I am currently readin a book called NEXT by michael crichton, the book is about how the world of genetics and biotechnology is going completely head over heels with unbelievable and strange discoveries, frauds and malfunction. Orang's (as the book uses for the word "orangootans") swearing upon the visitors in dutch and french languages.
The book is complete work of a genetic fiction yet prooving to be a story of coming future. With genes and tissues being used up without any consent or notice or anything of the sort and research taking a form of a proffesion more then an art, the book seems to get interesting page by page. Though for few first chapters the book succeeds in creating that confusiion that it is ment for. WIth too much of confusion and genetic language doing its perfect job by entering at a perfect time, the books seems to be a great text for a genetic freak.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Carbon Nanotubes
Ever wondered what are carbon nanotubes or what is going on with these nanotubes....see these its an everclear version of Nanotube.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
DNA...
DNA is blueprint, contractor and construction worker for new structures from PhysOrg.com
DNA is the blueprint of all life, giving instruction and function to organisms ranging from simple one-celled bacteria to complex human beings. Now Northwestern University researchers report they have used DNA as the blueprint, contractor and construction worker to build a three-dimensional structure out of gold, a lifeless material.
[...]
Thursday, January 17, 2008
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
AND ABBREVIATIONS
Absolute zero: Minus 273 degrees Celsius: the end of all molecular vibration.
Active nanotech: Nanotech that uses working mechanisms.
Actuator: A device converting electrical energy into straight-line mechanical energy.
Adaptive system: A system of computer hardware and software that senses and adjusts to changes in its external and internal environments, e.g. component defects.
Aerosol: A solution whose solvent is air.
AFM: Atomic force microscope.
AIST: Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
Algorithm: Formal computational rule.
Allotrope: A distinct configuration of an element on the nanoscale: e.g. diamond, graphite, or fullerenes for carbon.
Amorphous Polymers: Polymers that do not form a crystalline structure, but are disordered in the solid phase, e.g. polystyrene in cups.
Ampere [A]: Basic unit of electric current in SI.
Analog: Using smoothly varying physical quantities to represent reality.
Analete: The subject of chemical or biotechnological analysis.
Analytes: Chemical species, in solution or in the gas, whose presence and concentration are to be analyzed or sensed.
Ångstrom [å]: SI length unit denoting one ten-billionth of a meter. (0.0000000001 m)
Antibody: Proteins produced by the immune system to neutralize or destroy antigens.
Antigen: A foreign substance that, when introduced into the body, becomes harmful because of immune response.
Apatite: A hexagonal crystal of calcium phosphate.
Archaebacteria [Extremophiles]: Bacteria tolerant of the high temperatures and pressures found near deep ocean vents.
Artificial Photosynthesis: Application of molecular or solid state structures to imitate natural photosynthesis by using light to cause electrical current flow. Artificial photosynthesis is one approach to photovoltaics.
Atomic Force Microscope: A scanning probe instrument that measures the force acting on a tip as it either slides along a surface or moves perpendicularly to a surface.
Avatar: A graphic interface for a human computer user or an artificial-intelligence system. Often a face that expresses emotion and speech.
Bacteriophage: A virus that attacks only bacteria.
Baud: Standard measure of dataflow, originally set [for telegraphy] at one pulse per second and now standardized as one bit per second.
Benchtop: First and earliest stage of technical scale-up for a scientific concept.
Benzene Ring: A circle of six carbon atoms knit with three covalent bonds.
Biel: The smallest assay module on a biochip.
Binary: Arithmetic system using only two numbers, 1 and 0. Used in computers with digital circuits that are fully on or fully off, with no intervening states.
Biochip [Biological microchip]: A miniaturized device combining biological diagnostics with fluidics, electronics, or both.
Bioinformatics: The science expressing genetic information as numerical data.
Bio-availability: The term used to describe the local availability, within a large biological entity like a human body, or a particular drug or therapy molecule.
Bio-inert Materials: Materials that do not react with the biological environment. Normally, bio-inert materials are not rejected by the human immune system.
Bio-nano: Nanotechnology derived from or applicable to biological systems.
Biomimicry: The technique of duplicating or adapting natural systems for nanotechnology.
Biopharm: A company using biotechnology to develop pharmaceutical products.
Biosensor: A sensor structure that targets biological analytes or a sensor based on the use of biological molecules.
Bistable: A system that has two stable resting states, like a coin that can rest either on heads or on tails.
Bottom-Up Nanofabrication: the building of nanostructures starting with small components such as atoms or molecules.
Boundary conditions: Initial stipulations for a mathematical or physical system, including transformation rules for cellular automata.
bR: Bacteriorhodopsin, a photon-capturing chemical related to visual pigments.
Broad-spectrum: Emitting photons with many different wavelengths.
Brownian motion: Microscopic jiggling of small particles in solution, caused by random thermal motion of molecules in the solvent.
Buckminsterfullerenes: A family of carbon allotropes that includes the so-called buckyballs and buckytubes.
Butyl rubber™: A synthetic rubber-like substance used in auto tires.
Buckyball: See C60
Buckytube: See CN
Byte: Two data bits.
C60: A molecule comprising 60 carbon atoms arranged in a regular sphere.
CA: Cellular automaton [pl. cellular automata].
CAD: Computer Aided Design, referring to the use of computational algorithms and tools to design switches, computers, memories, and other technology devices.
Calcium Carbonate: Limestone, CaCO3
Calculus: A mathematics of small quantities invented independently by Leibniz and Newton in the 17th century, very useful in modeling dynamic effects.
Carbon: An element having six protons and six electrons, essential to life.
Cartesian: A system representing algebraic concepts visually on a plane graph.
Catalysis: the function of a catalyst.
Catalyst: A substance that permits or enhances a chemical reaction without itself being changed.
Catenate: To interlock one or more ring-shaped molecules non-chemically.
Cathode-ray tube: A device that accelerates electrons.
Celsius: SI scale of temperature measurement that sets freezing water as zero degrees and boiling water as 100 degrees at standard [sea-level] air pressure.
Ceramics: Hard, refractory materials often based on oxides.
Chaperones: Small proteins used within cells to carry metal ion species from one place to another.
Cholesterol: A large molecule very widespread in biology (e.g. it provides much of the mass in human livers and brains); it is hydrophobic.
CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, referring to a technology commonly used to make contemporary silicon-based microchips.
CN: Carbon nanotube
Cocktail-party effect: The human brain’s ability to isolate one voice in a crowd.
Cold Vacuum: The basic fabric of the Einstein continuum: “Empty space”.
Collagen: the main protein part of connective tissue in most organisms.
Colloid [Colloid dispersion]: Particles or droplets of one substance uniformly distributed throughout another substance, and suspended not dissolved.
Colorimetric Sensors: Sensors that work by changing their colors when the analyte appears.
Commodity: A product all of whose units are interchangeable.
Composite: A material with two or more chemically distinct substances in close mechanical association.
Compression: Squeezing or imploding force.
Conductor: A substance that efficiently transmits heat or electricity.
Control: A test population kept untreated so that treatment effects can be determined.
Cortex: Outer layers of the brain, used for advanced processing such as vision.
Coulomb’s Law: The fundamental law of electrical interaction: the force between two charges is proportional to the magnitude of each charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between charges.
Covalent Bond: A strong chemical bond in which adjacent atoms share two electrons.
Cross-Linked Polymers: Structures consisting of linear polymer strands with chemical bonds between them that act to link one strand to the next.
Cryogenic: Supercold: at or below the temperature of liquid nitrogen.
DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
dB: Decibel [SI unit of sound intensity].
Dendrimer: A large synthetic molecule with many branches [Greek dendros, “tree”].
Diagnostics: The techniques of determining the causes of illness.
Diamond: A carbon allotrope with an infinitely extensible 3-D cubic crystal latticework, transparent to IR and visible light.
Diffraction: The ability of a wave to change direction or create visual patterns through interference with itself, other waves, or matter.
Diesel: An internal-combustion engine, usually burning liquid hydrocarbons, which attains ignition temperatures without an electric spark via high compression of the air-fuel mixture [Rudolf Diesel, 1858-1913].
Dip-Pen Nanolithography: Method of fabrication that uses a scanning probe tip to act essentially as a fountain pen to draw nanostructures on surfaces using arbitrary molecular structures as inks.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, a genetic molecule shaped like a twisted ladder.
DNA Computing: The use of DNA hybridization and replication processes to solve computational problems.
DNA Molecule Therapy: Therapeutic scheme in which DNA molecules are introduced into the cell, where they can combine with, for example, pathogenic DNAs within infected cells.
Dodecahedron: A twelve-sided solid.
Dopant: A trace impurity used in doping.
Doping: Evenly distributing small quantities of a trace impurity throughout a matrix.
Drexlerianism: The body of belief accepted by Eric K. Drexler and his followers, including imaginary constructs such as molecular assemblers purported to accrete macroscale goods from individual atoms and indefinitely prolong human life.
Dumbot: A postulated “dumb nanobot” to carry out a simple pre-assigned task.
Dura mater: tough outer membrane enclosing the brain.
e1776: Bioengineered strain of the bacterium E. coli, used for laboratory R&D.
E. coli: A common species of gut bacteria, most genotypes of which are benign.
Edman degradation: A process for determining a protein’s constituent amino acids.
Elastomer: An elastic polymer, sometimes natural but usually synthetic.
Electrochemistry: The science that combines chemistry with the flow of electrical current. Examples of electrochemical processes include silver plating and aluminum manufacturing.
Electron: A negatively charged subatomic particle, 1/1860th the mass of a proton.
Electron Beam Lithography: Method of fabrication that uses electron beams to form structures on surfaces. It is widely used to make extended large nanostructures.
Electron Microscopy: The measurement of structures of solids and surfaces using electrons rather than light to see small features (down to the nanoscale).
Electroosmosis: A method for moving liquids using electrical fields. Electroosmosis moves a sample at a constant rate, so it is used when sample should not separate into components.
Electrophoresis: A method of using external electric fields on electrically charged species to move either particles or liquids. Electrophoresis moves samples at a rate proportional to inverse mass of the components of the sample and is therefore often used for separations.
E-M: Electromagnetic
Encapsulated Nanomaterials: Structures in which a nanomaterial is enclosed in an outer covering or coat.
Entanglement: In quantum computing, the process of combining two separate pieces of information so that they can be treated as a single entity.
Entropy: Randomness of a system, sometimes expressed as heat per unit volume.
Enzyme: A protein catalyst used to facilitate chemical reactions in biological species.
EPFL: Ècole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [Switzerland].
Equation: mathematical statement of equivalence, general form X = Y.
Emergent property: A property appearing in a self-organized system of less complex modules and unpredictable from module properties, e.g. intelligence in brain neurons.
Experimentalist: A scientist who examines nature to uncover new facts.
Extremophile: See Archeabacteria
F1-ATPase: A molecular motor in certain bacteria, rotating at c.800 RPM.
Fab: Abbreviation for fabrication, used to refer to a plant that manufactures semiconductor devices (microchips).
Fahrenheit: Scale of temperature measurement that sets freezing water as 32 degrees and boiling water as 212 degrees at standard 9sea-level0 air pressure.
Femto-: Combining prefix indication one quadrillionth (0.000000000000001)
FET: Field effect transistor
Field-Effect Transistor: The most common sort of transistor used in semiconductor chips. It employs a gate to control (turn on and off) electrical current.
