g on enveloping poorer nations within the bosom of caring and just actions, far too often the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ is ever widening.

Nanotechnology, with its promise of hope and renewal could be the solution to drastically improving the quality of life for all, if it is distributed fairly and evenly.

Nanotechnological strides are being developed in some third world countries like Brazil, India, Thailand and South Africa where millions of dollars has been earmarked to encourage the progression of research and development of nanotechnology and its promise of overwhelming advancements in environmental, agricultural, medical and sustainable natural resources. The hope is that the resulting developments will benefit rich and poor alike, thus satisfying the Millennium Development Goals as set out by the United Nations in their bid to eliminate, or at least control poverty in the poorest nations.

The more powerful scientific communities, like those in the United States, Britain and Japan lead the universal thirst for nanotechnology perfection. Yet there are those who decry the seeming objectives of these more powerful nations. They say the nations who are able to encourage the rapid strides in scientific research in nanotechnology appear to be allocating more effort into using it for military gains and covert surveillance than in benefiting the poor and disadvantaged.

It is said that if you want to see into the future, you need only look to the past. In previous decades, humanitarians put a lot of faith and hope into burgeoning technologies in biotechnology and its promise to solve world hunger via genetically modified organisms. However, the proposed benefits to the poorer nations have yet to materialize. It appears the developed nations are reaping the rewards of widely grown and readily available GMO enhanced foods which are being consumed in countries that do not have the abject poverty of the under-developed worlds.

The promise of dramatic improvement to the quality of life for the poor has yet to come to fruition. It can only be hoped that saner minds will take precedence in the development of nanotechnology and that its benefits will be shared by both rich and poor throughout the entire world.

People show their emotions in many diverse and specialized ways, some of which a computer can be programmed to detect. By employing nanotechnology, a camera and image analysis software, some computers are able to observe a user’s body language and, with proper programming can accurately interpret a person’s posture, restlessness and various facial expressions like grimacing, smiling or scowling. Nanotechnology advances provide onboard sensors which can monitor heartbeats, breathing rates, fluctuations in blood pressure, and other subtle body changes such as skin temperature and voice inflection.

Because human skin has the capability of transmitting electric signals which can be utilized as a method of transmission, nanotechnology researchers have already been able to develop computers that are designed with nano sensors that have the uncanny ability to actually ’see’ and ‘hear’ the people using them. Inevitably it is only a matter of time until the technology is available to create a computer that can readily identify whether their users are in high spirits or in a bad mood.

With ever advancing nanotechnology equipped computers, scientists figure it is entirely possible to develop a computer that is able to interpret a user’s mood via input it receives based on body language, voice tone and facial expressions and that it will be programmed to adjust itself by providing images designed to provide a feeling of comfort and serenity. Since emotions are ambiguous, transient and ultimately difficult to interpret, it would be very difficult for a computer to accurately construe the many human mood variances, regardless of how advanced the nanotechnology utilized. Therefore, in order to operate with any modicum of precision, a user would have to input the required data in advance.

Nanotechnology, with its sensor based abilities, gives programmers little problem with ‘intelligence’ based activities such as diagnosing a medical condition or participating in a game of chess, yet even with the major advancements in nanotechnology in recent years it is still somewhat of a challenge to design computers that accurately simulate human sight, audio functions, language interpretation and/or motor control.

Human vision and other sensory perceptions have evolved over billions of years and the how and why of their operations are still difficult to understand and/or simulate, while things like mathematics are explicitly taught and are, therefore, easier to express in a computer program.

Programmers are also attempting to employ nanotechnology advancements into programs that they expect to be able to accurately determine a person’s innate wishes regarding resuscitation should they fall ill and not be able to make that decision for themselves. Although, theoretically this information would be beneficial to medical teams, caution should be exercised whenever we allow a machine to determine matters relative to ethics. Regardless of the technology involved, machines are not equipped to differentiate between what is intrinsically right or wrong.

