It is difficult to predict a world in the dream which we can’t even imagine. Open your eyes and watch around you and what can you see in your room? I think you are watching your computer, chair, table, your bed etc. Now think yourself as 20 times smaller. What will you see? You will find yourself in one corner of the floor and you will see the table as a gigantic building. If you find yourself as 1000 million times smaller, what will you see? Will you see a chair or table? No. Instead, you will see molecules, atoms, protein, cell etc. by which every single thing of this world including you chair, table are made and if your size is brought to Nano scale, then you will be able to rotate around atom and you will be able to see the orbit of electron instead of watching molecules and atoms.
Now suppose you have changed an atom’s structure with another atom or with its structure using a unique technology, then what will happen? Then extraordinary materials will be created which was never available in the world before. Today ranging from medicine of diseases to your computer’s super-fast processor and all the extraordinary materials are created using a very small technology known as ‘Nanotechnology’ and it is the most surprising sign of the current science and technology. Let’s learn about the details of Nanotechnology.
Table of Contents
How Big Is This ‘Nano’?
Capture a photo on your smartphone or using any camera and open it with Photoshop. Continue to zoom in to see the photo and after sometime the photo will be muddy and finally you will find a rectangle like a brick wall. Each of these rectangle blocks of space is called pixel which contains the description of a photo and all the pixels are combined together to create a full photo. Everything around you are created entirely by this tiny element called ‘atom’ in exactly the same way. Starting from chair and table to your body is made by tiny particles called atoms. Every atom is referred to a quality like every pixel is referred to a color and together they create a photo. Main topic of nanotechnology is dependent on structure of molecules, atomic structure and properties. I will come to this discussion later. Let’s come to the size of Nano.
We are familiar with a world where we are used to measure with meters, kilometers etc. It’s hard to imagine about the size of a thing which is so small that we cannot see with our eyes simply. Though Nano is much smaller, it’s bigger than a single Atom. The diameter of an atom is approximately 0.1 Nano meter and atom’s nucleus (a dense area right in the middle of atom where protons and neutrons can be found) is smaller in size which is approximately 0.00001 Nano meter. I think skilled person of science and mathematics have got an idea about the size of Nano meter. I am trying to give another example for making everyone understand. Suppose you have an apple in your hand and the size of the apple is 1 Nano meter, then how small it is? Comparing one Nano meter with a meter, if your apple size is one Nano meter, then the earth’s size is one meter. I hope you have understood.
You may have been amazed by watching the pictures of mites in your biology book. You may wonder that how the picture of such a small thing can be captured. Electron microscope (tiny object viewing device) is used in this type of photography. This extraordinary science device can see an object which is million times smaller than meter. 1 microscopic meter is equal to 1 million times smaller version of 1 meter and the Nano means 1 billion times smaller than 1 meter. can you imagine how much smaller Nano meter can be? It’s not in range of my imagination. Let’s take a look at the chart below to learn more deep and details about Nano scale.
Nano Scale:
- Atom: ~0.1 Nano meters
- Atom in molecule: Stay across ~0.15 Nano meters
- DNA double helix (DNA molecule): ~2 Nano meters in diameter prominent
- Ideal protein: ~10 Nano meters.
- Computer transistor (by which computer processor or memory are made): ~100-200 Nano meters wide
- Ideal bacteria: ~200 Nano meters long
- Human hair: 50,000-100,000 Nano meters in diameter prominent
- A paper: ~100,000 Nano meters thin
- A girl 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall: ~1,200 million Nano meter
- A boy 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall: ~2,000 million Nano meter
- Empire state building 381 meters (1,250 feet) tall: ~381,000 Nano meters
Nanotechnology From Nano Science:
Do you remember the satellite view of google map where earth seems blue-green round circle in the initial state? The earth seems blue and green circle from a distance because most of the surface of the earth are covered by green trees and blue seas. Now start to zoom in on the map. Slowly some country will come to your attention. Then you will see cities of a country. Then a specific city will come to the screen. Now start to zoom in on the city. Firstly, an area will come to the screen. Finally, the zoom in will be finished on a house or on the neighborhood of the house but is this the end of the earth? I mean is this the smallest element of the earth by which the planet is created? Of course not.