FinFET: Field effect transistor with a nanoscale cooling fin.
Flagellum [pl. flagella: A whiplike feature that propels some microfauna.
Flop: The fundamental operation of a logic gate.
Fluidics: The technology of manipulating small quantities of fluid, e.g. for numerical computation or direct process control.
Fluorescence: Re-radiation of photons at different wavelengths after a time interval.
Fractal: Mathematically identical whatever the magnification.
FTIR: Fast Fourier-transform infrared [spectroscopy].
Fuel Cell: A device generating electric power without noise, waste, or pollution.
Fullerenes: See Buckminsterfullerenes
Gallium arsenide: GaAs, a doping agent used to create semiconductors.
Galvanized: Having an outer anticorrosion layer of zinc.
Gamma Ray: A photon with extremely short wavelength and extremely high energy.
GC: Gas chromatography [sensitive chemical-sampling method].
Gene: A DNA sequence producing one or more characteristics in a living organism.
Gene Therapy: A specific sort of DNA therapy.
Geodesic: A straight, rigid strut connecting the centers of two close-packed imaginary spheres [structural engineering].
Geodesic Dome: A contiguous part of a geodesic sphere.
Giant Magneto Resistance: A phenomenon in which the resistance of a substance is changed very strongly by application of a magnetic field. It is used as a read-out mechanism in current magnetic computer memories.
Graetzel Cell: A photovoltaic cell, first developed by Michael Graetzel in Switzerland, that uses nanoscale titanium dioxide and an organic dye to obtain electrical current from incident light.
Graphite: A carbon allotrope comprising parallel plates with low stiction.
GT: Gene therapy, i.e. therapeutically replacing or knocking out defective genes.
Gues-host system: A smaller molecule trapped inside a larger molecule, the most advanced example of nanoscale self-assembly.
Gutted virus: The shell of a naturally occurring virus whose genome has been removed and replaced with artificially synthesized DNA as a vector for gene therapy.
HAT: Human artificial templating [synthetic organ manufacture].
Head Groups: Part of the structure of some long molecules wherein one end of the molecule can be called a head group and the other end a tail group.
Heat death: Final state of the universe, when all matter exists at one low temperature.
Helicase: A natural editing enzyme preserving the integrity of replicated DNA.
Hemoglobin: Large, heavy protein molecule, carrying oxygen in red blood cells.
Hertz [Hz]: SI unit indication cycles per second.
HIAN: High-interface-area nanostructures.
Histamine: A small molecule that, although always present in the body, is increased in concentration by the presence of antigens and antibodies.
HRTEM: High-resolution transmission electron microscope.
Hybridization: In DNA science, the formation of a second strand from the first, by complementary binding of the G with C or A with T.
Hydrogen [H]: The simplest element, usually comprising one proton, one electron, and no neutrons. Hydrogen having one neutron is deuterium; having two, tritium.
Hydrogen Bond: A specific sort of weak bond between molecules caused by a hydrogen atom bridging between an oxygen to which it is covalently bound and another oxygen that interacts more weakly with it by electrical forces. Hydrogen bonds are crucial for the structure of water, proteins and DNA.
Hydrophilic: Water-binding, refers to materials or molecular structures that interact strongly with and are soluble in water (e.g. ethyl alcohol).
Hydrophobic: Water-repelling, refers to materials that do not dissolve in water (e.g. salad oil).
IMS: Infrared microspectroscopy
Infrared [IR]: Photons of longer wavelength and lower energy than visible red light.
Inhomogeneous Structures: Materials that are not the same throughout. Macroscopic examples are a western omelet and reinforced concrete.
Insulators: Materials that do not permit electricity to flow (e.g. the rubber lining on extension cords).
In silica [Latin]: As modeled on a computer; literally “in sand”.
In silico: Back-formation from in vitro.
In situ [Latin]: In place; on site.
Ion: An atom or molecule that is electrically charged.
Isomers: Related molecules comprising the same atoms, assembled in different ways.
Joule: Standard SI unit of energy, equal to one watt-second or 10,000,000 ergs.
Laminar effect: An effect of gas flow over a solid surface.
Latex: A milky plant fluid containing natural elastomers.
Life cycle: The period over which a product is conceived, designed, manufactured, sold, used and abandoned.
Light-Emitting Diodes: Structures in which an electron and a hole combine to form an excited state that subsequently emits light; these devices permit direct transformation of electricity into light.
Light-Harvesting complex: the part of the photosynthetic apparatus that actually captures and stores the light energy (as molecular excited states) before passing it on to other structures within the photosynthetic apparatus.
Liposome: A microscale or nanoscale artificial globule consisting of layers of lipid or phospholipid enclosing an aqueous core. It can be used both as a model for membranes and as a delivery vehicle for particular molecules or biological structures.
Liter: The basic SI unit of volume, about 1 U.S. quart.
Lithograph: Originally meant a pattern or structure formed on paper using ink or painted stones to form the image.
Lithography: The formation of structures of any size (including nanoscale), generally by transferring the pattern from one structure to another.
LOS: Line of sight
Luminescent Tags: Molecules or nanostructures that luminescence (emit light) when illuminated and that are used to identify structures to which they are bound.
Macromolecule: Another word for polymer; it refers to single molecules consisting of many (thousands or more) atoms.
Magnetic Force Microscope: A scanning probe microscope in which a magnetic force causes the tip to move. This motion allows the user to measure the magnetic force.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A from of magnetic resonance spectroscopy that indicates the presence of particular atomic nuclei. Used to image sections of the body or particular biological structures.
MEMS: Microelectromechanical Systems, referring to structures at the micron scale that transduce signals between electronic and mechanical forms.
Mesoscale: See Microscale
Metastasis: The process by which certain cancers can spread from one organ or structure within the body to another.
MFM: Magnetic force microscope
Micro-: Combining prefix indicating one millionth (0.000001).
Microcosm: See Microscale
Microfluidics: The process of moving liquids or fluids along a channel whose characteristic cross-sectional dimension is microns.
Micro Imprint Lithography: Lithographic method for making small structures (originally at the micron, now at the large nanoscale level) using a sort of ink pad, usually made of a plastic material.
Micrometer: See Micron
Micron: One millionth of a meter [0.000001 m]
Microscale [Mesoscale, Microcosm]: A dimensional range of 0.1-100 microns.
Microtubules: Extended rigid linear structures found in cells, they are used by molecular motors such as actin to move cargos of molecules or other structures within the cell.
Milli-: Combining prefix indicating one thousandth [0.001].
Millisecond: One thousandth of a second.
Molecular Assembler: Proposed nanobot of ultrahigh complexity, imagined by Eric Drexler et al., which would build macroscale objects by accreting atoms one at a time.
Molecular Conductors: Molecules that can conduct electrical current.
Molecular Electronics: Electronics that depend on or use the molecular organization of space.
Molecular Recognition: Fundamental self-assembly scheme wherein one molecule has the ability to bind in a specific way to another molecule or a surface.
Molecule: A chemically bonded assembly or two or more atoms.
Monocoque: Structural design in which an object’s skin bears mechanical load.
Monomers: Small molecules that bind together into longer structures to form polymers.
Moore’s Law: CPU capacity per dollar doubles every 18 months.
mRNA: Messenger RNA that conveys genetic instructions to cellular factories.
NaCl: Sodium chloride, a cubic crystal used as a spice [table salt].
Nano-: Combining prefix indicating one billionth [0.000000001].
Nanoassembler: See Molecular assembler
Nano-bio [Nanobiosystemics]: See Bio-nano
Nanobooster: A person who imputes miraculous abilities to nanotechnology while disparaging mainstream technology and science.
Nanobot: A nanoscale machine; a dumbot.
Nanocatalyst: A catalyst produced by, and for use in, nanotechnology.
Nanochannel: A nanoscale tube for fluid transmission in fluidics.
Nanocomposites: Composite structures whose characteristic dimensions are found at the nanoscale. An example is the suspension of carbon nanotubes in a soft plastic host.
Nanodots: Nanoparticles that consist of homogeneous material, especially those that are almost spherical or cubical in shape.
Nanofabrication: The manufacture or preparation of nanostructures.
Nanofiltration: The filtering of particles of nanosphere dimensions.
Nanofluidics: the process of moving liquids or fluids along a channel whose characteristic cross-sectional dimension is nanometers.
Nanometer [nm]: One billionth of a meter; one millionth of a millimeter.
Nanopore: Having openings [pores] in the approximate range of 1-50 nm.
Nanorods: Nanostructures that are shaped like long sticks or dowels, with a diameter in the nanoscale and a length very much longer.
Nanoscale: refers to phenomena that occur on the length scale between 1 and 100 nanometers.
Nanoscale Biostructure: A biological structure whose characteristic properties change on the nanometer length scale (e.g. cell wall).
Nanoscale Synthesis: Another word for nanofabrication, referring to manufacture of structures at the nanoscale.
Nanosci: Nanoscience [slang]
Nanoscience: Experiment and theory about nature on the nanoscale.
Nanosistor: A nanoscale transistor.
Nanosphere Lift-Off Lithography: A nanofabrication method in which small spheres of nanoscale dimension are used to form a pattern on a surface, which then acts as a mask to block some areas of the surface during subsequent deposition of a nanomaterial from the vapor phase.
Nanostructures: Structures whose characteristic variation in design length is at the nanoscale.
Nanotech: Nanotechnology [slang]
Nanotechnology: Consistent, predictable manipulation of nature on the nanoscale. The application of nanoscience in technological devices.
Nanotube: A monomolecular, homogeneous, nanoscale cylinder of atoms: e.g. silica or carbon. Almost always carbon nanotubes, referring to the wires of pure carbon that look like rolled sheets of graphite or like carbon soda straws.
Nanowires: Another term for nanorods, especially nanorods that can conduct electricity.
Nem: One nanometer, 0.000000001m [slang]
Neuro-Electronic Interface: A structure that permits transduction o signals between nerve fibers and external computational resources.
Neuron: A nerve cell, the unit module of the brain.
Neurotransmitters: Small organic molecules that cary signals and information from one part of the brain (neuron) to another.
Neutron: A massive neutral particle within an atomic nucleus.
nM: Nanomanipulator [University of North Carolina]
NNI: National Nanotechnology Initiative
NOx: Nitrogen oxide
Nucleotide: “Ladder-rung” on a DNA double-helix, one of four types: A, C, G, T.
Oligonucleotides: Small subunits of DNA consisting of a few bases on each of the hybridized strands. “Oligo” means few.
Optics: The science of light and its propagation and interaction with matter.
Optoelectronics: Cybernetics using both electricity and light.
Orbital: The shape taken by electrons around an atomic nucleus.
Order of magnitude: One factor of ten [10X], used in scientific calculations.
Organic: Based on carbon, as chemistry or a molecule.
Oscillator: A device that generates regular mechanical vibration.
Oxidation: the chemical process whereby one atom captures one of more electrons from the outer electron shell of an adjacent atom.
Paneling: using large, slab-like molecules in nanoscale self-assembly.
Passive nanotech: Nanotech involving static materials, not mechanisms.
PCR: Polymerase chain reaction, a method for multiplying tiny amounts of DNA.
Peta-: Combining prefix indicating 15 orders of magnitude [1,000,000,000,000,000].