Advances in nanotechnology have proven that incredible progress is not only possible today and in the future, it is pretty well inevitable. Fantastic advances in nanotechnologic medical research have resulted in life saving techniques that were unheard of even a decade ago.

Genetic engineering research and development provides a means of revolutionizing agricultural output by enhancing crop yields while encouraging a decrease in the necessity for pesticides. It also holds out a promise of attaining newer, improved species of plants and animals, the ability to someday replace or supplement reproduction with cloning and the hope that cures will be developed for many fatal and debilitating diseases, which can only result in increased life spans and improved quality of life.

Robotic engineers firmly believe that development of a truly intelligent machine that is capable of performing most tasks better than humans will be perfected within our lifetime. They envision a time when a highly organized system of machines will perform all tasks with little or no human input.

It is not hard to imagine the revolutionary advancements that are possible if nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics combine their expertise in future technological advancements. Either the result will be a utopian world free of disease or pestilence or a jumbled chaos of grey goo and confusion.

Regardless of the outcome, it is inevitable that the future holds profound changes because of nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics, whether the accomplishments are made on their own or as a result of a coordinated effort. Along with the imminent progression, however, we must also be aware of the philosophical, moral and ethical issues that will come about as a result of biological change.

In addition to the potential threat from the unleashed power of nanotechnology based scientific advancements, there is also the promise of an improved future for mankind and the world in which he dwells. The line of demarcation is thin and easily crossed and therefore great care and planning must go hand in hand with technological advances.

Naysayers are quick to point out the many pitfalls of unbridled nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics research and implementation; however, to the chagrin of futurists, these non-progressive individuals fail to fully conceive of the many benefits these scientific advancements can and will provide. Progressive thinkers are quick to embrace the very real possibility of incredibly low-cost solar power, cures for debilitating disease via intensification of the human immune system, the ability to clean up our environment and the overall improvement of human existence that is not only possible but entirely plausible in the very near future because of nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics.

So, are nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics to be feared as an impending doomsday event or should they be embraced as miracles of the future? Only by carefully reviewing the past while embracing the future will we be able to tell. After all, if we are willing to build an artificial brain, we must be willing to construct one that is able to see what we cannot.

Nanotechnology is the newest craze among media, academia, investors (just think of the ROI if you hit a company that comes up wit the best “micromachine” for God knows what) and all kinds of industry. How will it affect the packaging industry?

Just a little background on Nanotechnology for those of you who are not familiar with it, do not read comic books or watch the Sci-Fi channel often. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology’s primary push, excitement or “umph”, if you will, is in the arenas of materials science, electronics, optoelectronics and biomedical. Biomedical is extremely exciting as it can be used hopefully for repairing organs, removing disease, or even making organs operate more efficiently. Then this will move into the military arena. How? A soldier can be repaired faster if injured. Or maybe the soldier can run faster if Nanotechnology or Micromachines are being used to enhance reflexes. The list goes on and on; you can use your imagination.

So Nanotechnology is the ability to manipulate molecules and atoms to create structures, which may be used in the real world. So how does this apply to packaging? Well the science will help deliver materials with greater functionality or durability for the increase in shelf life. Examples, that popcorn bag that junior tries to open will not spill over your new carpet; the coke can that can stand up to punctures a little better. How about that box in your garage that had the cement mix in it, which is now soaked with water? Having to deal with a mess like that would make anyone mad.

Nanotechnology will provide better fracture hardness for aluminum. Note the above example. Nanoscience will provide better tensile strength for items that use carbon fiber and improve flame resistance for plastics with “nanoclay” composites.

Gas-barrier characteristics of Nanoclay in food packaging have sparked great interest. Using Nanoclay in packaging films, i.e. shrink-wrap helps to create a better oxygen barrier. Nanoclay will also be used for the tracking of products through the supply chain.

In the next 5 years 5 million pounds of nanocomposite material will go into rigid and flexible packaging. This will affect the packaging of soft drinks, beer, meats and a vast array of packaged foods and condiments. These will be the first consumable items to be packaged in Nanotechnology Packaging. One can certainly hope it will allow one to get that last bit of ketchup out of that little pack whilst one is sitting at the ballpark!!!

