newsletter dealing with the risks of nanotechnologies

Comprehensive nanotechnology portal with link directories, daily news and feature articles, reports, events calendar, and a nanomaterial database

Fourteen top international scientists in the field of nanotechnology have identified Five Grand Challenges for nanotechnology risk research that must be met if the technology is to reach its full potential. The study will be published Thursday November 16 in Nature. Dr. Martin Philbert, co-author of the paper, answers Scitizen’s questions.

The advanced capabilities of many materials result from their exceptional surface properties. While coatings and paints improve surface properties through composition changes, some property improvements can also be achieved by changing the shape of the surface. One can cite many familiar examples: treaded tires for better traction, roughened windows for reducing transparency, and grooved records for reproducing sound. Notice that in each example, the choice of material is not critical. Windows can be made from glass or plastic, records can be made from wax or vinyl, etc. What makes this concept so powerful is the fact that dramatic improvements can be obtained from existing materials solely through the control of shape.

By modeling a material’s nanoscale behavior, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have pinpointed a performance-limiting layer vital in electronic devices. Their findings, published in the 12 October issue of Nature, could play a significant role in removing a major roadblock on the path toward scaled-down electronics.

Engineers at Northwestern University have developed the first array of artificial whiskers that can sweep over an object to render a three-dimensional mapping of its shape. They have also developed a similar set of whiskers that can measure the velocity profile of a fluid flowing past the array. Graduate student Joe Solomon and Assistant Professor Mitra Hartmann constructed the arrays in attempt to mimic the functionality of mammalian whiskers. Solomon and Hartmann call their artificial arrays a “sensobot,” because the purpose of the robot is not to move, per se, but rather to acquire sensory information about the environment.

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