunities and challenges. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (n.d.). Nanotechnology gallery. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (n.d.). An overview of recent developments in nanotechnology. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). (n.d.). Big things from a tiny world. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from