One of the problems with Nanotechnology as with any new technology is the cost. This is something new and many companies in the paper, packaging and printing industries cannot really see what Nanotechnology can do for them. Will the cost be outweighed by the benefit, hopefully?

If the affects of Nanotechnology and its challenges are not addressed then the future of compositeness amongst companies and organizations will be threatened.

A single speck of dust could spoil a whole experiment at Purdue University’s new Birck Nanotechnology Center. To prevent such a scenario, the building’s HVAC system has to be fast, forceful, and flawless. Such high performance is attained by carefully selected air-handling equipment that includes the AEGIS SGR[TM] , a new grounding device that extends motor life.

Adjacent to the Purdue campus in West Lafayette, IN, the three-story, 71,000-sq-ft Birck Center has many state-of-the-art laboratories for advanced nanotechnology research. Some predict this emerging science could have a big impact on society, possibly yielding new high-strength materials, microscopic devices, or miniature computers constructed atom by atom. “Tiny” is an understatement. Since “nano” means one-billionth, a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, only about 10 atoms wide. A dust particle could be 10 times larger than the group of atoms with which scientists in the new lab might be working.
HALTING MICROSCOPIC EXPANSION

The Birck Center’s HVAC system maintains the labs at 30% to 50% rh at all times and replaces the air at least 15 times per hour. Temperature is allowed to vary by no more than 1[degrees]C; a rise of just one degree causes microscopes and other equipment to expand by an amount equivalent to thousands of atoms.
Many of the labs (more than 20,000 sq ft) are cleanrooms. To call them “controlled environments” would be another understatement. Equipped with vibration-isolation equipment and special filtration systems to keep the air nearly free of dust particles, they are so tightly controlled that some have as many as 120 ach, yet are not allowed temperature changes of more than 0.1[degrees]C.

Key to maintaining such conditions are high-volume fans equipped with VFDs that automatically change fan speed to adjust to the weather outdoors, laboratory occupancy levels, and other factors. The contract to supply eight of these fans went to Colby Equipment Co., which represents 20 manufacturers of industrial and commercial air-handling equipment throughout the Midwest. Colby selected fans manufactured by Greenheck Fan Corp.: four 25-hp fans, each capable of moving more than 20,000 cfm of air; and four 5-hp fans, capable of moving more than 5,000 cfm each.

Colby’s Tom Hall, a Purdue alumnus, knew that without grounding devices, VFD-induced currents would discharge through the fans’ AC motor bearings, causing fusion craters on the bearing race walls. This phenomenon would continue until the race became severely pitted and the bearings (and motor) failed. Prior to failure, the pitting may cause noise and vibration that is magnified and transmitted by HVAC ducts. Because many of today’s AC motors have sealed bearings, electrical damage from VFD-induced shaft currents has become the most common cause of bearing failures. The resulting repairs, downtime, and lost production can be costly.

SQUARELY ON THE GROUND

In his search for reliable grounding devices that would optimize the performance and durability of the variable-speed fans, Hall concluded that conventional metal grounding brushes would be difficult to attach since the fans had already been installed. An Internet search turned up Electro Static Technology, a division of Illinois Tool Works and a Maine-based manufacturer of the AEGIS SGR Conductive MicroFiber[TM] Brush. After speaking with the company’s sales manager, Hall purchased eight SGRs.

A ring of conductive microfiber brushes that encircles a motor shaft, the SGR prevents electrical damage to AC motor bearings and extends motor life by providing a safe path to ground for harmful shaft currents. Maintenance-free, the SGR is unaffected by dirt, grease, or other contaminants and provides long-lasting protection. Its conductive microfibers work with virtually no friction or wear, have no rpm limitations, and last for the life of the motor.

There is little debate that we need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, but the costs of renewable energy platforms such as solar make it difficult. Nanotechnology definitely offers the answer.