Photodynamic Therapy: A remediation scheme for several diseases, including cancer. It depends upon the use of molecular or quantum dot structures to transform light energy either into heat or into highly reactive excited oxygen molecules that subsequently attack the tumor tissue.
Photoelectric effect: The basic function of a solar cell.
Photon: The elementary quantum of light and carrier particle for the E-M force.
Photocatalysis: The use of light to trigger an irreversible chemical reaction.
Photochromism: Reversible chemical change due to the presence or absence of light.
Photosynthesis: A natural photoelectric process, usually performed by chlorophyll. The process by which plants and bacteria transform light energy into chemical energy, molecule synthesis, or proton gradients. It is the fundamental means by which nearly all energy sources are powered by the sun.
Photovoltaics: Artificial systems that transform light energy into electrical current; they can be based either on semiconductor structures or on molecular complexes.
Pico-: Combining prefix indication one trillionth (0.000000000001).
Piezoelectric effect: The ability of substances such as quartz to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice versa.
Polymerization: The process of making polymers from monomers, thereby making very large macromolecules from small molecular precursors.
Polymers: Extended molecules made by bonding together subunits called monomers. Examples include polystyrene and polyethylene, as well as DNA.
Polypeptide: A structurally strong natural polymer whose module is a peptide.
Polysaccharides: Polymers whose subunits are sugars.
Prestin: Molecular motor structure found in the inner ear and important in transducing sound into neural signals.
Protein: A natural polymer comprising a kinked string of amino acids. Biological macromolecules assembled from amino acid units. They are the functional structures in biology.
Protein Engineering: The manufacture and manipulation of proteins by synthetic chemical routes.
Proteomics: The science of protein-genome interaction [protein + genomics].
Proton: A subatomic particle with a positive charge of one unit and mass slightly smaller than a hydrogen atom. The number of protons in a given nucleus determines which element the atom is.
Qdot [Semiconductor nanocrystal]: A molecule-sized bit of matter that re-radiates at characteristic wavelengths when irradiated by visible or infrared light.
Quadrupole: A linked assembly of two magnetic bipoles, used as an electromagnetic lens to focus an electron beam in cathode-ray tubes.
Quantum: An irreducible packet of energy emitted or absorbed at the atomic or subatomic scale.
Quantum Dots: Nanostructures of roughly spherical or cubic shape that are small enough to exhibit characteristically quantum behavior in optical or electrical processes.
Quantum Mechanics: A description of the mechanical behavior of atomic and subatomic particles such as electrons and protons.
Quantum Tunneling: Transmission of electrons or “electron holes” (electron absences) without apparent movement through an intervening solid.
Quinones: Small organic molecules containing double bonds between carbons and oxygens. They are important as intermediate acceptor species in photosynthetic structures.
Rastering: Scanning a surface with repeated passes of a sensor or beam.
Reduction: The chemical process whereby a reducing element donates one or more electrons from its outer electron shell [orbital] to another atom.
RF: Radio frequency [low-energy E-M wavelengths].
R-factor: Measure of how well [or poorly] a substance or a system transmits heat.
RNA: Ribonucleic acid [See mRNA]
Rodcoils: Medium-size molecules containing hundreds to thousands of atoms that are arranged with a stiff tail and a soft, hydrophobic, space-filling bulbous head. They self-assemble into extended round and cylindrical structures.
Rotaxane: A freely rotating system of two distinct, mechanically bound molecules.
Scanning Probe Instruments: Tools for both measuring and preparing nanostructures on surfaces; they wok using the interactions between a scanning tip structure and the nanostructure on the surface, which can either manipulated or measured.
Scanning Tunneling Microscope: The first of the scanning probe instruments, invented by Binning and Rohrer. It works at the scale of nanostructures and measures electrons tunneling between a scanning tip and a conducting surface.
Self-assembly: The commonplace ability of natural systems and substances to put themselves together without reference to a top-down plan.
Self-Healing Structures: A form of smart material in which the structure responds to a physical stress, break, or fracture by repairing itself back to the original structure.
SI: Systeme Internationale des unites: the international standard for scientific measurements, also called the metric system.
Siderophores: Small molecules containing oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or phosphorous atoms that can bind to (capture) particular metal ions.
Single-domain particle: The smallest naturally occurring permanent magnet.
Slurry: A liquid matrix that carries large amounts of undissolved solids.
Soft nanotech [Soft lithography]: Production and application of molded surfaces that are smooth at the nanoscale.
Soot: An amorphous allotrope of carbon.
Solar cell: A material that directly converts incident photons to electric current.
Spectroscopy [Spectrography]: The study of photons emitted by energetic matter. The science of the interaction of radiation with matter.
Spintronics: Technology harnessing the electron’s spin, in preference to its charge.
Sputtering: Heating a material in a vacuum and depositing the boiled-off vapor on a substrate.
SQUID: Supercooled quantum interference device, a detector of tiny magnetic fields.
Stiction: The mutual attraction of adjacent surfaces, both fixed and in relative motion.
SPM: Scanning probe microscope
STM: Scanning tunneling microscope
State [CA]: One of a number of configurations permitted a cellular automaton.
Substrate: A matrix beneath a deposited thin-film.
Suicide Inhibitors: Synthetic molecules that, upon reacting with an enzyme, produce a product that binds to the enzyme and therefore causes the enzyme not to function (to commit functional suicide).
Superconductor: A material transmitting electricity with little or no resistance.
TEM: Transmission electron microscope
Top-Down Nanofabrication: The process of making nanostructures starting with the largest structures and taking parts away.
Transduction: Process of changing energy or signals from one from to another.
UHRTEM: Ultra-high-resolution transmission electron microscope
Ultrafiltration: The filtering of very small (micron-scale) particles.
Ultraviolet [UV]: Photons of shorter wavelength and higher energy than visible violet light.
Vermiculite: A silicate mineral derived form mica.
Volt: Basic SI unit of electrical force.
Watt: The basic SI unit of power, equal to one joule per second.
Waveguide: A device to intercept and steer E-M waves.
Wet nanotech: See Bio-nano
Zeolite: A framework ceramic material built of aluminum oxide and silicon oxide, with other possible additions. Used for water softening and for several catalytic structures, they comprise a very elegant set of nanoscale materials.
AND ABBREVIATIONS
Absolute zero: Minus 273 degrees Celsius: the end of all molecular vibration.
Active nanotech: Nanotech that uses working mechanisms.
Actuator: A device converting electrical energy into straight-line mechanical energy.
Adaptive system: A system of computer hardware and software that senses and adjusts to changes in its external and internal environments, e.g. component defects.
Aerosol: A solution whose solvent is air.
AFM: Atomic force microscope.
AIST: Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
Algorithm: Formal computational rule.
Allotrope: A distinct configuration of an element on the nanoscale: e.g. diamond, graphite, or fullerenes for carbon.
Amorphous Polymers: Polymers that do not form a crystalline structure, but are disordered in the solid phase, e.g. polystyrene in cups.
Ampere [A]: Basic unit of electric current in SI.
Analog: Using smoothly varying physical quantities to represent reality.
Analete: The subject of chemical or biotechnological analysis.
Analytes: Chemical species, in solution or in the gas, whose presence and concentration are to be analyzed or sensed.
Ångstrom [å]: SI length unit denoting one ten-billionth of a meter. (0.0000000001 m)
Antibody: Proteins produced by the immune system to neutralize or destroy antigens.
Antigen: A foreign substance that, when introduced into the body, becomes harmful because of immune response.
Apatite: A hexagonal crystal of calcium phosphate.
Archaebacteria [Extremophiles]: Bacteria tolerant of the high temperatures and pressures found near deep ocean vents.
Artificial Photosynthesis: Application of molecular or solid state structures to imitate natural photosynthesis by using light to cause electrical current flow. Artificial photosynthesis is one approach to photovoltaics.
Atomic Force Microscope: A scanning probe instrument that measures the force acting on a tip as it either slides along a surface or moves perpendicularly to a surface.
Avatar: A graphic interface for a human computer user or an artificial-intelligence system. Often a face that expresses emotion and speech.
Bacteriophage: A virus that attacks only bacteria.
Baud: Standard measure of dataflow, originally set [for telegraphy] at one pulse per second and now standardized as one bit per second.
Benchtop: First and earliest stage of technical scale-up for a scientific concept.
Benzene Ring: A circle of six carbon atoms knit with three covalent bonds.
Biel: The smallest assay module on a biochip.
Binary: Arithmetic system using only two numbers, 1 and 0. Used in computers with digital circuits that are fully on or fully off, with no intervening states.
Biochip [Biological microchip]: A miniaturized device combining biological diagnostics with fluidics, electronics, or both.
Bioinformatics: The science expressing genetic information as numerical data.
Bio-availability: The term used to describe the local availability, within a large biological entity like a human body, or a particular drug or therapy molecule.
Bio-inert Materials: Materials that do not react with the biological environment. Normally, bio-inert materials are not rejected by the human immune system.
Bio-nano: Nanotechnology derived from or applicable to biological systems.
Biomimicry: The technique of duplicating or adapting natural systems for nanotechnology.
Biopharm: A company using biotechnology to develop pharmaceutical products.
Biosensor: A sensor structure that targets biological analytes or a sensor based on the use of biological molecules.
Bistable: A system that has two stable resting states, like a coin that can rest either on heads or on tails.
Bottom-Up Nanofabrication: the building of nanostructures starting with small components such as atoms or molecules.
Boundary conditions: Initial stipulations for a mathematical or physical system, including transformation rules for cellular automata.
bR: Bacteriorhodopsin, a photon-capturing chemical related to visual pigments.
Broad-spectrum: Emitting photons with many different wavelengths.
Brownian motion: Microscopic jiggling of small particles in solution, caused by random thermal motion of molecules in the solvent.
Buckminsterfullerenes: A family of carbon allotropes that includes the so-called buckyballs and buckytubes.
Butyl rubber™: A synthetic rubber-like substance used in auto tires.
Buckyball: See C60
Buckytube: See CN
Byte: Two data bits.
C60: A molecule comprising 60 carbon atoms arranged in a regular sphere.
CA: Cellular automaton [pl. cellular automata].
CAD: Computer Aided Design, referring to the use of computational algorithms and tools to design switches, computers, memories, and other technology devices.
Calcium Carbonate: Limestone, CaCO3
Calculus: A mathematics of small quantities invented independently by Leibniz and Newton in the 17th century, very useful in modeling dynamic effects.
Carbon: An element having six protons and six electrons, essential to life.
Cartesian: A system representing algebraic concepts visually on a plane graph.
Catalysis: the function of a catalyst.
Catalyst: A substance that permits or enhances a chemical reaction without itself being changed.
Catenate: To interlock one or more ring-shaped molecules non-chemically.
Cathode-ray tube: A device that accelerates electrons.
Celsius: SI scale of temperature measurement that sets freezing water as zero degrees and boiling water as 100 degrees at standard [sea-level] air pressure.
Ceramics: Hard, refractory materials often based on oxides.
Chaperones: Small proteins used within cells to carry metal ion species from one place to another.
Cholesterol: A large molecule very widespread in biology (e.g. it provides much of the mass in human livers and brains); it is hydrophobic.
CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, referring to a technology commonly used to make contemporary silicon-based microchips.
CN: Carbon nanotube
Cocktail-party effect: The human brain’s ability to isolate one voice in a crowd.
Cold Vacuum: The basic fabric of the Einstein continuum: “Empty space”.
