How can small science help us protect such a big country?

PRESENTATION BY
NIVEDHA B (413118054)
RESEARCH SCHOLAR
nika.9498@gmail.com
Nanotechnology in National Defense
What can nanotechnology do for the military?

•Clothing with greater tolerance for temperature changes

•Increase surveillance for better protection
•Smaller cameras
•Cheap, small, and more effective weapons
•Exploration of the oceans
•Augmenting human performance
•Scratch resistant surfaces
•Stronger, thinner and cheaper glass
•Change shape of objects, i.e. armor-like fabric
•Coatings that don't degrade (doesn't need repainting)
•"Invisibility"
•Faster intensive medical help
•Lighter, faster aircraft which use less fuel
•Submarines and planes that can go undetected by radar
 “Poof”…Where’d They Go?
How could you become invisible? Here are a
couple of nano-ways
Scientists are manipulating light so soldiers seem to disappear.
Scientists are also working on "electrochromic camouflage" –
fabric which changes colors instantly to blend in with the
surroundings.
 Design of a nanolens that involves a
tapered stacked arrangement of silver
nanorods.
 The layers are separated by nano-gaps,
which prevents the propagation of
plasmons, resulting in extremely low loss
of energy and thus making long distance
imaging possible.
 It appears that a gap size of 10 nm gives
the optimum value for efficient imaging.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_30/b3843083.htm?chan=search
http://beverlytang.com/archives/imaging/chameleon_clothing.html
http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=6080.php
 Armor As Strong as a …
Snail?
 Sea snails and abalone are guiding scientists in their search for
strong and lightweight armor. Sea Shells and Abalone.
 Others, besides the military, will benefit from these new
nanoscience developments: firefighters, police officers, and
other emergency responders.
 NANO-ARMOR

 For creating super strong materials uses tungsten, not carbon,

for the basic material.
 It is five times stronger than steel and at least twice as strong
as any impact-resistant material currently in use as protective
gear. It has withstood the equivalent of dropping four diesel
locomotives onto an area the size of a fingernail.

Possible applications for this new nano material are ballistic protection personal body armor, bullet proof
vests, vehicle armor, shields, helmets, and protective enclosures.
 Body Armor

 A new nano-armor is called "smart" body armor(US). It

weaves thin pads or cloth from fibers that can sense the
impact of a bullet or shrapnel and automatically stiffen.
 This material would be even more resistant to penetration
and less cumbersome than the ceramic-plate armor troops
wear now.

 Concerns about biochemical-warfare have resulted in

exploration into nano-size umbrellas that open to seal the
cloth's pores, making it impervious to airborne chemicals
and pathogens.
 It is easier and lighter than the current equipment required.
 Nano-Medic

 Sensors would provide the soldier's vital signs and location to medics via radio.
 Until the new nano-sensored garment is ready, soldiers will wear an adhesive chest patch
fitted with sensors and a tiny radio.

 If a soldier is injured in the arm or leg, thanks to nano-fibers in the uniform, the
fabric would constrict into a tourniquet.
 This will be a real life-saver, because half of all battlefield deaths are due to massive
blood loss before wounded soldiers can be treated.

http://medgadget.com/archives/2005/03/army_develops_i.html
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jul2005/a071805ms2.ht
 Artificial Muscles

Artificial muscles that could enable soldiers to leap tall walls, if

not buildings, are in the works, too. One type uses
nanotechnology and electricity(Electroactive polymers).

It flexes when jolted by electricity, then relaxes when the

electricity is turned off. So far, though, its reactions are much
too slow.
 Nanoscience in Homeland Security

New Nano-Spies

o Big fighter jets are ‘so yesterday’. The next generation of fighter jets are nano-sized
jets, the size of a seed, that can pretty much go anywhere.
o Scientists are working on this revolutionary, remote-controlled nano air vehicle.
o They will be able to collect military intelligence both indoors and outdoors. One weighs
no more than 10 grams and can carry a payload of up to 2 grams.
o They will help protect the lives and enhance the operational effectiveness of soldiers
and first responders.
 Anti-Toxin
Toxin Guard is a product that uses nanotechnology on
packaging films to detect micro-organisms like pathogens,
which can cause illness or disease.
 What About Your Rights?
If so, are these developments
more important than

•Your privacy? 
•Your rights as a citizen? 
•Your rights as a human being?

Are the answers somewhere in between?

 Military Websites
•http://www.discovernano.northwestern.edu/affect/applications_content/security
•http://www.voyle.net/Nano%20Defence%202005/Main%20Defence%202005%20.htm
•http://web.mit.edu/isn/
•http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_30/b3843083.htm?chan=search
•smart materials: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2003/2003017_9999.htm?chan=search
•What are the military's research priorities? http://www.acq.osd.mil/ddre/research/research.html