The Nano World

Chapter X
 In the pursuit of science
and technology, Humans
are now dealing more
with a world not seen by
the naked eye. This is no
surprise as the study of
science keeps leading us
beyond the world of
everyday.

The information we search for is always available in nature but we

need tools to harvest it. The Nano world, like the other scientific
principles, provides both knowledge and instrument
To control nature.
Microscope
 Microscope is an optical
instrument used for
viewing very small objects,
such as mineral samples
or animal or plant cells,
typically magnified several
hundred times or more.
WHO INVENTED THE
MICROSCOPE?
 During the 1st century AD (year 100), glass had been invented and the Romans were
looking through the glass and testing it. They experimented with different shapes of
clear glass and one of their samples was thick in the middle and thin on the edges.
They discovered that if you held one of these “lenses” over an object, the object
would look larger.
 Someone also discovered that you can focus the rays of the sun with one of these
special “glasses” and start a fire. These early lenses were called magnifiers or
burning glasses. The word lens by the way, is derived from the latin word lentil, as
they were named because they resembled the shape of a lentil bean (look up lens in
a dictionary).
 These lenses were not used much until the end of the 13th century when spectacle
makers were producing lenses to be worn as glasses.
Zaccharias Janssen and his father
Hans
 The early simple “microscopes” which were really only magnifying glasses had one power,
usually about 6X - 10X . One thing that was very common and interesting to look at was
fleas and other tiny insects. These early magnifiers were hence called “flea glasses”.
 Sometime about the year 1590, two Dutch spectacle makers, Zaccharias Janssen and his
father Hans started experimenting with these lenses. They put several lenses in a tube and
made a very important discovery. The object near the end of the tube appeared to be greatly
enlarged, much larger than any simple magnifying glass could achieve by itself! They had
just invented the compound microscope (which is a microscope that uses two or more
lenses).
 Galileo
 Galileo heard of their experiments and started experimenting on his own. He
described the principles of lenses and light rays and improved both the microscope
and telescope. He added a focusing device to his microscope and of course went on
to explore the heavens with his telescopes.
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek of Holland became very
interested in lenses while working with magnifying
glasses in a dry goods store. He used the magnifying
glass to count threads in woven cloth. He became so
interested that he learned how to make lenses. By
grinding and polishing, he was able to make small
lenses with great curvatures. These rounder lenses
produced greater magnification, and his microscopes
were able to magnify up to 270X!
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek became more involved in
science and with his new improved microscope was able
to see things that no man had ever seen before. He saw
bacteria, yeast, blood cells and many tiny animals
swimming about in a drop of water. From his great
contributions, many discoveries and research papers,
Anthonie Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) has since been
called the "Father of Microscopy".
Robert Hooke
 Robert Hooke, an Englishman (who is sometimes called the “English Father of
Microscopy”), also spent much of his life working with microscopes and improved their
design and capabilities.
Modern Microscope
Electron Microscope
 An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of
accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength
of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible
light photons , electron microscopes have a higher resolving power
than light microscopes and can reveal the structure of smaller
objects. A scanning transmission electron microscope has achieved
better than 50 pm resolution in annular dark-field imaging mode
and magnifications of up to about 10,000,000x whereas most light
microscopes are limited by diffraction to about 200 nm resolution
and useful magnifications below 2000x.
 Electron microscopes have electron optical lens systems that are
analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope.
 Electron microscopes are used to investigate the ultrastructure of a
wide range of biological and inorganic specimens including
microorganisms , cells , large molecules , biopsy samples,
metals , and crystals . Industrially, electron microscopes are often
used for quality control and failure analysis . Modern electron
microscopes produce electron micrographs using specialized digital
cameras and frame grabbers to capture the images.
Nano Scale
 The term “nano” refers to a unit meaning one billionth or ten raised to negative nine
10^-9). For example, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Hence, “nano” expresses
a very tiny amount or size. (V1)
Exploring a new Dimension
 A particle of beach sand is almost ten times larger than a pollen grain. Nanostructures
can be found in nature. Catalysts, minerals, and other particles are measured on
nano scale. A single Strand of DNA is about three nanometers wide. Nanoscience,
therefore, deals with materials that are very small using specialized microscopes and
other nanodevices.
 Just as we are not aware of the air we breathe or the molecules constantly feeding
our cells at every second, we are also not conscious of these very little particles.
Since the nano world cannot be seen by the naked eye, It was only recognized and
identified after technology, people would not even be aware of how this tiny world
surrounds and affects us. But what is the purpose of dealing with such small entities.
Nanotechnology
 Textbook says it refers to the manipulation of matter on an atomic or subatomic scale.
Some innovations developed in this field include microprocessors and strain-resistant
fabrics. In the future, as nanoscience and nanotechnology progress, more
breakthroughs are expected to arise in the different fields of science, hopefully
resolving problems in health, environment, and security, among others.
 Nanotechnology is the study and application of microscopic things at the nanoscale
level. It often combines science, technology and engineering to create nanomaterials
and nanomachines that are as small as cells. Some nanomachines can even be
smaller than a virus. Nanotechnology can be used in many fields, such as biology,
chemistry and physics. Furthermore, it can be used in medicine to cure disease and
health conditions, including but not limited to cancer, diabetes and neurological
disorders. (V2)
Nanotechnology application on
Health
 Nanotechnology — the science of the extremely small — holds enormous potential for
healthcare, from delivering drugs more effectively, diagnosing diseases more rapidly and
sensitively, and delivering vaccines via aerosols and patches.
 Nanotechnology is the science of materials at the molecular or subatomic level. It involves
manipulation of particles smaller than 100 nanometres (one nanometre is one-billionth of a
metre) and the technology involves developing materials or devices within that size —
invisible to the human eye and often many hundred times thinner than the width of human
hair. The physics and chemistry of materials are radically different when reduced to the
nanoscale; they have different strengths, conductivity and reactivity, and exploiting this could
revolutionise medicine.
 For example, a major challenge of modern medicine is that the body doesn't absorb the
entire drug dose given to a patient. Using nanotechnology, scientists can ensure drugs are
delivered to specific areas in the body with greater precision, and the drugs can be
formulated so that the active ingredient better permeates cell membranes, reducing the
required dose (V3)
Nanotechnology application on the
Environment
 Nanotechnology is being used in several applications to improve the environment. This includes
cleaning up existing pollution, improving manufacturing methods to reduce the generation of new
pollution, and making alternative energy sources more cost effective.
 In trying to help our ailing environment, nanotechnology researchers and developers are pursuing
the following avenues:
 Generating less pollution during the manufacture of materials