Collagen: the main protein part of connective tissue in most organisms.
Colloid [Colloid dispersion]: Particles or droplets of one substance uniformly distributed throughout another substance, and suspended not dissolved.
Colorimetric Sensors: Sensors that work by changing their colors when the analyte appears.
Commodity: A product all of whose units are interchangeable.
Composite: A material with two or more chemically distinct substances in close mechanical association.
Compression: Squeezing or imploding force.
Conductor: A substance that efficiently transmits heat or electricity.
Control: A test population kept untreated so that treatment effects can be determined.
Cortex: Outer layers of the brain, used for advanced processing such as vision.
Coulomb’s Law: The fundamental law of electrical interaction: the force between two charges is proportional to the magnitude of each charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between charges.
Covalent Bond: A strong chemical bond in which adjacent atoms share two electrons.
Cross-Linked Polymers: Structures consisting of linear polymer strands with chemical bonds between them that act to link one strand to the next.
Cryogenic: Supercold: at or below the temperature of liquid nitrogen.
DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
dB: Decibel [SI unit of sound intensity].
Dendrimer: A large synthetic molecule with many branches [Greek dendros, “tree”].
Diagnostics: The techniques of determining the causes of illness.
Diamond: A carbon allotrope with an infinitely extensible 3-D cubic crystal latticework, transparent to IR and visible light.
Diffraction: The ability of a wave to change direction or create visual patterns through interference with itself, other waves, or matter.
Diesel: An internal-combustion engine, usually burning liquid hydrocarbons, which attains ignition temperatures without an electric spark via high compression of the air-fuel mixture [Rudolf Diesel, 1858-1913].
Dip-Pen Nanolithography: Method of fabrication that uses a scanning probe tip to act essentially as a fountain pen to draw nanostructures on surfaces using arbitrary molecular structures as inks.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, a genetic molecule shaped like a twisted ladder.
DNA Computing: The use of DNA hybridization and replication processes to solve computational problems.
DNA Molecule Therapy: Therapeutic scheme in which DNA molecules are introduced into the cell, where they can combine with, for example, pathogenic DNAs within infected cells.
Dodecahedron: A twelve-sided solid.
Dopant: A trace impurity used in doping.
Doping: Evenly distributing small quantities of a trace impurity throughout a matrix.
Drexlerianism: The body of belief accepted by Eric K. Drexler and his followers, including imaginary constructs such as molecular assemblers purported to accrete macroscale goods from individual atoms and indefinitely prolong human life.
Dumbot: A postulated “dumb nanobot” to carry out a simple pre-assigned task.
Dura mater: tough outer membrane enclosing the brain.
e1776: Bioengineered strain of the bacterium E. coli, used for laboratory R&D.
E. coli: A common species of gut bacteria, most genotypes of which are benign.
Edman degradation: A process for determining a protein’s constituent amino acids.
Elastomer: An elastic polymer, sometimes natural but usually synthetic.
Electrochemistry: The science that combines chemistry with the flow of electrical current. Examples of electrochemical processes include silver plating and aluminum manufacturing.
Electron: A negatively charged subatomic particle, 1/1860th the mass of a proton.
Electron Beam Lithography: Method of fabrication that uses electron beams to form structures on surfaces. It is widely used to make extended large nanostructures.
Electron Microscopy: The measurement of structures of solids and surfaces using electrons rather than light to see small features (down to the nanoscale).
Electroosmosis: A method for moving liquids using electrical fields. Electroosmosis moves a sample at a constant rate, so it is used when sample should not separate into components.
Electrophoresis: A method of using external electric fields on electrically charged species to move either particles or liquids. Electrophoresis moves samples at a rate proportional to inverse mass of the components of the sample and is therefore often used for separations.
E-M: Electromagnetic
Encapsulated Nanomaterials: Structures in which a nanomaterial is enclosed in an outer covering or coat.
Entanglement: In quantum computing, the process of combining two separate pieces of information so that they can be treated as a single entity.
Entropy: Randomness of a system, sometimes expressed as heat per unit volume.
Enzyme: A protein catalyst used to facilitate chemical reactions in biological species.
EPFL: Ècole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [Switzerland].
Equation: mathematical statement of equivalence, general form X = Y.
Emergent property: A property appearing in a self-organized system of less complex modules and unpredictable from module properties, e.g. intelligence in brain neurons.
Experimentalist: A scientist who examines nature to uncover new facts.
Extremophile: See Archeabacteria
F1-ATPase: A molecular motor in certain bacteria, rotating at c.800 RPM.
Fab: Abbreviation for fabrication, used to refer to a plant that manufactures semiconductor devices (microchips).
Fahrenheit: Scale of temperature measurement that sets freezing water as 32 degrees and boiling water as 212 degrees at standard 9sea-level0 air pressure.
Femto-: Combining prefix indication one quadrillionth (0.000000000000001)
FET: Field effect transistor
Field-Effect Transistor: The most common sort of transistor used in semiconductor chips. It employs a gate to control (turn on and off) electrical current.
FinFET: Field effect transistor with a nanoscale cooling fin.
Flagellum [pl. flagella: A whiplike feature that propels some microfauna.
Flop: The fundamental operation of a logic gate.
Fluidics: The technology of manipulating small quantities of fluid, e.g. for numerical computation or direct process control.
Fluorescence: Re-radiation of photons at different wavelengths after a time interval.
Fractal: Mathematically identical whatever the magnification.
FTIR: Fast Fourier-transform infrared [spectroscopy].
Fuel Cell: A device generating electric power without noise, waste, or pollution.
Fullerenes: See Buckminsterfullerenes
Gallium arsenide: GaAs, a doping agent used to create semiconductors.
Galvanized: Having an outer anticorrosion layer of zinc.
Gamma Ray: A photon with extremely short wavelength and extremely high energy.
GC: Gas chromatography [sensitive chemical-sampling method].
Gene: A DNA sequence producing one or more characteristics in a living organism.
Gene Therapy: A specific sort of DNA therapy.
Geodesic: A straight, rigid strut connecting the centers of two close-packed imaginary spheres [structural engineering].
Geodesic Dome: A contiguous part of a geodesic sphere.
Giant Magneto Resistance: A phenomenon in which the resistance of a substance is changed very strongly by application of a magnetic field. It is used as a read-out mechanism in current magnetic computer memories.
Graetzel Cell: A photovoltaic cell, first developed by Michael Graetzel in Switzerland, that uses nanoscale titanium dioxide and an organic dye to obtain electrical current from incident light.
Graphite: A carbon allotrope comprising parallel plates with low stiction.
GT: Gene therapy, i.e. therapeutically replacing or knocking out defective genes.
Gues-host system: A smaller molecule trapped inside a larger molecule, the most advanced example of nanoscale self-assembly.
Gutted virus: The shell of a naturally occurring virus whose genome has been removed and replaced with artificially synthesized DNA as a vector for gene therapy.
HAT: Human artificial templating [synthetic organ manufacture].
Head Groups: Part of the structure of some long molecules wherein one end of the molecule can be called a head group and the other end a tail group.
Heat death: Final state of the universe, when all matter exists at one low temperature.
Helicase: A natural editing enzyme preserving the integrity of replicated DNA.
Hemoglobin: Large, heavy protein molecule, carrying oxygen in red blood cells.
Hertz [Hz]: SI unit indication cycles per second.
HIAN: High-interface-area nanostructures.
Histamine: A small molecule that, although always present in the body, is increased in concentration by the presence of antigens and antibodies.
HRTEM: High-resolution transmission electron microscope.
Hybridization: In DNA science, the formation of a second strand from the first, by complementary binding of the G with C or A with T.
Hydrogen [H]: The simplest element, usually comprising one proton, one electron, and no neutrons. Hydrogen having one neutron is deuterium; having two, tritium.
Hydrogen Bond: A specific sort of weak bond between molecules caused by a hydrogen atom bridging between an oxygen to which it is covalently bound and another oxygen that interacts more weakly with it by electrical forces. Hydrogen bonds are crucial for the structure of water, proteins and DNA.
Hydrophilic: Water-binding, refers to materials or molecular structures that interact strongly with and are soluble in water (e.g. ethyl alcohol).
Hydrophobic: Water-repelling, refers to materials that do not dissolve in water (e.g. salad oil).
IMS: Infrared microspectroscopy
Infrared [IR]: Photons of longer wavelength and lower energy than visible red light.
Inhomogeneous Structures: Materials that are not the same throughout. Macroscopic examples are a western omelet and reinforced concrete.
Insulators: Materials that do not permit electricity to flow (e.g. the rubber lining on extension cords).
In silica [Latin]: As modeled on a computer; literally “in sand”.
In silico: Back-formation from in vitro.
In situ [Latin]: In place; on site.
Ion: An atom or molecule that is electrically charged.
Isomers: Related molecules comprising the same atoms, assembled in different ways.
Joule: Standard SI unit of energy, equal to one watt-second or 10,000,000 ergs.
Laminar effect: An effect of gas flow over a solid surface.
Latex: A milky plant fluid containing natural elastomers.
Life cycle: The period over which a product is conceived, designed, manufactured, sold, used and abandoned.
Light-Emitting Diodes: Structures in which an electron and a hole combine to form an excited state that subsequently emits light; these devices permit direct transformation of electricity into light.
Light-Harvesting complex: the part of the photosynthetic apparatus that actually captures and stores the light energy (as molecular excited states) before passing it on to other structures within the photosynthetic apparatus.
Liposome: A microscale or nanoscale artificial globule consisting of layers of lipid or phospholipid enclosing an aqueous core. It can be used both as a model for membranes and as a delivery vehicle for particular molecules or biological structures.
Liter: The basic SI unit of volume, about 1 U.S. quart.
Lithograph: Originally meant a pattern or structure formed on paper using ink or painted stones to form the image.
Lithography: The formation of structures of any size (including nanoscale), generally by transferring the pattern from one structure to another.
LOS: Line of sight
Luminescent Tags: Molecules or nanostructures that luminescence (emit light) when illuminated and that are used to identify structures to which they are bound.
Macromolecule: Another word for polymer; it refers to single molecules consisting of many (thousands or more) atoms.
Magnetic Force Microscope: A scanning probe microscope in which a magnetic force causes the tip to move. This motion allows the user to measure the magnetic force.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A from of magnetic resonance spectroscopy that indicates the presence of particular atomic nuclei. Used to image sections of the body or particular biological structures.
MEMS: Microelectromechanical Systems, referring to structures at the micron scale that transduce signals between electronic and mechanical forms.
Mesoscale: See Microscale
Metastasis: The process by which certain cancers can spread from one organ or structure within the body to another.
MFM: Magnetic force microscope
Micro-: Combining prefix indicating one millionth (0.000001).
Microcosm: See Microscale
Microfluidics: The process of moving liquids or fluids along a channel whose characteristic cross-sectional dimension is microns.
Micro Imprint Lithography: Lithographic method for making small structures (originally at the micron, now at the large nanoscale level) using a sort of ink pad, usually made of a plastic material.
Micrometer: See Micron
Micron: One millionth of a meter [0.000001 m]
Microscale [Mesoscale, Microcosm]: A dimensional range of 0.1-100 microns.
Microtubules: Extended rigid linear structures found in cells, they are used by molecular motors such as actin to move cargos of molecules or other structures within the cell.
Milli-: Combining prefix indicating one thousandth [0.001].