Nano science is utilized allowing us to see things smaller than the normal eye sight. Now let’s go back to the google maps which had come to the end on a house neighborhood. Now zoom in on the neighborhood and maybe a field can be found and maybe the zoom in will end on a grass. Now let’s begin to take the idea of Nano science and begin to zoom in the grass. If we zoom in on the grass, then plant cells can be found inside of it and we can see how the food is made in the light of sun. If we keep zooming in to see more detail, then we can see that the molecules of the plant are a combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and one time everything will be separated. So this is Nano science which helps us to understand from the root that how every material is created and what is their core.
When we will understand about Nano science and we will be able to create new things applying it, then it will be called Nanotechnology because technology comes from science and technology’s job is to follow the rule of science and making our lives easier.
Now let’s take some general ideas about Nanotechnology that what it is and how it works. I am not going to a complex discussion. I will try to make you understand easily in short by giving some common examples. Suppose we have reached to the smallest place of a cloth through Nano scale, then what can be found? Yes, of course we will reach to the atom or molecule of a cotton. There the distance from one cotton to another of the cloth may seem like a pond. Suppose that there is a substance that has the ability to throw away any liquid.
If we reach to the Nano scale of the substance and we can know the atomic structure of the matter and we can change the atomic structure of cloth with that matter, then what will happen? Then it will be possible to create a fabric which will be able to eliminate any liquid including water. Suppose your white shirt got filled with yellow vegetable soup. It is so annoying, isn’t it? If your shirt is improved with nanotechnology, then your shirt will be able to abandon the soup. Even if you keep your shirt into the soup, there won’t be any stain in your shirt. Best example for this is the latest waterproof watch and smartphone. I hope that the main topics of nanotechnology has become clear to you.
Usage Of Nanotechnology:
Most of the benefits of nanotechnology maybe found in future decades but today many of these technologies are helping to change our world in different way. You might be thinking that nanotechnology is extraordinary things and it’s a new technology but our life itself is a great example of nanotechnology. Our body proteins, viruses, bacteria, cells etc. work with the rule of nanotechnology.
Nano Materials:
Maybe you’re already using nanotechnology now. Maybe you’re wearing nanotechnology pants or your shirt is created by nanotechnology. Even maybe from your bed sheets to your travel bag is created using nanotechnology. The fibers of the cloth created from nanotechnology are so delicate that dust particles cannot be trapped in it and the cloth becomes a lot less messy. Some brand use nanotechnology in sunscreen cream so that when the cream is applied to your skin, it set a layer of titanium oxide or zinc oxide on your skin and it can block the harmful ultraviolet rays of sun. Paint created using nanotechnology also works like this and it becomes more chronic.
Carbon Nano tube is the most extraordinary Nano material. As a result of its atomic structure, it has become an extremely durable substance. It’s possible to make it in any length in the fiber form.
Nano Chip:
Microelectronics is another form of nanotechnology. Generally, ‘Micro’ word is used in microelectronics due to its microscopic scale size. Computer scientists discovered if more transistor is added in the same place, then computer can be made more powerful and smaller in size. That’s why today’s computers are much smaller in size, much more powerful and cheaper in price.
Currently computer processors are being prepared by 100-200 Nano meter transistor and the size is being reduced day by day. All of this is possible as a result of nanotechnology. Not only in computer processor but also Nano chip are attached with flat screen SD TV, smartphone, iPod etc. using nanotechnology.
Nano Machine:
Another interesting thing of nanotechnology is that it is possible to make very small machine like gear, switches, pumps from completely different atom. Nano robot can be created by Nano machine which is called nanobot. It is possible to inject nanobot into our body so that it can fight with danger in the hostile environment.
Last Word:
Nanotechnology will be ruling in the future. There is no doubt in this sentence but there are some problem threats besides the benefits of this technology. Such as cancer can be caused by injecting nanobot in the body. Many doctor fear that it can enter into the brain through the blood as nanobots are too small and no one knows what will happen. If you have any more information or you have any opinion about nanotechnology, then you can share it with us through the comment box. If you like the post, then don’t forget to share.
About the Author:I am Arifuzzaman Arif. I am doing B.Sc. in Mathematics. My hobby is Blogging and SEO. I want to learn a lot and I want to spread my knowledge through EXE Ideas. I also practice my blogging and SEO skill in Freelancing Technology Tips.
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