Technology of the

Future
Jon Cascio
Seth Williams
Kyle Barrett
How it works
 Nanotechnology works by three
steps:
– manipulation
– create assemblers
– use replicators
Areas Affected By
Nanotechnology

Three Major Areas in Nanotechnology

Medicine
Environm ent
Com puters
Nanotechnology and
Computers
 Moore’s Law
– “The number of transistors on a CPU
will double in number every 18
months.”
Nanocomputers
 Nanometer
– 1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter
– 1/500th width of a human hair
 Transistors
– Not small enough
– Top Down  Bottom up
– Nanotubes
Nanotubes
 Sheets of graphite rolled into a
tube
 50x stronger than steel
 1-2 nanometers in diameter
 Controlling
Nanocomputers
 Using microwave energy and
magnets
– Computers 200 – 500 times faster
– More reliable
– Cheaper
– 5-10 years
Ferroelectric Materials
 Voltage changes polarity
 Use like Binary
 Non-Volatile RAM
 Make computers lighter and
smaller
 Won’t need back-up batteries
Problems So Far….
 Not going to happen overnight
 Costs
– Production
– Programming
Nanotechnology and
Medicine
 Engineering of functional systems
at the molecular scale
 Hybrid of chemistry and
engineering
 Purpose of nanotechnology is to
align individual atoms into the
desired structure
Medicine Intro
 Nanotechnology has several
possible medical uses:
– A combatant against cancer
– Improve oxygen circulation in the
body
– Molecular level tissue mapping
Cancer Research
 Nanorobots identify tumor
 Attach to the tumor
 Release toxin for that type of
tumor
 Systems allow nanorobot to travel
the body
Circulation
 Structures can house oxygen
 Oxygen is released at certain
conditions
 Possible to replace red blood cells
Tissue Mapping
 Nanotechnology can provide a
much closer look at tissues
 Tissues are fixed
 Nanorobot scans tissue
 Data processed by external
computer
Nanotechnology and
the Environment
Advantages
 Help clean up toxic spills
 Detect pollutants
 Expand available resources
 Glean materials before they become
wastes
 Reduce energy consumption on the
demand side
Nanoenergy and a
Green Economy
 Harness solar energy with nanocells
 Membranes to convert sunlight into
energy
 High efficiency solar cells
 Nano-photosynthesis
 Nanotechnology will be pollution
free and use one-hundred percent
recycled materials.
Food Production

 Nano-photosynthesis produces
paper, sugar, and other materials to
ease real environmental products
 Super efficient nanobots will make
food last longer and have more
minerals and vitamins.
 Maintain greenhouses
Pollution

 One hundred percent biodegradable

and recyclable products
 Reduction of CFC’s and other toxic
materials
 Reduction of smog and acid rain
 Prevention of global warming by
using less fossil fuels
Future of
Environmental Nano-
technology
 Solar cells
 Nano-particle transportation
throughout the environment
 Increasing food supplies
 Reduce and clean up of pollution
 http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_release
 http://www.tainano.com/TOWARD%20R
 http://www.physorg.com/news7020148
 http://www.eurekalert.org/features/
doe/2001-07/dnl-flc060602.php
 http://www.actionbioscience.org/ne
wfrontiers/merkle.html