Millisecond: One thousandth of a second.
Molecular Assembler: Proposed nanobot of ultrahigh complexity, imagined by Eric Drexler et al., which would build macroscale objects by accreting atoms one at a time.
Molecular Conductors: Molecules that can conduct electrical current.
Molecular Electronics: Electronics that depend on or use the molecular organization of space.
Molecular Recognition: Fundamental self-assembly scheme wherein one molecule has the ability to bind in a specific way to another molecule or a surface.
Molecule: A chemically bonded assembly or two or more atoms.
Monocoque: Structural design in which an object’s skin bears mechanical load.
Monomers: Small molecules that bind together into longer structures to form polymers.
Moore’s Law: CPU capacity per dollar doubles every 18 months.
mRNA: Messenger RNA that conveys genetic instructions to cellular factories.
NaCl: Sodium chloride, a cubic crystal used as a spice [table salt].
Nano-: Combining prefix indicating one billionth [0.000000001].
Nanoassembler: See Molecular assembler
Nano-bio [Nanobiosystemics]: See Bio-nano
Nanobooster: A person who imputes miraculous abilities to nanotechnology while disparaging mainstream technology and science.
Nanobot: A nanoscale machine; a dumbot.
Nanocatalyst: A catalyst produced by, and for use in, nanotechnology.
Nanochannel: A nanoscale tube for fluid transmission in fluidics.
Nanocomposites: Composite structures whose characteristic dimensions are found at the nanoscale. An example is the suspension of carbon nanotubes in a soft plastic host.
Nanodots: Nanoparticles that consist of homogeneous material, especially those that are almost spherical or cubical in shape.
Nanofabrication: The manufacture or preparation of nanostructures.
Nanofiltration: The filtering of particles of nanosphere dimensions.
Nanofluidics: the process of moving liquids or fluids along a channel whose characteristic cross-sectional dimension is nanometers.
Nanometer [nm]: One billionth of a meter; one millionth of a millimeter.
Nanopore: Having openings [pores] in the approximate range of 1-50 nm.
Nanorods: Nanostructures that are shaped like long sticks or dowels, with a diameter in the nanoscale and a length very much longer.
Nanoscale: refers to phenomena that occur on the length scale between 1 and 100 nanometers.
Nanoscale Biostructure: A biological structure whose characteristic properties change on the nanometer length scale (e.g. cell wall).
Nanoscale Synthesis: Another word for nanofabrication, referring to manufacture of structures at the nanoscale.
Nanosci: Nanoscience [slang]
Nanoscience: Experiment and theory about nature on the nanoscale.
Nanosistor: A nanoscale transistor.
Nanosphere Lift-Off Lithography: A nanofabrication method in which small spheres of nanoscale dimension are used to form a pattern on a surface, which then acts as a mask to block some areas of the surface during subsequent deposition of a nanomaterial from the vapor phase.
Nanostructures: Structures whose characteristic variation in design length is at the nanoscale.
Nanotech: Nanotechnology [slang]
Nanotechnology: Consistent, predictable manipulation of nature on the nanoscale. The application of nanoscience in technological devices.
Nanotube: A monomolecular, homogeneous, nanoscale cylinder of atoms: e.g. silica or carbon. Almost always carbon nanotubes, referring to the wires of pure carbon that look like rolled sheets of graphite or like carbon soda straws.
Nanowires: Another term for nanorods, especially nanorods that can conduct electricity.
Nem: One nanometer, 0.000000001m [slang]
Neuro-Electronic Interface: A structure that permits transduction o signals between nerve fibers and external computational resources.
Neuron: A nerve cell, the unit module of the brain.
Neurotransmitters: Small organic molecules that cary signals and information from one part of the brain (neuron) to another.
Neutron: A massive neutral particle within an atomic nucleus.
nM: Nanomanipulator [University of North Carolina]
NNI: National Nanotechnology Initiative
NOx: Nitrogen oxide
Nucleotide: “Ladder-rung” on a DNA double-helix, one of four types: A, C, G, T.
Oligonucleotides: Small subunits of DNA consisting of a few bases on each of the hybridized strands. “Oligo” means few.
Optics: The science of light and its propagation and interaction with matter.
Optoelectronics: Cybernetics using both electricity and light.
Orbital: The shape taken by electrons around an atomic nucleus.
Order of magnitude: One factor of ten [10X], used in scientific calculations.
Organic: Based on carbon, as chemistry or a molecule.
Oscillator: A device that generates regular mechanical vibration.
Oxidation: the chemical process whereby one atom captures one of more electrons from the outer electron shell of an adjacent atom.
Paneling: using large, slab-like molecules in nanoscale self-assembly.
Passive nanotech: Nanotech involving static materials, not mechanisms.
PCR: Polymerase chain reaction, a method for multiplying tiny amounts of DNA.
Peta-: Combining prefix indicating 15 orders of magnitude [1,000,000,000,000,000].
Photodynamic Therapy: A remediation scheme for several diseases, including cancer. It depends upon the use of molecular or quantum dot structures to transform light energy either into heat or into highly reactive excited oxygen molecules that subsequently attack the tumor tissue.
Photoelectric effect: The basic function of a solar cell.
Photon: The elementary quantum of light and carrier particle for the E-M force.
Photocatalysis: The use of light to trigger an irreversible chemical reaction.
Photochromism: Reversible chemical change due to the presence or absence of light.
Photosynthesis: A natural photoelectric process, usually performed by chlorophyll. The process by which plants and bacteria transform light energy into chemical energy, molecule synthesis, or proton gradients. It is the fundamental means by which nearly all energy sources are powered by the sun.
Photovoltaics: Artificial systems that transform light energy into electrical current; they can be based either on semiconductor structures or on molecular complexes.
Pico-: Combining prefix indication one trillionth (0.000000000001).
Piezoelectric effect: The ability of substances such as quartz to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice versa.
Polymerization: The process of making polymers from monomers, thereby making very large macromolecules from small molecular precursors.
Polymers: Extended molecules made by bonding together subunits called monomers. Examples include polystyrene and polyethylene, as well as DNA.
Polypeptide: A structurally strong natural polymer whose module is a peptide.
Polysaccharides: Polymers whose subunits are sugars.
Prestin: Molecular motor structure found in the inner ear and important in transducing sound into neural signals.
Protein: A natural polymer comprising a kinked string of amino acids. Biological macromolecules assembled from amino acid units. They are the functional structures in biology.
Protein Engineering: The manufacture and manipulation of proteins by synthetic chemical routes.
Proteomics: The science of protein-genome interaction [protein + genomics].
Proton: A subatomic particle with a positive charge of one unit and mass slightly smaller than a hydrogen atom. The number of protons in a given nucleus determines which element the atom is.
Qdot [Semiconductor nanocrystal]: A molecule-sized bit of matter that re-radiates at characteristic wavelengths when irradiated by visible or infrared light.
Quadrupole: A linked assembly of two magnetic bipoles, used as an electromagnetic lens to focus an electron beam in cathode-ray tubes.
Quantum: An irreducible packet of energy emitted or absorbed at the atomic or subatomic scale.
Quantum Dots: Nanostructures of roughly spherical or cubic shape that are small enough to exhibit characteristically quantum behavior in optical or electrical processes.
Quantum Mechanics: A description of the mechanical behavior of atomic and subatomic particles such as electrons and protons.
Quantum Tunneling: Transmission of electrons or “electron holes” (electron absences) without apparent movement through an intervening solid.
Quinones: Small organic molecules containing double bonds between carbons and oxygens. They are important as intermediate acceptor species in photosynthetic structures.
Rastering: Scanning a surface with repeated passes of a sensor or beam.
Reduction: The chemical process whereby a reducing element donates one or more electrons from its outer electron shell [orbital] to another atom.
RF: Radio frequency [low-energy E-M wavelengths].
R-factor: Measure of how well [or poorly] a substance or a system transmits heat.
RNA: Ribonucleic acid [See mRNA]
Rodcoils: Medium-size molecules containing hundreds to thousands of atoms that are arranged with a stiff tail and a soft, hydrophobic, space-filling bulbous head. They self-assemble into extended round and cylindrical structures.
Rotaxane: A freely rotating system of two distinct, mechanically bound molecules.
Scanning Probe Instruments: Tools for both measuring and preparing nanostructures on surfaces; they wok using the interactions between a scanning tip structure and the nanostructure on the surface, which can either manipulated or measured.
Scanning Tunneling Microscope: The first of the scanning probe instruments, invented by Binning and Rohrer. It works at the scale of nanostructures and measures electrons tunneling between a scanning tip and a conducting surface.
Self-assembly: The commonplace ability of natural systems and substances to put themselves together without reference to a top-down plan.
Self-Healing Structures: A form of smart material in which the structure responds to a physical stress, break, or fracture by repairing itself back to the original structure.
SI: Systeme Internationale des unites: the international standard for scientific measurements, also called the metric system.
Siderophores: Small molecules containing oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or phosphorous atoms that can bind to (capture) particular metal ions.
Single-domain particle: The smallest naturally occurring permanent magnet.
Slurry: A liquid matrix that carries large amounts of undissolved solids.
Soft nanotech [Soft lithography]: Production and application of molded surfaces that are smooth at the nanoscale.
Soot: An amorphous allotrope of carbon.
Solar cell: A material that directly converts incident photons to electric current.
Spectroscopy [Spectrography]: The study of photons emitted by energetic matter. The science of the interaction of radiation with matter.
Spintronics: Technology harnessing the electron’s spin, in preference to its charge.
Sputtering: Heating a material in a vacuum and depositing the boiled-off vapor on a substrate.
SQUID: Supercooled quantum interference device, a detector of tiny magnetic fields.
Stiction: The mutual attraction of adjacent surfaces, both fixed and in relative motion.
SPM: Scanning probe microscope
STM: Scanning tunneling microscope
State [CA]: One of a number of configurations permitted a cellular automaton.
Substrate: A matrix beneath a deposited thin-film.
Suicide Inhibitors: Synthetic molecules that, upon reacting with an enzyme, produce a product that binds to the enzyme and therefore causes the enzyme not to function (to commit functional suicide).
Superconductor: A material transmitting electricity with little or no resistance.
TEM: Transmission electron microscope
Top-Down Nanofabrication: The process of making nanostructures starting with the largest structures and taking parts away.
Transduction: Process of changing energy or signals from one from to another.
UHRTEM: Ultra-high-resolution transmission electron microscope
Ultrafiltration: The filtering of very small (micron-scale) particles.
Ultraviolet [UV]: Photons of shorter wavelength and higher energy than visible violet light.
Vermiculite: A silicate mineral derived form mica.
Volt: Basic SI unit of electrical force.
Watt: The basic SI unit of power, equal to one joule per second.
Waveguide: A device to intercept and steer E-M waves.
Wet nanotech: See Bio-nano
Zeolite: A framework ceramic material built of aluminum oxide and silicon oxide, with other possible additions. Used for water softening and for several catalytic structures, they comprise a very elegant set of nanoscale materials.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Ok!! well so now Nano-automobiles are expected any moment i suppose. Providing large range of fuel alternatives, thus making automobile more pollution free and reduce its fuel consumption. Nano crystals in automobile frames will make it more strong and reduce the gross weight of the machine.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Nanobiotechnology
I was going through my mail box and I happen to come accross an amazing question that came to me through a group emailing service. The questio (though simple and might be silly for few) goes like this
'What is the Scope of Nanobiotech?'
