Nanophotonics: MIT lecture

Here is an interesting talk from MIT about nanophotonics. Evelyn Hu meticulously describes designing and building a new generation of optical materials from nano-sized elements. She hopes to harness “the magic of light in nanostructures”. More here

**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
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History of Nanotechnology
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Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology and Climate Change

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Update on 'Nanotechnology in New South Wales' report

I have been having a read of the 'Nanotechnology in New South Wales' report, in particular, the brief section on 'The Environment' (pages 45-47) and it is interesting to note that:

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3.158 While it had the required regulatory tools DECC advised that they do not have enough information as yet on the likely downstream impacts of nanomaterials that they might encounter (page 46)

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Also:

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"there are a lot of questions to think about before we know how we can apply the tools we have . . . we do need to know what we are dealing with. As yet I do not think we have got that clearly. We need more information" (page 47)

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While it was promising to see that 'the issue of the uncontrolled release of nanomaterials into the environment is their primary concern', what was most interesting was that DECC was "not doing any on the ground research" (page 47) but was "keeping abreast" of developments overseas.

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3.159 While the department is not doing any research itself it is keeping abreast of developments.
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The report suggested:

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Recommendation 1

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That the New South Wales Government recommend that nano-versions of existing chemicals are assessed as new chemicals, during the review of the national regulatory frameworks.

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See also:

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Nanotechnology in New South Wales
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**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
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History of Nanotechnology
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Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology and Climate Change

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There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom

The idea of nanotechnology (although he did not call it nanotechnology) started when Richard Feynman (1959) gave a talk at Caltech called “There’s plenty of room at the bottom”.

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Feynman suggested the “possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom” and “if we go down far enough, all our devices can be mass produced so that they are perfect copies of one another.”

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He also assisted in the development of the atomic bomb, and later went on to become a joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his work in quantum electrodynamics.

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**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
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History of Nanotechnology
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Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology and Climate Change

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Nanotechnology and Climate Change

Here is a new report (from the United Nations University) called “Innovation in Responding to Climate Change: Nanotechnology, Ocean Energy and Forestry” by Miguel Esteban, Christian Webersik, David Leary and Dexter Thompson-Pomeroy .

This report offers three innovative solutions in responding to climate change, namely nanotechnology, ocean energy and forestry. It goes beyond the technological, biological and procedural aspects of these solutions by critically assessing the opportunities and challenges that each type of innovation presents. This report addresses the question why these innovations - despite their large potential to reduce emissions, ocean energy alone could cover the world's electricity needs - have not yet reached the stage of mass commercialization.
UNU-IAS, November 2008, 46 pages

The section on nanotechnology (pages 10-18) is worth a read.
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It examines:

• What is nanotechnology;
• The main fields of nanotechnology R&D and commercialisation relevant to climate change mitigation;
• Nanotechnology and the hydrogen economy;
• Nanotechnology, solar power and photovoltaics,
• Nanotechnology and energy storage (the next generation of batteries);
• regulatory implications of the use of nanotechnolgy in new climate change mitigation technologies; and
• Further research required on the role of nanotechnology in responding to climate change.

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**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
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History of Nanotechnology
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Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology and Climate Change

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!
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So please, tell us what you think.

Some Australian Nanotechnology Information

Here is some great information on Australian nanotechnolgy from the Australian Government (Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research):

• Including a new report on Australian community attitudes on nanotechnology;
• Some great links to some background information on nanotechnology; and
• Details of how to contact the Gene and Nanotechnology Information Service (for all you nano-needs).

Community Awareness Survey

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On 4 August 2008, the Government released the "Australian Community Attitudes Held about Nanotechnology – Trends 2005-2008" report.

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This public awareness survey was commissioned to assess the Australian public's knowledge of and views about nanotechnology. This report compares changes of attitudes from 2005 and 2007 to 2008, and demonstrates that since then, the number of respondents who see the benefits of nanotechnology as outweighing the risks has increased from 39% to 53%, among other key findings.
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A summary of the key points in the public attitude study can be downloaded here.

