Learn, hack!

URL

http://dewy.fem.tu-ilmenau.de/CCC/22C3/video/22C3-336-en-nanotechnology.mp4

File name

22C3-336-en-nanotechnology.mp4

File size

407.2 MB

MD5

bca7bbaa1ffc4ecbd99bd36acb25d82f

SHA1

bc6acdff364110fbf186fac575d30b8a0d0fdc1c

Nanotechnology marks the merger of different technologies in structures smaller than 100 nm. While it could yield some powerful applications for sustainability, medicine and electronics, some hazards begin to appear that have to be addressed urgently Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter smaller than 100 nm and marks the merger of different fields of technologies like biotech, chemistry, electronics and physics towards a single new technology of the 21st century. Whereas some parts of nanotechnology have been known for decades like colloid chemistry that is now relabeled as chemical nanotechnology, others have been discovered only recently, especially the exploitation of quantum effects in nanoscale particles. They enable the development of applications that have no technical precursor in the past. Some nanotools for analysing matter on an atomic scale and basic applications like new materials are already on the market. But more complex devices like nanoelectronic processors are not yet feasible, because except for physical self organisation there are no precise methods of integrating nanostructures into micro or macro objects – or in the field’s jargon, true „bottom-up“ technologies like for instance molecular manufacturing as suggested by Eric Drexler. While nanotechnology could yield some powerful applications for a more sustainable use of ressources and energy production, medicine and electronics, some hazards begin to appear that have to be addressed urgently. The current debate about nanotech hazards is hampered by a lack of risk data as well as a useful classification of nanotech applications concerning human exposure. Therefore a classification is proposed that divides the field into 1. contained, 2. bioactive and 3. disruptive nanotechnologies. Finally a case is made for the creation of an „open nanotechnology“ where „open“ stands for 1. transparency of the technological knowledge and applications and 2. for the application of the Open Source idea to the realm of nanotechnological designs.