Solar power is considered one of the better renewable energy platforms. Enough sunlight hits our planet each day to meet our world wide energy needs for an entire year. On top of this, solar energy is a free power source, since nobody can corner the market on the sun. Solar power is also good for the environment since it produces none of the emissions that are of such concern today, specifically carbon dioxide greenhouse gases.

If solar is so great, why don’t we see more practical applications? The problem lies in the applications. Specifically, we have no way to harness the power. Commercial solar cells are very inefficient. Current models on the market only convert about 8 to 13 percent of the sunlight hitting them. This inefficiency makes the cost of producing energy via solar platforms too costly. So, what can we do?

Nanotechnology is a new scientific field with many applications. Although the media has hyped the technology as the answer to a wide variety of miracle cures, most scientists and companies are looking to more practical applications. One such application is improving the efficiency in solar cells.

Nanotechnology has already shown huge breakthroughs in the solar field. In certain studies, the use of nano applications has improved the conversion rate of solar cells to an incredible 65 percent, a slight increase over the current 8 to 13 percent rate. Although none of the applications are currently refined enough to be turned into commercial products, they are getting close. Let’s take a look at a one of the approaches.

Quantum dots have the potential to change the world. They are a form of solar cell that is completely beyond anything you might imagine. Traditional solar cells produce electricity in a unique way. When the sunlight hits material in the cell, the material kicks of an electron and the charge is the electricity. Quantum dots work the same way, but they produce three electrons for every photon of sunlight that hits the dots. The dots also catch more spectrums of the sunlight waves, thus increasing conversion efficiency to as high as 65 percent, a stunning figure.

The really interesting thing about quantum dots is they do not require big, bulk solar panels to work. Researchers are combing the dots with liquid polymers. In practical terms, this means they can be sprayed onto any surface. This literally means that anything painted can act as a solar cell. Think about that. In the near future, you will be able to go solar by just repainting your house. Hybrid cars will be revolutionized, so will your mobile phone. On a cold day, you can put on a coat and gloves that are heated by the solar cells imbedded in their surfaces. The scope of this breakthrough is as breathless as it is unlimited.

Nanotechnology is extremely inter-disciplinary, comprises of physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and the full variety of the engineering disciplines. The word nanotechnology is been used widely as shorthand to refer to both the technology of emerging field and science. Basically defined, nano-science comprises the basic understanding of physical, biological and chemical properties on atomic and near-atomic scales. Nanotechnology, barely defined, employs controlled manipulation of these atomic properties to make materials and as well other functional system with exclusive capabilities.

Contrary to recent engineering hard work, nature developed nanotechnologies over billions of years, employing enzymes and catalysts to manage with beautiful accuracy various types of atoms and molecules into compound microscopic structures, which make life probable. These natural products are built with huge competence and have inspiring capabilities, like the power to yield solar energy, to change minerals and water into livelihood cells, to store and procedure huge amounts of data using great arrays of nerve cells, and to copy completely billions of bits of information stored in molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Even more ground-breaking will be the manufacture of nanoscale machines and nanoscale devices for integration into micro- and macro scale systems. Once again, nature has led the way with the manufacture of both linear and rotary molecular motors. These biological machines perform such tasks as muscle contraction (in organisms array from clams to humans) and carrying little packets of material around within cells as being powered by the eco-friendly, energy-efficient fuel adenosine triphosphate. Scientists are only starting to grow the tools to make functioning systems at such small scales, with most proceeds based on electronic or magnetic date processing and other storage systems. The energy-efficient, reconfigurable, and as well self-repairing aspects of biological systems are now becoming understood.

The likely impact of nanotechnology processes, machines, and products is predictable to be extensive, affecting almost every imaginable information technology, energy source, farming product, medical device, pharmaceutical, and other material used in developed. In the meantime, the dimensions of electronic circuits on semiconductors carry on shrinking, with minimum characteristic sizes now reaching the nanorealm, under 100 nanometers. They are huge markets driven by the fast advance of information technology.

What is Nanotechnology and why should I care about it?

