Nanotechnology in the Future

What is Nanotechnology?

The use of nanotechnology would definitely change the world. So what is nanotechnology? Nanotechnology is the management or manipulation of matter or functional systems on a molecular scale. Currently it is so new that nobody is really sure what they can make out of it. However, from scientist's predictions using nanotechnology range from reproducing things such as diamonds and food or self-replicating nanobots. In fact with nanotechnology you could build almost anything.

With 15,342 atoms, this parallel-shaft speed reducer gear is one of the largest nano mechanical devices ever modeled in atomic detail

History of Nanotechnology

The first mention of nanotechnology goes back to the 1950s when Richard Feynman of the California Institute of Technology gave a talk describing molecular machines building with atomic precision which is considered to be the first lecture on technology and engineering at the atomic scale. 

Below is a link to find out how nanotechnology works:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.htm 

How might nanotechnology benefit society?

• It will make manufacturing  much more efficient and cleaner.
• Food and crops could be atomically engineered which means agriculture will be improved and will be more efficient  requiring less labour.
• It could extremely improve formulation of drugs, diagnostics and organ replacement

For more ways it can benefit society click on link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_nanotechnology

List of product that have already benefited from nanotechnology:

• Sunscreen
• Self-cleaning glass
• Clothing
• Scratch-resistant coatings
• Anti-microbial bandages.

For more detail visit link below:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology3.htm

Carbon Nanotubes
The most strongest material know today is carbon nanotubes which are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Carbon nanotubes has very unique properties that make it important for nanotechnology electronics, optics and other fields of materials science and technology. The properties of carbon nanotubes are shown in the list below.

• High electrical conductivity
• High thermal conductivity
• One of strongest materials in nature
• Elastic properties
• High flexibility

How will carbon nanotubes affect the future?

In the future carbon nanotubes will benefit society in many different ways. According to Dr Michio Kaku, we could use carbon nanotubes to make unbreakable cars, buildings that won't collapse, ultra-light jet planes. Some people also assume that we could use them to build a highway that goes into space.

Space Elevators

In maybe 50 years, elevators that go up to space could be real. This would make space travel cheaper and more efficient and overcome many of its biggest problems. So, how would carbon nanotubes be used for building a space elevator? Below is a video which shows how:

Nanorobots

One of the goals of nanotechnology is to build machines at an atomic scale that function as levers, gears, ball bearings and pulleys. With these nanomachines, physicist dream that one day they will be able to rearrange the molecules of an object, atom by atom until one object could transform into another object. This is the basis of how the replicator that you see a lot in science fiction works. With this we would be able to solve many of the problems of the world such as poverty and change the nature of society itself. It would also change our healthcare.