The Nanotechnology Conferences
There was a nanotechnology conference in 1998. I realise what some may be saying to this. Either, ‘What nanotechnology conference in 1998?’, or ‘What is nanotechnology?’, or even ‘So what – that was ten years ago!’ At least at the time of writing this… Well, whatever – there was such a conference in 1998 and I decided to mention it as there was a similar conference much more recent to this one in June 2003 held between members of the European Council – and so I ’smelt a rat’ because frankly, I am certain that the general public at large did not know about either fixture. Back to 1998. The specific or actual title for this event was, ‘Second International conference on Integrated Micro-Nano Technology for Space Applications 1998′.
The FIRST conference was apparently in 1995! Intrigued? Surprised? I certainly was. Nothing was said on U.K television at least… One may ask, ‘why write about this’? Well, this recent area of technology is of considerable importance, or at least it soon will be (especially in light of the more recent EC conference on nanotech’), due to the very ‘nature’ of the subject itself and what it will mean not too far from now. Though as it is already 2008, some of what follows may already be in prototype stage.
This is probable fact, it is not scare scaremongering. But, what is Nanotechnology and Micro-technology (?), irrespective of these or any such conferences. Each in turn, for the two disciplines, though very closely related, are not exactly the same thing – or one and the same, at least in terms of size. Nanotechnology is concerned with the concept of ’smart’ materials and even semi-autonomous machines or devices, ranging in size from something like an ANT, to near molecular dimensions – small enough to go into a hairline crack in a skirting-board, or to be injected into a living host respectively. Micro-technology however, is concerned with ‘things’ ranging in size from that of an ant to that of a small caterpillar or millipede. The ‘infrastructure’ for nanotechnology and micro-technology is already fairly established – and one of the very first (if not the first) ‘micro-nano bots’ was seen going across our television screens for a few brief seconds, circa 1987-88 (I forget the exact year, but remember seeing it in the late 1980’s). This particular ‘thing’ strongly resembled, and was about the same size as one of those very small hair-clips, only on four tiny ‘legs’. Some sort of ’synthesis’ between a very small microprocessor and the memory-metal that it was made of, enabled it to move of its’ own accord. But that was the late 80’s – and this is 2003! The ’speed’ at which micro/nano-technology has developed over the last decade or more since then, is on par with the development of the microprocessor itself during the decade or so before that.
Is the development of nanotech in medicine being suppressed by the pharmaceutical companies?
If we could inject ourselves with single-cell sized robots that could be programmed to do anything, wouldn’t that make all medication obsolete? All the theory, and most of the technology is there. It’s just a matter of putting in the cash. By the way, this would cure AIDS also. Your thoughts?
Personal Nanofactory
Exciting Possibilities With Nanotechnology
Just when you thought we have reached the summit of man’s engineering wisdom, we realize that we are just scratching the surface. There’s so much more promise lurking in technologies that harness the power of the atom. No, we’re not talking about nuclear fusion, though that’s another leap alright from the current fission technologies that have given rise to the atom bomb and nuclear power plants lighting our homes. This time, it’s about the technologies that allow manufacturers to handle parts at the molecular level. It’s called nanotechnology, or nanotech for short.
Savoring the possibilities…
For sure the technology is here and it’s beyond just science fiction. There have been research funding from large companies like IBM who have a great stake on nanotechnology as their future businesses. And it is just a matter of time before the first commercial nano products becomes available. We’re looking around the end of the next decade.
