Nanotechnology promises to change almost every aspect of our lives. But what is it exactly and how will it transform our world? Quite simply, it is the study and manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to make new materials. By being able to control the structure of matter at the atomic level (the prefix "nano" stands for one-billionth), industry can create tiny materials and devices with unprecedented capabilities.

The market for these tiny wonders will reach $1 trillion in 2015, says the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a federally funded program. Indeed, advocates claim nanotech will eventually lead to the creation of "nanobots" that will patrol our bloodstream for disease, super-light material that will surpass steel in strength, and computer screens that will be as thin and lightweight as a sheet of paper.

Some may scoff at these predictions, but few can deny that nanotechnology's implications are far-reaching. "It's going to change everything and replace microelectronics as we know it," says Michael Crow, incoming president of Arizona State University. "Nature itself is built at the nanoscale, and nanotechnology will enable us to develop unbelievable tools and devices by replicating nature."

In fact, this technology will affect virtually every part of the engineered world. Potential applications seem limitless, from aerospace and defense to telecommunications. Almost no industry will be beyond the grasp of nanotechnology. "It's going to be an enabling technology," says Meyya Meyyappan, director of the Center for Nanotechnology (CNT) at the NASA Ames Research Center in California.

The U.S. government and corporate world are betting on its astounding potential. Proposed NNI funding for fiscal 2003 is $710 million. And in 2002, corporations spent about $500 million on nanotechnology research, says Mihail Roco, chairman of the National Science and Technology Council's subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET). Startups are also in hot pursuit of nanotechnology. According to Thomson Venture Economics, venture capital firm investments in startups since Jan. 1, 2000 have reached a total of $88 million.

And the intense interest in nanotechnology extends beyond U.S. borders. According to the recently published "Nanotechnology Opportunity Report" by CMP Cientifica, a European research company, governments around the world poured in more than $2 billion in funding in 2001.

"We cannot afford not to look into these areas," says Gerjan van der Walle, head of the research group on integrated devices at Netherlands-based Philips, where researchers are exploring microfluidics-based biosensors and carbon nanotubes. Aside from Philips, companies such as IBM, General Electric Co., Lucent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard Co., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Siemens AG are making substantial investments in nano R&D. CMP estimates that nanocomponents are currently generating $30 million a year in sales, according to a recent New York Times article.

Even though much of the research is still in the initial stages, a few nanoproducts have already entered the commercial market. For example, "self-cleaning" windows, which have a surface layer of nanoscale titanium dioxide particles that help unseat dirt, are now available. In addition, some cars, food packaging and tennis balls now utilize nanocomposite plastics, which are made from clay nanoparticles. Some General Motors (GM) vehicles have sideboards with nanocomposites, which are 12 times lighter than and equally as strong as the materials they've supplanted.

Impressive as they are, those nanocomposites may soon be eclipsed by composites based on carbon nanotubes—heat and electricity-conducting carbon cylinders that possess 100 times the tensile strength of steel. Currently, some 40 companies are producing or planning to produce nanotubes. Furthermore, the materials sector is not alone in nanotechnology innovations. In medicine, battery technology and computer storage systems, among others, nanotech breakthroughs are only a few years away.

With nanotechnology, scientists are gaining unprecedented power. They are essentially constructing matter from its basic building blocks—administering chemicals that force atoms and molecules to form into structures such as computer circuits. The result is a more proactive approach to innovation in every industry. "The more we learn from our nano group here, the more we can—rather than just have it happen accidentally—force it to happen," says Danielle Walker, leader of the GE semiconductor technology lab. "If we can control the color of light or the efficiency of an LED, the better we are able to look at a macroscopic device that's probably fundamentally based on nanoscale features and maybe make the next big breakthrough in efficiency or in light output."

Some nano expectations, however, may not be able to make the transition from science fiction to reality. Nanomachines—only a few billionths of a meter thick—may not work as expected, suggest the results of an experiment by scientists in Australia.

Researchers at Australian National University (ANU) have shown that one of the most essential principles of physics—that molecular disorder can only increase—does not hold for nanoprocesses. This Second Law of Thermodynamics is one of the foundations of modern theoretical physics. Now that the principle has been violated at the nano level, the tiny science may be in for a rude awakening. The scientists behind the experiment say this spontaneous order effect—order emerging from disorder—may cause nanomachines to occasionally run backwards and make them difficult to control.

"This result has profound consequences for any chemical or physical process that occurs over short times and in small regions," the researchers say. For nanotechnology, this could become a reality check. The findings suggest that the tinier a machine is, the greater the possibility that it will run in reverse. Random thermal fluctuations could cause many nanomachines to malfunction, says Debra J. Searles, a member of the research team. However, she says, nanomachine manufacturers can also benefit from their findings by using the results as a way to predict whether their plans will fail.

Still, the list of nanotechnology developments grows each day. Although many of the expectations for this technology may forever remain in the imagination, the enormity of its potential is without question and is already being realized.

Sources: A Many-Handed God
Robert Poe
Electronic Business, Nov. 1, 2002
http://www.e-insite.net/eb-mag/index.asp?layout=article&articleId=CA253978

Molecule-size Machines the Wave of the Future, ASU Scientists Say
Bill Hart
The Arizona Republic, August 6, 2002
http://www.azcentral.com

Small Wonders
Tim Harper
Business 2.0, July 2002
http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,41548,00.html

Nanotechnology Will Soon Change the Data Storage Industry
Tom Rust
Computer Technology Review, June 27, 2002
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=4051

Look Who's Going Small: The World's Largest Companies Bet on Nanotech R&D
David Forman
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http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=4359

Nanotechnology Offers Big Opportunities for Innovation in All Industries
Janelle Strode
The Business Journal of Kansas City, August 2, 2002
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Beads of Doubt
Dr. David Whitehouse
BBC News Online, July 18, 2002
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Law and Disorder: Chance Fluctuations Can Rule the Nanorealm
Peter Weiss
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Humpty Dumpty Restored: When Disorder Lurches Into Order
Kenneth Chang
The New York Times, July 30, 2002
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