It just stuck me that yeah actually the actual scope of nanobiotechnology is still unclear to me as well. I decided to google it and happen to come across this page
http://http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0840/careers_in_nanobiotechnology_feature_index
Fine u might find this page a bit owards the money and career aspect but it did manage to give a couple of goood information. A Nanobiotechie basicaly looks into the analyzing and manupelating bio molecules and surfaces at a minute and infinitesimal level.
'What is the Scope of Nanobiotech?'
It just stuck me that yeah actually the actual scope of nanobiotechnology is still unclear to me as well. I decided to google it and happen to come across this page
http://http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0840/careers_in_nanobiotechnology_feature_index
Fine u might find this page a bit owards the money and career aspect but it did manage to give a couple of goood information. A Nanobiotechie basicaly looks into the analyzing and manupelating bio molecules and surfaces at a minute and infinitesimal level.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
nanotechnology Polution!!
New term so far...i suppose first time anything negative about nanotechnology I heard Nanotechn0lgy Pollution. one of the statments which i would like to quote is
While scientists were generally optimistic about the potential benefits of nanotechnology, they expressed significantly more concern than the general public about pollution and new health problems related to the technology.
Never thought of nanotechnology causeing health problems and pollution for more information check the link below
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14483
While scientists were generally optimistic about the potential benefits of nanotechnology, they expressed significantly more concern than the general public about pollution and new health problems related to the technology.
Never thought of nanotechnology causeing health problems and pollution for more information check the link below
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14483
nanotechnology pollution
New term so far...i suppose first time anything negative about nanotechnology I heard Nanotechn0lgy Pollution. one of the statments which i would like to quote is
While scientists were generally optimistic about the potential benefits of nanotechnology, they expressed significantly more concern than the general public about pollution and new health problems related to the technology.
Never thought of nanotechnology causing health problems and pollution for more information check the link below
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14483
While scientists were generally optimistic about the potential benefits of nanotechnology, they expressed significantly more concern than the general public about pollution and new health problems related to the technology.
Never thought of nanotechnology causing health problems and pollution for more information check the link below
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14483
Monday, November 5, 2007
Nanoscience and Technology mission (NSTM)
Link: http://content.msn.co.in/News/National/NationalIndA_051107_1109.htm#top
THis article features the current stature of Nanotechnology in India and the "Five Year National-Mission" as it said planned by the DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DST).The Nano science and technology mission is one of the major steps to get Nanotech one step forward from where it is currently. With bilions of investment and an aim of creating India Global hub for Research and Development(R&D)in NAnoscience and Nanotechnology the mission will kick start at three Nanoinstitutes of India (so far)Banglore, Kolkotta and Mohali.What impressed me the most was the closing paragraph of this entire article, which goes on like this
"Though India may have missed many a 'technology bus' over the decades, we cannot afford to miss the 'nano bus', as it is the future of the world, dominating science and technology in the 21st century," Rao said.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Nanogenerator
Wireless biosensors that monitor pathogens in water and measure blood pressure or cancer biomarkers in the body are shrinking to nanometer dimensions. To operate them, researchers are looking for equally small power sources. Nanowires that convert mechanical energy into electricity are a promising technology.
Now researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have taken the first step toward building a nanogenerator out of barium titanate. So far, efforts to make nanogenerators have focused on zinc-oxide nanowires. But barium titanate could lead to better generators because it shows a stronger piezoelectric effect, says mechanical-science and engineering professor Min-Feng Yu, who is leading the research at UIUC. Lab experiments show that a barium-titanate nanowire can generate 16 times as much electricity as a zinc-oxide nanowire from the same amount of mechanical vibrations, he says.
Nanogenerators could lead to many advances: biomedical sensors powered by blood flow or muscle contractions, tiny gas sensors that run on wind or acoustic waves, pathogen monitors powered by water flow, and portable electronics that are hooked up to nanowires in shoes. "The nanogenerator idea has become more and more convincing, " says Yi Cui, materials-science and engineering professor at Stanford University. "It's an idea that might work."
In 2006, a team of researchers led by Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology first showed that zinc-oxide nanowires could harvest mechanical energy to generate electricity. Wang's group has since made a lot of progress, most recently demonstrating a zinc-oxide nanowire array that outputs direct current in response to ultrasonic vibrations. (See "Nanogenerator Fueled by Vibrations.")
The UIUC team is the first to use barium titanate. In an online Nano Letters paper, Yu and his colleagues show that applying vibrations to a single barium-titanate nanowire leads to a small energy output. In their experiment, the researchers bridge a nanowire across a gap on a substrate, keeping one end stationary and moving the other end. The output energy is extremely small--about 0.3 attojoules--but for the same setup, a zinc-oxide nanowire gives 16 times lesssmaller energy output, Yu says.
Xudong Wang, a researcher in Zhong Lin Wang's (no relation) group and a 2007 TR35 winner, is happy to see progress on using materials other than zinc oxide to make nanogenerators. He says that the results look promising. The biggest advantage with using barium titanate, he feels, is that "it is possible to generate higher voltages than zinc oxide. This is very important for a power source."
But zinc oxide has its own advantages. It is nontoxic to biological systems, so it might be better suited than barium titanate for implantable devices. Also, it is easier to control zinc-oxide growth in order to fabricate nanowire arrays. "To make an applicable device, you need to have many nanowires with the same orientation in the same location," Xudong Wang says. That could be hard to achieve with barium titanate.
Yu acknowledges the difficulties with growing barium-titanate nanowires. His and his colleagues' work is preliminary at this point, he says, but it already shows the potential for making more-efficient, higher-output nanogenerators. As for Cui, he says that barium-titanate nanogenerators might be feasible, but he cautions that "in terms of making a working device, certainly there's still a way to go."
Now researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have taken the first step toward building a nanogenerator out of barium titanate. So far, efforts to make nanogenerators have focused on zinc-oxide nanowires. But barium titanate could lead to better generators because it shows a stronger piezoelectric effect, says mechanical-science and engineering professor Min-Feng Yu, who is leading the research at UIUC. Lab experiments show that a barium-titanate nanowire can generate 16 times as much electricity as a zinc-oxide nanowire from the same amount of mechanical vibrations, he says.
Nanogenerators could lead to many advances: biomedical sensors powered by blood flow or muscle contractions, tiny gas sensors that run on wind or acoustic waves, pathogen monitors powered by water flow, and portable electronics that are hooked up to nanowires in shoes. "The nanogenerator idea has become more and more convincing, " says Yi Cui, materials-science and engineering professor at Stanford University. "It's an idea that might work."
In 2006, a team of researchers led by Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology first showed that zinc-oxide nanowires could harvest mechanical energy to generate electricity. Wang's group has since made a lot of progress, most recently demonstrating a zinc-oxide nanowire array that outputs direct current in response to ultrasonic vibrations. (See "Nanogenerator Fueled by Vibrations.")
The UIUC team is the first to use barium titanate. In an online Nano Letters paper, Yu and his colleagues show that applying vibrations to a single barium-titanate nanowire leads to a small energy output. In their experiment, the researchers bridge a nanowire across a gap on a substrate, keeping one end stationary and moving the other end. The output energy is extremely small--about 0.3 attojoules--but for the same setup, a zinc-oxide nanowire gives 16 times lesssmaller energy output, Yu says.
Xudong Wang, a researcher in Zhong Lin Wang's (no relation) group and a 2007 TR35 winner, is happy to see progress on using materials other than zinc oxide to make nanogenerators. He says that the results look promising. The biggest advantage with using barium titanate, he feels, is that "it is possible to generate higher voltages than zinc oxide. This is very important for a power source."
But zinc oxide has its own advantages. It is nontoxic to biological systems, so it might be better suited than barium titanate for implantable devices. Also, it is easier to control zinc-oxide growth in order to fabricate nanowire arrays. "To make an applicable device, you need to have many nanowires with the same orientation in the same location," Xudong Wang says. That could be hard to achieve with barium titanate.
Yu acknowledges the difficulties with growing barium-titanate nanowires. His and his colleagues' work is preliminary at this point, he says, but it already shows the potential for making more-efficient, higher-output nanogenerators. As for Cui, he says that barium-titanate nanogenerators might be feasible, but he cautions that "in terms of making a working device, certainly there's still a way to go."
Experimental Drugs
Two new classes of experimental drugs shown to have powerful muscle-building capabilities--selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) and myostatin inhibitors--have been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of prohibited substances for 2008. Neither class of drugs is yet on the market. But the agency, an international, independent organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, that coordinates anti-doping regulations across sports, is gearing up for future abuse by limiting use among athletes and by developing new detection methods. "We now have convincing data on those drugs and what they can do," says Olivier Rabin, science director at WADA. "We have a duty to act as early as we can when drugs have the potential to be doping agents."
Unlike with testosterone and other anabolic steroids, the action of SARMs and myostatin inhibitors is restricted to muscle, likely limiting side effects. That's a very good thing for patients, but it also makes the drugs more attractive to those looking to bulk up. "I think there's a whole new horizon for anabolic therapies, and the potential for abuse will be exceedingly high," says William Evans, director of the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Compounds of both classes are currently in clinical trials for muscle wasting related to diseases such as cancer and muscular dystrophy. There have been no official reports of athletes using these drugs, but because there previously have been cases of athletes gaining access to compounds in clinical development, WADA officials say that they want to act early.
SARMs work similarly to testosterone but in a more targeted way. "They are effective by binding to the steroid receptor in only specific tissue, like muscle," says Evans, who is also a scientific advisor to GTx, a company developing the drugs. "They are not steroid drugs, but they produce the anabolic effect of the steroids." GTx, based in Memphis, TN, has shown in a clinical trial that one compound being developed for muscle wasting and bone loss can significantly boost lean muscle mass in older people.
Myostatin inhibitors work through a fundamentally different mechanism. They block myostatin, a naturally occurring protein in the body that stops growth of skeletal muscle. Cattle, sheep, dogs, and, in one confirmed case, a human with mutations in this gene are extremely muscular. (See "Mimicking the Massively Muscular.")
Scientists have developed antibodies to myostatin and other molecules that can boost lean muscle mass in animals by as much as 60 percent. It's not yet clear how well myostatin inhibitors will work in humans. Clinical studies of two myostatin inhibitors are now under way for muscular dystrophy and other muscle-wasting diseases.
WADA is developing detection methods for both SARMs and myostatin inhibitors, although the agency declined to say how far along those tests are. "In fairness to athletes who stay clean, we don't say when detection tools are available," says Rabin. "We say when we detect the first athletes using the drugs."
ther groups are more public about their progress. Acceleron, a company based in Cambridge, MA, that is developing a myostatin inhibitor, says that it has already developed a test for research purposes that is capable of detecting the drug in blood. And scientists at the Center for Preventive Doping Research, German Sport University Cologne, are working on a test for SARMs.
Fortunately, scientists say that detecting abuse of these two new classes of drugs is likely to be easier than detecting two doping agents that have plagued the sports world in recent years. Erythropoietin, which stimulates growth of red blood cells and is used to treat anemia patients, is processed quickly by the body, making it difficult to detect.Human growth hormone, which boosts cell growth, is a naturally occurring hormone. Tests must be able to discriminate between the natural hormone and the pharmaceutically derived version. "People who are trying to cheat like to use a steroid naturally present in the body, because it makes it much more difficult for labs to detect," says Don Catlin, founder of Anti-Doping Research, a nonprofit research institute based in Los Angeles.