 Producing solar cells that generate electricity at a competitive cost

 Increasing the electricity generated by windmills

 Cleaning up organic chemicals polluting groundwater

 Cleaning up oil spills

 Clearing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air

 Reducing the cost of fuel cells

Nanotechnology application
on Security
 The on-going coordination of nanotechnology and protection into nano-resistance is required to
get advancements expansive, going zones that will reform militaries and assume a basic part in
keeping up national security. While some are as of now utilizing nanotechnology applications as
a part of the military – as nano-particles utilized as surface coatings, nano-materials and
structures, nano-manufacture, and the sky is the limit from there – that give them abundantly
required capacities, the coming years will bring changing capacities that will go past current
abilities and human creative ability.
 Military Nanotechnology Application

 Emergence of Nano-Defence

 Impact on International Secuirity

 Emerging Risk

 Nanocomputer (V4)
Pros and Cons
 Nanotechnology has many great potential but in the wrong hands it could be weaponized to
destroy the human body. In addition, relying too much on nanotechnology can weaken the
body’s natural defense systems, making the body dependent on nanotechnology to survive.
Positive effects:
•Efficiency and Environmental
Friendliness

•Financial Benefits for Countries

involved in Nanotechnology
Pros and Cons
Negative Effects:

•Weapons of War

•Fear of the Unknown

 The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), also Washington-based, says it has inventoried
more than 600 consumer products in 20 countries with nano-scale materials, and "new nanotech
products are hitting the market at the rate of three to four per week." The interest in nanomaterials
is coming at a time of growing awareness of how chemicals – many of which we don't know are
manufactured into the products we use on a daily basis – may be causing us harm.
False Hype
 Some worry that nanotechnology will end up like
virtual reality -- in other words, the hype
surrounding nanotechnology will continue to build
until the limitations of the field become public
knowledge, and then interest (and funding) will
quickly dissipate.
Social Justice and Civil Liberties
 ''Those nations, governments, organizations, and
citizens who are unaware of this impending
power shift must be informed and enabled so that
they may adequately adapt'' James Canton,
President of the Institute for Global Futures, said
of nanotechnology and its disruptive economical
potential.
Regulating Nanotechnology
 Regulatory bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Health &
Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission have
started dealing with the potential risks of nanoparticles. The organic food sector has been the first to
act with the regulated exclusion of engineered nanoparticles from certified organic produce, firstly
in Australia and the UK, and more recently in Canada, as well as for all food certified to
Demeter International standards.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates a wide range of products, including foods,
cosmetics, drugs, devices, veterinary products, and tobacco products some of which may utilize
nanotechnology or contain nanomaterials. Nanotechnology allows scientists to create, explore, and
manipulate materials measured in nanometers (billionths of a meter). Such materials can have
chemical, physical, and biological properties that differ from those of their larger counterparts.- FDA