Nanotechnology, referred to commonly as molecular manufacturing, is making huge strides within scientific and government communities. Despite its growth and the potential impact it will have on society at large, too little emphasis has been placed on the ethical considerations of nanotechnology and the ever-rippling effects of its applications.

The control of molecular matter has led to amazing breakthroughs in medical treatments, which of course is a benefit to mankind. However, the military is hard at work creating powerful weapons that are no larger than any known bacteria. In addition, molecular level surveillance techniques for surreptitiously keeping track of other organizations and individuals are changing the face of military, law enforcement and humankind in general.

Just like with human genome capability and stem cell research breakthroughs, scientists, governments and individuals need to weigh the obvious advantages of nanotechnology against the residual disadvantages. Although the power of nanotechnology is indisputable, the possibilities of irreversible harm from its indiscriminate use must also be taken into consideration.

What are the Social and Ethical Implications of Nanotechnology?

This is where social and ethical dilemmas present themselves. As life saving tools, nanotechnology is unsurpassed in its promise of an absolute revolution for medical treatment of previously incurable or untreatable conditions.

Conversely, when this technology is used to manufacture miniature weapons or explosives the infinite possibilities of far-reaching repercussions is a very real prospect. Given that researchers fear that nano-machines can become self replicating, theories abound that their by-product, known in scientific circles as “the gray-goo scenario”, could result in unheard of havoc. In addition nanotechnology has the potential to erode our privacy and freedom by providing human rights violations via monitoring and tracking devices that can invade our everyday lives without our knowledge.

For this reason the social and ethical issues relevant to nanotechnology must be addressed before its many technological innovations are unleashed upon society.

Every action has a reaction and nanotechnology is no different. Whether the anticipated power of nanotechnology ever reaches fruition, as a society we must be prepared to deal with any fallout that may arise from its inception and universal acceptance.

There is no doubt that development of nanotechnology and its many proven advantages, is going to continue, yet as a responsible society we must prepare a social policy that will address the benefits in correlation with the ethical consequences of it effect on life as we know it. Why should society be concerned with the Fallout?

When trying to incorporate nano-technological advances into society, there are a myriad of items that require intensive study, such as: issues regarding equity of disbursement, privacy rights of individuals and/or corporations, security considerations, the effect on the environment and the social and ethical impact on the human race.

As responsible humans who are concerned with passing a legacy of improvement down to upcoming generations, it is essential that we develop and create guidelines and working hypotheses that address the far reaching impact that nanotechnology can have on human lives and on the universe itself.

As the horizons of technology expand, the real world is shrinking into a Global Village; Nanotechnology is the new area of interest in technology. Nanotechnology is an umbrella term that covers many areas of research dealing with objects that are measured in nanometers or billionth of meter. It is a hybrid science combining engineering and chemistry. The goal of nanotechnology is to manipulate atoms individually and place them in a pattern to produce a desired structure. Nano-sized machines called assemblers, that can be programmed to manipulate atoms and molecules at will, would be used to build consumer goods. Some nanomachines called replicators, would be programmed to build assemblers.

Nanotechnology would enable creation of new generation of computer components with enormous storage capacity. But the greatest impact of nanotechnology could be the medical industry. Patients would drink fluids containing nanorobots programmed to attack and reconstruct the molecular structure of cancer cells and viruses to makes them harmless. Nanorobots could also be programmed to perform delicate surgeries.

For environmental clean-up, airborne nanorobots could be user programmed to rebuild the thinning ozone layer. Contaminants could be automatically removed from water sources, and spill could be cleaned up instantly. Nanotechnology was first introduced in 1959, in a talk by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”, Feynman proposed using a set of conventional-sized robot arms to construct a replica of themselves, but one-tenth of the original size, then using that new set of arms to manufacture an even smaller set, and so on, until the molecular-scale is reached. if we had many million or billions of such molecular-scale products built from individual molecules - a “bottom-up manufacturing” technique, as opposed to the usual technique of cutting away material until you have a completed component or product -”top-down manufacturing”.