{"id":10716,"date":"2017-03-02T20:55:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T20:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=10716&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-05-26T17:03:48","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T17:03:48","slug":"big-world-nanotechnology","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/big-world-nanotechnology\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big World of Nanotechnology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring 2017 |\u00a0By Eric Michael \u201996<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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How small is nano?<\/h2>\n

According to Friedersdorf, \u201cA softball\u00a0compared to the Earth is very small,\u00a0but if you look at a molecule like\u00a0a buckyball, which is on the order\u00a0of a nanometer in diameter, that is\u00a0compared to a softball as the softball\u00a0is compared to the Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

[photo id=”10803″ title=”A baseball is 3.8 inches or 96,520,000 nanometers. The earth is 7,926 miles or 502,192,800 inches or 1.276 x 10 to the power of 16 nanometers.” alt=”A baseball is 3.8 inches = 96,520,000 nanometers” position=”center”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”10795″ title=”Portrait of Lisa Friedersdorf” alt=”Portrait of Lisa Friedersdorf Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office” position=”left” width=”130px”][\/photo][lead]Lisa Friedersdorf \u201991<\/strong> knows that even the smallest changes in technology can have huge implications. As director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, she cultivates research and development collaborations between the 20 governmental departments and independent agencies that make up the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and NASA. In addition to advancing the study of this groundbreaking field, NNI has an educational mission to build awareness of nanotechnology.[\/lead]<\/p>\n

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\u201cEven though nanotechnology is part\u00a0of our daily lives, the vast majority of the\u00a0public still doesn\u2019t know what it is,\u201d says\u00a0Friedersdorf, who earned her bachelor\u2019s\u00a0degree in mechanical engineering from UCF<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI describe nanotechnology as the control\u00a0and manipulation of matter at the atomic and\u00a0molecular level. We\u2019re talking about things\u00a0so small \u2014 a human hair is on the order of\u00a080,000 nanometers in diameter \u2014 you can\u2019t\u00a0even wrap your head around [it].\u201d<\/p>\n

The concept of nanotechnology is credited\u00a0to Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist\u00a0Richard Feynman, who introduced the idea\u00a0in 1959 during a lecture titled \u201cThere\u2019s Plenty\u00a0of Room at the Bottom\u201d at the California\u00a0Institute of Technology. In 2000, President\u00a0Bill Clinton announced the founding of\u00a0the NNI during an address at the same\u00a0institution, where he described the incredible\u00a0potential of nanotechnology: \u201cJust imagine,\u00a0materials with 10 times the strength of steel\u00a0and only a fraction of the weight; shrinking\u00a0all the information at the Library of Congress\u00a0into a device the size of a sugar cube;\u00a0detecting cancerous tumors that are only\u00a0a few cells in size.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe applications of nanotechnology\u00a0are limitless \u2014 the only boundary is our\u00a0imagination,\u201d Friedersdorf says. \u201cNow that we\u00a0have the ability to make these materials and\u00a0we\u2019re beginning to understand them, we\u2019re\u00a0actually beginning to see the applications that\u00a0exploit these novel properties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s how nanotechnology is already making our lives better.<\/h3>\n

[photo id=”10792″ title=”Hands under a spigot” alt=”Hands under a spigot” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

1. Cleaner Water<\/h4>\n

Nanoscale filters can remove an unprecedented\u00a0number of contaminants, including most bacteria and viruses that contribute to many\u00a0deadly waterborne illnesses. \u201cAccess to clean\u00a0water is a critical issue worldwide, even here in\u00a0the United States,\u201d Friedersdorf says. \u201cNanoenabled\u00a0sensors can detect low levels\u00a0of pathogens, and nanotechnology can be\u00a0used to treat water with filters, membranes\u00a0and antimicrobial nanoparticles.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”10793″ title=”Granules use to make plastic” alt=”Granules use to make plastic” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

2. Long Lasting Materials<\/h4>\n

Incorporating nanoscale additives in plastics and other polymers has\u00a0improved millions of everyday items to be stronger, more resilient\u00a0and longer lasting, reducing the amount of trash in landfills and\u00a0pollution in the environment. \u201cOne of the early applications of\u00a0nanotechnology is to make stronger, lighter composites for use in\u00a0things like vehicles and sporting goods,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”10788″ title=”Textile machine” alt=”Textile machine” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

3. Smart Textiles<\/h4>\n

With fabric weaved from nanofibers, clothing is becoming more\u00a0resistant to stains, water, fire \u2014 and even bullets \u2014 without a\u00a0significant increase in thickness or weight. \u201cNanotechnology will\u00a0also enable the development of all kinds of smart textiles, such as\u00a0embedded sensors to monitor health,\u201d Friedersdorf says. \u201cThere are\u00a0even concepts for T-shirts that enable individual temperature control.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”10789″ title=”Hand placing micro processor onto a motherboard” alt=”Hand placing micro processor onto a motherboard” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

4. Smarter Phones<\/h4>\n

Nanotechnology is being used to reduce the size and weight of the processors\u00a0and batteries running our smart phones, rapidly increasing ease-of-use and\u00a0capability. \u201cWe carry a supercomputer in our pocket that\u2019s been enabled\u00a0by nanotechnology,\u201d Friedersdorf says. \u201cCellphones and touchscreens\u00a0use nanoscale materials like graphene, and waterproof phones use super\u00a0hydrophobic coatings to prevent water damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”10791″ title=”Hand placing sunscreen on a small boy at the beach” alt=”Hand placing sunscreen on a small boy at the beach” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

5. Better Sunscreens<\/h4>\n

Products made in nanoparticle form\u00a0provide better coverage for our skin and\u00a0filter out more harmful ultraviolet rays\u00a0than previous types. \u201cSince nanoparticles\u00a0are smaller than the wavelength of\u00a0light, sunscreens are now transparent\u00a0instead of the white-stuff-on-your-nose\u00a0sunscreens many of us remember from\u00a0our childhood,\u201d Friedersdorf says.<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”10790″ title=”Window on the side of a skyscraper” alt=”Window on the side of a skyscraper” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

6. Efficient Windows<\/h4>\n

Coating glass with nanoscale materials\u00a0allows certain wavelengths of light to\u00a0pass while blocking others. As a result,\u00a0buildings are becoming more energy\u00a0efficient. \u201cIn summer, you can have\u00a0light without the heat,\u201d Friedersdorf\u00a0says. \u201cThen in the winter, you can adjust\u00a0[the windows] so that they let in heat\u00a0with the light. They have huge energy\u00a0ramifications.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10798,"template":"","categories":[999],"tags":[248,148,602],"class_list":["post-10716","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumknights","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-nanotechnology","issues-1051","issues-spring-2017"],"yoast_head":"\nNational Nanotechnology Director Lisa Friedersdorf on Nanotechnology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Six ways nanotechnology is improving our lives, according to Lisa Friedersdorf, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/big-world-nanotechnology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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