The World of Nanometers

Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 @ 10:14PM

Have you ever wondered what a micro-organism like bacterium would look like, trapped in a battery box, and running like those experimental white mice, to fuel an engine? Or maybe a box the size of a sugar cube, containing all the archives of the world, in its entirety? That is what the world is headed for now, and in maybe a century, we'll be looking at a gigantic nanotech spacecraft, and wondering- "If it’s that big a thing, why can't we see it!"

The day Mr. K.Eric Drexler, got word around of a mammoth known as nanotechnology, around the 1980's, No-one really knew that he meant creating machines on a molecular scale, invisible chip-sets, and computers that could be gulped by a living cell. And amidst accusations of science fiction and attention-seeking, Drexler went on to analyze and describe these extraordinary things, for the next 10 years. His dream came true when the National Nanotechnology Initiative was founded, accepting and acknowledging his discoveries and funding it for further advancement. It was then, that Nanotechnology was defined as the study and control of matter on an atomic or molecular scale. Or on a more specific note, anything ranging below a 100 nanometers is taken up by nanotech.

Since then, the field of nanotech has seen 4 generations spanning over 20 years. Each generation has had a particular discipline of work and a specific line of research. From Passive and Active nano-structures like aerosols and bio-devices, it has moved on, bringing the focus to molecular nano-systems, whose functions are still emerging. It could be the proposed cure of cancer, where a nanotech machine is inserted inside the human body, and is supposedly equipped with an anti-cancer arsenal. Nano-medicine, as it now referred to these days, is surging up as a whole new category. Nano-particles are full of remarkable properties, and newer possibilities keep unfolding. Like the delivery of drugs to their target locations or the re-stitching of torn arteries, that occur during kidney or heart transplants.

What had long mesmerized the minds of people, picked up from novels and movies as a figment of a utopian future is now possible. There are robots being created measuring in nanometers, called Nubots or nucleic acid robots. They can be developed to carve DNA structures or create artificial ones for antibiotic, protein or enzyme synthesis. What makes nanotech so unique is the way, these particles replicate. It happens on an exponential scale, making it very cost-efficient. It’s a kind of reproduction, your biology teacher couldn't explain.

But apart from being the next big thing, it could also be a dangerous weapon, if in the wrong hands. Popular fiction has long portrayed a wavy-haired professor, working for some monstrous villain, who wants to take over the world. And the path is a nano-path. Many government organizations have come up for regulating certain norms, and yet the fear of the unknown remains the single most dreaded fear of humanity. For you cannot fight what you do not understand.

Nanotech is a whole galaxy of things, stirred by people's imaginations. It’s a tempest in a teacup, and it’s the fingers around the handle that matter!

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