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Background nanotechnology information

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Nanotechnology - working with the smallest things

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Measurement challenges in nanotechnology
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NICNAS Information Sheet on Nanomaterials
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Small Particles, Nanotechnology and Food
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CSIRO Nanoparticles Information Sheet
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Journey into the nano-world

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Nanotechnology (Freecall within Australia) Information Service

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The Gene and Nanotechnology Information Service provides a freecall information service for any enquiries about nanotechnology, or can be accessed by email. The Service, a partnership with the University of Melbourne, also provides outreach activities, such as expert speakers for schools and community groups and public displays. (Website under development).

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1800 631 276 or email gtis-australia@unimelb.edu.au

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Media Releases

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Also available is a list of the Australian Office of Nanotechnology's Nano related media releases

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**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
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History of Nanotechnology
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Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology in New South Wales

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Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making
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UK and US attitudes to nanotechnology

Here is a new study that shows "People In The U.S. And The U.K. Show Strong Similarities In Their Attitudes Toward Nanotechnologies". Interesting that people focus more on the benefits of nanotechnology than the risks. I would have thought that people living in the UK might be more aware of the risks of nanotechnology than people living in the US, because I was living in the UK during BSE and Foot and Mouth disease outbreaks and believe me, the media and the opposition party ensured that the public were well aware of the failings of government to regulate effectively to ensure food was indeed 'safe'. I also noticed that there was also a lot of public debate going on at the time about the safety of GM foods (both in the UK and Europe). Although I am not sure about the levels of debate on the GM food issue in the US.

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Anyway, here is a link to the full news article called "People In The U.S. And The U.K. Show Strong Similarities In Their Attitudes Toward Nanotechnologies" from Science Daily. The abstract is here on Nature Nanotechnology (advanced online edition) - although I will have to wait for the normal on-line edition to read the full thing (maybe a week).

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The results include the following key findings:

• Overall participants in both countries focused on the benefits rather than the risks of nanotechnologies, and also exhibited a high degree of optimism regarding the future contribution of new technologies to society. This pattern was very similar in the workshops in both the United States and Britain.

• Some small cross-country differences were present. U.K. participants were generally more aware of recent technological controversies and risk governance failures (examples include genetically modified organisms, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and foot and mouth disease), leading some to voice specific concerns about future nanotechnology risks.

The study also found that people were more likely to be positive about nanotechnology used for energy projects, than when it is used for medical purposes. This makes sense to me, because people will tend to be more concerned with risks that seem to relate more directly to themselves and their family and friends - like health concerns - rather than worry about more psychologically distant things like the risks of energy nanotechnology.

**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
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History of Nanotechnology
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Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology and Climate Change

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So please, tell us what you think.

Eric Drexler has a blog called Metamodern

I have recently discovered that Eric Drexler has started a blog called Metamodern - The Trajectory of Technology.

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Drexler is the author of Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology and Nanosystems Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation. He also coined the term 'grey goo' - out of control self-replicating nanotechnology robots.

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from Metamodern:

My main focus will be on research progress, largely in nanoscience and technology, and often with a special perspective: how current research is applicable to the development of advanced nanosystems. I’ve found that a system-building perspective can highlight research opportunities that might otherwise be missed. I’ll sometimes suggest specific research objectives that seem practical, valuable, and ready for work.

However, Metamodern isn’t intended to be “a blog about nanotechnology”; its scope includes broader issues involving technologies with world-changing potential. For example, looking well downstream in technology development, I will sketch the requirements for large-scale systems able to restore the atmosphere to its pre-industrial composition.

**It should be worth a read - although some of the early posts do look a bit too complex for 'joe the plumber' or his friend 'joe six-pack' to read.

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p.s. I tried to leave a comment but it seems that "Comments on this entry are closed"
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**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

What is nanotechnology?
.
History of Nanotechnology
.
Nanotechnology - risks and benefits

Nanotechnology and Climate Change

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!
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So please, tell us what you think.