Myostatin inhibitors present a particularly interesting case for WADA. In 2004, scientists published a paper describing an abnormally muscular German toddler who carried mutations in both copies of his myostatin gene. The boy's mother, who had been a professional athlete, was found to have one defective copy of the gene, raising questions about how to deal with athletes who have naturally occurring genetic mutations that give them benefits similar to those offered by performance-enhancing drugs. "We have ethicists thinking about those issues and guiding us in the future," says Rabin. "We need to maintain fair play for all competitors." The issue is likely to grow as advances in genomics allow scientists to uncover additional variants linked to muscle, or other factors related to athletic ability.
Unlike with testosterone and other anabolic steroids, the action of SARMs and myostatin inhibitors is restricted to muscle, likely limiting side effects. That's a very good thing for patients, but it also makes the drugs more attractive to those looking to bulk up. "I think there's a whole new horizon for anabolic therapies, and the potential for abuse will be exceedingly high," says William Evans, director of the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Compounds of both classes are currently in clinical trials for muscle wasting related to diseases such as cancer and muscular dystrophy. There have been no official reports of athletes using these drugs, but because there previously have been cases of athletes gaining access to compounds in clinical development, WADA officials say that they want to act early.
SARMs work similarly to testosterone but in a more targeted way. "They are effective by binding to the steroid receptor in only specific tissue, like muscle," says Evans, who is also a scientific advisor to GTx, a company developing the drugs. "They are not steroid drugs, but they produce the anabolic effect of the steroids." GTx, based in Memphis, TN, has shown in a clinical trial that one compound being developed for muscle wasting and bone loss can significantly boost lean muscle mass in older people.
Myostatin inhibitors work through a fundamentally different mechanism. They block myostatin, a naturally occurring protein in the body that stops growth of skeletal muscle. Cattle, sheep, dogs, and, in one confirmed case, a human with mutations in this gene are extremely muscular. (See "Mimicking the Massively Muscular.")
Scientists have developed antibodies to myostatin and other molecules that can boost lean muscle mass in animals by as much as 60 percent. It's not yet clear how well myostatin inhibitors will work in humans. Clinical studies of two myostatin inhibitors are now under way for muscular dystrophy and other muscle-wasting diseases.
WADA is developing detection methods for both SARMs and myostatin inhibitors, although the agency declined to say how far along those tests are. "In fairness to athletes who stay clean, we don't say when detection tools are available," says Rabin. "We say when we detect the first athletes using the drugs."
ther groups are more public about their progress. Acceleron, a company based in Cambridge, MA, that is developing a myostatin inhibitor, says that it has already developed a test for research purposes that is capable of detecting the drug in blood. And scientists at the Center for Preventive Doping Research, German Sport University Cologne, are working on a test for SARMs.
Fortunately, scientists say that detecting abuse of these two new classes of drugs is likely to be easier than detecting two doping agents that have plagued the sports world in recent years. Erythropoietin, which stimulates growth of red blood cells and is used to treat anemia patients, is processed quickly by the body, making it difficult to detect.Human growth hormone, which boosts cell growth, is a naturally occurring hormone. Tests must be able to discriminate between the natural hormone and the pharmaceutically derived version. "People who are trying to cheat like to use a steroid naturally present in the body, because it makes it much more difficult for labs to detect," says Don Catlin, founder of Anti-Doping Research, a nonprofit research institute based in Los Angeles.
Myostatin inhibitors present a particularly interesting case for WADA. In 2004, scientists published a paper describing an abnormally muscular German toddler who carried mutations in both copies of his myostatin gene. The boy's mother, who had been a professional athlete, was found to have one defective copy of the gene, raising questions about how to deal with athletes who have naturally occurring genetic mutations that give them benefits similar to those offered by performance-enhancing drugs. "We have ethicists thinking about those issues and guiding us in the future," says Rabin. "We need to maintain fair play for all competitors." The issue is likely to grow as advances in genomics allow scientists to uncover additional variants linked to muscle, or other factors related to athletic ability.
"It's a radically new technology"!!!!!
"It's a radically new technology," says Michael Kozicki, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Arizona, whose group is one of several working on a version of the new memory. "If it really works as well as everybody thinks it could, it could genuinely revolutionize the memory and storage industry."
A new memory technology, which is under development at the University of Arizona as well as Companies such as IBM and Sony can create thumb drives or Digital camera memory card that stores a terabyte of information-more then what the hard drives today do.
Programmable Metallaization Cell or Nano-ionic memory is one of a new generation of experimental technologies that are bidding to replace hard drives, the nonvolatile "flash" memory used in portable electronics, and the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) in personal computers. Before the practical usage of ionic memory was a bit too slow, but recent demonstrations of the materials structured at nanolevel happens to yield a faster ionic-memory hs changed the scenario. The easy-to-make state of art technology can be made from the materials used in the computer chips and microprocesors, as demonstrated by a recently published work of Arizona group. This will help the manufacutrers to integrate their existing technoloiges, thus no extra retoling, hence rendering them happy.
Ionic memories and Flash memmories
One more attraction of these memories is they use lower voltage thus consuming as little as a thousandth of amount of energy that a flash memory today consumes. In thory even the storage density of these memories (ionic memories)are much higher then todays technologies.
WORKING
The new storage technologies are used unlike the Flash memory tecnology where in which the information were stored in form of electrical charges. So smaller the memory cell that holds the bits of information, lesser the charge it holds,lesser is its reliability. In case of new technology the information are stored by rearranging atoms to form stable, and potentially extremely small, memory cells. What's more, each cell could potentially store multiple bits of information, and the cells can be layered on top of each other, increasing the memory's storage density to the point that it might rival that of the densest form of memory today: hard drives.
"Each memory cell consists of a solid electrolyte sandwiched between two metal electrodes. The electrolyte is a glasslike material that contains metal ions. Ordinarily, the electrolyte resists the flow of electrons. But when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, electrons bind to the metal ions, forming metal atoms that cluster together. These atoms form a virus-sized filament that bridges the electrodes, providing a path along which electrical current can flow. Reversing the voltage causes the wire to "dissolve," Kozicki says. The highly resistive state of the electrolyte and the other, low-resistance, state can be used to represent zeroes and ones. Because the metal filament stays in place until it's erased, nano-ionic memory is nonvolatile, meaning that it doesn't require energy to hold on to information, just to read it or write it"
A new memory technology, which is under development at the University of Arizona as well as Companies such as IBM and Sony can create thumb drives or Digital camera memory card that stores a terabyte of information-more then what the hard drives today do.
Programmable Metallaization Cell or Nano-ionic memory is one of a new generation of experimental technologies that are bidding to replace hard drives, the nonvolatile "flash" memory used in portable electronics, and the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) in personal computers. Before the practical usage of ionic memory was a bit too slow, but recent demonstrations of the materials structured at nanolevel happens to yield a faster ionic-memory hs changed the scenario. The easy-to-make state of art technology can be made from the materials used in the computer chips and microprocesors, as demonstrated by a recently published work of Arizona group. This will help the manufacutrers to integrate their existing technoloiges, thus no extra retoling, hence rendering them happy.
Ionic memories and Flash memmories
One more attraction of these memories is they use lower voltage thus consuming as little as a thousandth of amount of energy that a flash memory today consumes. In thory even the storage density of these memories (ionic memories)are much higher then todays technologies.
WORKING
The new storage technologies are used unlike the Flash memory tecnology where in which the information were stored in form of electrical charges. So smaller the memory cell that holds the bits of information, lesser the charge it holds,lesser is its reliability. In case of new technology the information are stored by rearranging atoms to form stable, and potentially extremely small, memory cells. What's more, each cell could potentially store multiple bits of information, and the cells can be layered on top of each other, increasing the memory's storage density to the point that it might rival that of the densest form of memory today: hard drives.
"Each memory cell consists of a solid electrolyte sandwiched between two metal electrodes. The electrolyte is a glasslike material that contains metal ions. Ordinarily, the electrolyte resists the flow of electrons. But when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, electrons bind to the metal ions, forming metal atoms that cluster together. These atoms form a virus-sized filament that bridges the electrodes, providing a path along which electrical current can flow. Reversing the voltage causes the wire to "dissolve," Kozicki says. The highly resistive state of the electrolyte and the other, low-resistance, state can be used to represent zeroes and ones. Because the metal filament stays in place until it's erased, nano-ionic memory is nonvolatile, meaning that it doesn't require energy to hold on to information, just to read it or write it"
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Video shows buckyballs form by 'shrink wrapping' from PhysOrg.com
The birth secret of buckyballs -- hollow spheres of carbon no wider than a strand of DNA -- has been caught on tape by researchers at Sandia National Laboratory and Rice University. An electron microscope video and computer simulations show that "shrink-wrapping" is the key; buckyballs start life as distorted, unstable sheets of graphite, shedding loosely connected threads and chains until only the perfectly spherical buckyballs remain.
[...]
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Biochemistry the chemistry of life.It is tht science tht has made DNA (even a lay men now knows the fulform of DNA ) well jokes apart,it deals with those molecules and chemicals thaat governs us from within. It is about how chemistry can exist somewhere we can never expect it to exist-our very own body. Biochemistry is,in simple words,how life forms are governed by chemistry..and how important certain bi-molecules (as they are called) are.....!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
About nano
Nanotechnology is the application of science and engineering at the atomic scale. It facilitates the construction of new materials and devices by manipulating individual atoms and molecules, the building blocks of nature. Nanotechnology enables the atom-by-atom design and fabrication of tiny structures that are very small, typically 1-100 nanometres, and which have new properties and powerful application in medicine and biotechnology, in energy and the environment, and in computing and telecommunications.
Nanotechnology is an extension of the discoveries and applications of quantum mechanics, which last century led to a detailed understanding of matter on the atomic scale, and to innovations such as transistors, lasers, and molecular biology. Despite the knowledge of atoms and molecules gained from quantum theory, only in the past 15-20 years were techniques developed to directly image, characterize and deliberately manipulate individual atoms and molecules. It is these techniques and their application that have led to the recent rapid advances in nano-scale science and engineering.
Nanotechnology is in its early stages of development, and much remains to be discovered. Building new and useful devices out of a few atoms or molecules is technically challenging, and occupies many of today's pre-eminent scientists and engineers in the best laboratories throughout the world. Many of the principles of how matter functions and organizes on the nano-scale – the so-called 'design rules' – have yet to be developed. A major challenge is determining how to assemble different types of nano-sized particles and devices, such as bio-molecules, nano-scale motors, and nano-electronics, into more complex systems that do new and useful things. Another challenge is connecting these tiny systems to the outside world so they can be controlled, monitored and provide useful information. These challenges are the principal focus of research activities at the National Institute for Nanotechnology, and are outlined in the NINT Research Plan.
Nanotechnology is an extension of the discoveries and applications of quantum mechanics, which last century led to a detailed understanding of matter on the atomic scale, and to innovations such as transistors, lasers, and molecular biology. Despite the knowledge of atoms and molecules gained from quantum theory, only in the past 15-20 years were techniques developed to directly image, characterize and deliberately manipulate individual atoms and molecules. It is these techniques and their application that have led to the recent rapid advances in nano-scale science and engineering.
