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The State of Nanotechnology
by: Jae Kim
February 25, 2005
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(Washington DC) – The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held its annual meeting in Washington DC on February 17-21, 2005. AAAS publishes the journal Science. The conference was a smorgasbord of scientific intellect covering areas of physics, bio-medicine, space, oceans, and so on. In the swirl of this IQ magnet, two half days were devoted to the subject of nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology, in a generic sense, is molecular engineering. But given that chemistry involves mixing of molecules, a purist will define nanotechnology as work done at sub-100 nanometers and whereby quantum physics affects the nature of the material differently than in its larger state (greater than 100 nm). As a baseline, one nanometer is about the size of a particle of hair that is split 80,000 times.
Nanotechnology covers a broad area. But regardless, it comes down to the goal of manipulating atoms and molecules. In case you’re wondering how are we able to manipulate/control atoms, it is a good question. After all, our fingers are pretty darn big compared to atoms which are pretty darn tiny.
Basically, the scientific impetus for pursuing nanotechnology, given our size impediment, is largely based on Richard Feynman’s theory in 1959 that there are no laws in physics that precludes us from such an endeavor. Therefore, even though there was no technology back then to support and/or confirm Mr. Feynman’s claim, his vision engendered a slow and deliberate scientific march over the next four and a half decades. In fact, in 1991, only thirty years after his bold statement, IBM demonstrated technology (STM) that could move atoms.
Today, however, we have only made minor progress. In addition to the painstaking process of moving atoms on a flat plane (2 dimensional), scientists can now move atoms vertically. In rudimentary experiments, they are able to move Xe atoms and CO molecules between the tip of a microscope and the surface. But researchers are still in the midst of trying to learn the fundamental mechanisms of the manipulation process. According to Dr. Joseph Stroscio, a nanotechnology scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, "As we get a better understanding, and better instruments, I believe we will have 3D manipulation capability as we have it in 2D today."
Given the difficult nature of directed molecular manipulation, an enviable solution rests in the ability of atoms to self assemble. Is that possible?
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