Nanotechnology is in its early stages of development, and much remains to be discovered. Building new and useful devices out of a few atoms or molecules is technically challenging, and occupies many of today's pre-eminent scientists and engineers in the best laboratories throughout the world. Many of the principles of how matter functions and organizes on the nano-scale – the so-called 'design rules' – have yet to be developed. A major challenge is determining how to assemble different types of nano-sized particles and devices, such as bio-molecules, nano-scale motors, and nano-electronics, into more complex systems that do new and useful things. Another challenge is connecting these tiny systems to the outside world so they can be controlled, monitored and provide useful information. These challenges are the principal focus of research activities at the National Institute for Nanotechnology, and are outlined in the NINT Research Plan.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Some of the prominant Pioneers in the field of nanotechnology
Robert F. Curl
Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry. 1996 Nobel Laureate, together with Sir Harold Kroto and Richard Smalley for the discovery of fullerenes.
Richard P. Feynman
1965 Nobel Laureate in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles.
James Gimzewski
He pioneered research on electrical contacts with single atoms and molecules and light emission using scanning tunneling microscopy.
Sir Harold Kroto
Became a Royal Society Research Professor in 1991 and was knighted for his contributions to Chemistry in 1996. Later that year, together with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley, received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of C60 Buckminsterfullerene - a new form of carbon.
Richard Smalley
University Professor, Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics & Astronomy. 1996 Nobel Laureate, together with Sir Harold Kroto and Robert Curl for the discovery of fullerenes.
George Whitesides
Professor Whitesides and his group work in four areas: biochemistry, materials science, catalysis and physical organic chemistry.
Gerd Karl Binnig & Heinrich Rohrer
Inventors of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (1981)
http://www.nano.org.uk/nano/pioneers.htm
This is the url wich gave me these prominant name
Robert F. Curl
Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry. 1996 Nobel Laureate, together with Sir Harold Kroto and Richard Smalley for the discovery of fullerenes.
Richard P. Feynman
1965 Nobel Laureate in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles.
James Gimzewski
He pioneered research on electrical contacts with single atoms and molecules and light emission using scanning tunneling microscopy.
Sir Harold Kroto
Became a Royal Society Research Professor in 1991 and was knighted for his contributions to Chemistry in 1996. Later that year, together with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley, received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of C60 Buckminsterfullerene - a new form of carbon.
Richard Smalley
University Professor, Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics & Astronomy. 1996 Nobel Laureate, together with Sir Harold Kroto and Robert Curl for the discovery of fullerenes.
George Whitesides
Professor Whitesides and his group work in four areas: biochemistry, materials science, catalysis and physical organic chemistry.
Gerd Karl Binnig & Heinrich Rohrer
Inventors of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (1981)
http://www.nano.org.uk/nano/pioneers.htm
This is the url wich gave me these prominant name
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology Career Course Institutions in India and Abroad
Other Career Courses
The science of the miniature- nanotechnology, though a relatively new field is fast emerging as the 'favourite of all' kind of technological arena due to its application in almost every field, from medicine to fabrics. 'Nano' in Greek means dwarf and material, when reduced to nanodimension (10-9metre =1namometre) shows drastic changes in Physical, Chemical, magnetic, optical, mechanical and electrical properties. This promises exiting applications in bioscience, medical science, environment, electronics, cosmetics, security and variety of other fields.
Everything on this earth is made up of atoms, which are the smallest particles. The properties of everything are determined by the arrangement of the atoms. Thus, if atoms in coal are rearranged, we can get diamond. At present, though scientists are able to move molecules and atoms in a mass yet they are still not able to precisely manipulate them. But in future, nanotechnology will allow as redesign easily and create what we want exactly. Further, nanomaterials would be very light, strong, transparent, and totally different from bulk material because they are a thousand times smaller than the diameter of human hair, which is around 60 microns.
The scope and application of nanotechnology is tremendous and mind-boggling. According to the scientists, 21st century would be the nanotechnology century. It is estimated that nanotechnology would revolutionize every area, be it medicine, aerospace, engineering, various industrial and technological areas, health or any other field. Nanobiotechnology can make tiny medical devices and sensors with fantastic military and civilian use. Converting sunlight into power, targeting a drug to a single malignant cell, cleaning ponds and creating sensors in the form of biochip, to be interested in the human body are some of the important landmark breakthroughs of nanotechnology. The technology has the potential to produce garments which can block chemical and biological weapons from touching the skin of a person.
Nanotechnology has many more applications. It can help detect narcotics and fingerprints of suspects in crimes. The technology can make canonized robots and repair damaged and diseased tissues. Nanobots may be made from carbon nanotubes to carry out functions like human beings. Nano- coatings are transparent, scratch- resistant and dirt repellent. Thus, it is estimated that there will be no sector of industry which will not use nanotechnology in future.
Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary subject which essentially combines Physics, Chemistry, Bio- informatics Bio- technology, etc. Though the field is at present in infancy stage (started some 16 years ago in India), the country is making dedicated efforts not to lag behind after starting work in this field. As a result, there is a great demand for students who do their M. Tech in nanotechnology because a large number of industries and laboratories in India and overseas would lab them up. There are many exciting new fields which will open up for the nanotechnology experts including-
Health Industry research and consulting- pharmaceutical, medical, agriculture, food and beverage, environment industries.
Research and development in government, universities and private research institutes
Education and academic
Entrepreneurial, management and investment advisors in biotechnology and research and development industry.
Product development and advising.
Communication and media, interfacing of new technologies.
Many new industries emerging as a result of advances in nanotechnology
To become a successful professional in the specified field of nanotechnology, it is important that you should have an M. Tech degree in the subject. To get into an M. Tech course, you should have a degree in Physics, Chemistry or Biotechnology. The M. Tech course is of great benefit because students who come from different streams enrich each other to intensify their knowledge.
There are many institutions which have started courses in nanotechnology;
Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore;
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore;
National Physical Laboratory, Delhi;
Solid State Physics Laboratory, Delhi;
National Chemical Laboratory, Pune;
Central Scientific Instruments Organization, Chandigarh;
Defence Materials Store Research & Development Organizations, kanpur
Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Delhi and Mumbai.
In addition, the Delhi and Benaras Hindu Universities (Varanasi) are also conducting research in nanotechnology. It is important to note here that although these institutions are focusing on research, there is no institute exclusively providing courses in nanotechnology.
In private sector also, there is one institute, Amity Institute of nanotechnology, Noida, which offers a two- year M. Tech degree programme. The education provided is comprehensive. Students are provided the opportunity to Get trained at reputed institutes like Solid State Physics Laboratory, National Physical Laboratory, Delhi University, Indian Institute of Technology and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, etc.
Anticipating huge gains in future, countries like USA, UK, Japan, China, Germany and France have invested a lot of funds and have also focused programme at the national level. The USA, under its National Initiatives in Nanotechnology, is planning to invest $1 trillion by 2015. The Indian Government has started a scheme "S&T Initiatives in Nanotechnology" with a starting capital fund of Rs. 100 crore for five years.
There is a growing demand for nanotechnology, you will start with a monthly salary of Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000. The further rise is manifold and perks could be much more.
Other Career Courses
The science of the miniature- nanotechnology, though a relatively new field is fast emerging as the 'favourite of all' kind of technological arena due to its application in almost every field, from medicine to fabrics. 'Nano' in Greek means dwarf and material, when reduced to nanodimension (10-9metre =1namometre) shows drastic changes in Physical, Chemical, magnetic, optical, mechanical and electrical properties. This promises exiting applications in bioscience, medical science, environment, electronics, cosmetics, security and variety of other fields.
Everything on this earth is made up of atoms, which are the smallest particles. The properties of everything are determined by the arrangement of the atoms. Thus, if atoms in coal are rearranged, we can get diamond. At present, though scientists are able to move molecules and atoms in a mass yet they are still not able to precisely manipulate them. But in future, nanotechnology will allow as redesign easily and create what we want exactly. Further, nanomaterials would be very light, strong, transparent, and totally different from bulk material because they are a thousand times smaller than the diameter of human hair, which is around 60 microns.
The scope and application of nanotechnology is tremendous and mind-boggling. According to the scientists, 21st century would be the nanotechnology century. It is estimated that nanotechnology would revolutionize every area, be it medicine, aerospace, engineering, various industrial and technological areas, health or any other field. Nanobiotechnology can make tiny medical devices and sensors with fantastic military and civilian use. Converting sunlight into power, targeting a drug to a single malignant cell, cleaning ponds and creating sensors in the form of biochip, to be interested in the human body are some of the important landmark breakthroughs of nanotechnology. The technology has the potential to produce garments which can block chemical and biological weapons from touching the skin of a person.
Nanotechnology has many more applications. It can help detect narcotics and fingerprints of suspects in crimes. The technology can make canonized robots and repair damaged and diseased tissues. Nanobots may be made from carbon nanotubes to carry out functions like human beings. Nano- coatings are transparent, scratch- resistant and dirt repellent. Thus, it is estimated that there will be no sector of industry which will not use nanotechnology in future.
Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary subject which essentially combines Physics, Chemistry, Bio- informatics Bio- technology, etc. Though the field is at present in infancy stage (started some 16 years ago in India), the country is making dedicated efforts not to lag behind after starting work in this field. As a result, there is a great demand for students who do their M. Tech in nanotechnology because a large number of industries and laboratories in India and overseas would lab them up. There are many exciting new fields which will open up for the nanotechnology experts including-
Health Industry research and consulting- pharmaceutical, medical, agriculture, food and beverage, environment industries.
Research and development in government, universities and private research institutes
Education and academic
Entrepreneurial, management and investment advisors in biotechnology and research and development industry.
Product development and advising.
Communication and media, interfacing of new technologies.
Many new industries emerging as a result of advances in nanotechnology
To become a successful professional in the specified field of nanotechnology, it is important that you should have an M. Tech degree in the subject. To get into an M. Tech course, you should have a degree in Physics, Chemistry or Biotechnology. The M. Tech course is of great benefit because students who come from different streams enrich each other to intensify their knowledge.
There are many institutions which have started courses in nanotechnology;
Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore;
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore;
National Physical Laboratory, Delhi;
Solid State Physics Laboratory, Delhi;
National Chemical Laboratory, Pune;
Central Scientific Instruments Organization, Chandigarh;
Defence Materials Store Research & Development Organizations, kanpur
Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Delhi and Mumbai.
In addition, the Delhi and Benaras Hindu Universities (Varanasi) are also conducting research in nanotechnology. It is important to note here that although these institutions are focusing on research, there is no institute exclusively providing courses in nanotechnology.
In private sector also, there is one institute, Amity Institute of nanotechnology, Noida, which offers a two- year M. Tech degree programme. The education provided is comprehensive. Students are provided the opportunity to Get trained at reputed institutes like Solid State Physics Laboratory, National Physical Laboratory, Delhi University, Indian Institute of Technology and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, etc.
Anticipating huge gains in future, countries like USA, UK, Japan, China, Germany and France have invested a lot of funds and have also focused programme at the national level. The USA, under its National Initiatives in Nanotechnology, is planning to invest $1 trillion by 2015. The Indian Government has started a scheme "S&T Initiatives in Nanotechnology" with a starting capital fund of Rs. 100 crore for five years.
There is a growing demand for nanotechnology, you will start with a monthly salary of Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000. The further rise is manifold and perks could be much more.
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