Is nanotechnology good or bad?

While there is great potential for nanotechnology, there is also risk involved. The benefits include, of course, good things. These range from aiding in medicine or in day to day objects. The risks can be associated with medicine as well as day to day things. For example, nanotechnology has been used in experiments to seek out and destroy cancer cells. But at the same time, nano molecules have been shown to enter the nasal passage and settle in the brain, as witnessed in rats, which could potentially be harmful. Once again with the sun screen, apparently the only actual example I can find and use over and over again, is a prime example of the questions surrounding nanotechnology. The nano-particles found in many different types of sun screens help to provide a thick, even coat to help prevent against sun burn. These ultra-microscopic particles have the potential to permeate the skin however, possibly harming the individual.


A knowledge in chemistry is important because much work involved with nanotechnology includes the shrinking of molecules of metals such as aluminum, gold and silver for medical uses for sensitive parts for specific purposes. It is important to know how these elements and molecules react with others. As well, do the affected particles retain their normal properties, or are they subject to the laws of the world of quantum physics, which acts and differs greatly from the world as we observe it?


While I did not mention any of these words in my post, they are common in articles and sources concerned with nanotechnology. Taken from MedicalDesign.com:

Nanotechnology glossary

Here are a few of the more frequently encountered nanotech terms.

Buckyball: A hollow, nearly spherical molecule of carbon atoms which comes in a variety of geometries including C-60 and C-70. Buckyballs can capture small molecules and atoms, such as nitrogen, and might serve as containers in the nanoworld. C-60 has been found in asteroids, signifying that these are also of primordial origin. Buckyballs, or Fullerenes can be made in the lab as well. The endcap of a carbon nanotube is a hemisphere of a Buckyball.

Carbon Nanotubes: A nanotube is a long cylinder whose diameter is just a few nanometers. Most often, nanotubes are made of carbon. The carbon nanotube's structure can be thought of as a sheet of graphite (carbon atoms bonded in a chicken wire pattern) which has been rolled into a cylinder. The cylinder can be hundreds of microns long and capped at each end with half of a buckyball.

Nanoshells: Invented in 1998 by Naomi Halas at Rice University, nanoshells are a new class of multi-layered nanoscale particles with unique optical properties controlled by the thickness and composition of their constituent layers. In form, nanoshells resemble malted milk balls, but the coating is gold instead of chocolate, and the center is a sphere of glass. Just 100 nanometers in diameter, nanoshells are about onetwentieth the size of a red blood cell.

By varying the relative size of the glass core and the gold shell layer, researchers can "tune" nanoshells to respond to different wavelengths of light. For biomedical applications, nanoshells can be designed and fabricated to absorb near infrared light. Near infrared light, a region of the spectrum just beyond the visible range, is optimal for medical imaging and treatment because it passes harmlessly through soft tissue.

Nanotechnology: A technology that creates small materials at the scale of molecules by manipulating single atoms. The name nano comes from the size of molecules which is measured in nanometers, or one billionth of a meter (1 x 10-9m).

Quantum dots: Small devices that contain a tiny droplet of free electrons. They are fabricated in semiconductor materials and have typical dimensions between nanometers to a few microns. The size and shape of these structures and therefore the number of electrons they contain, can be precisely controlled. A quantum dot can have anything from a single electron to a collection of several thousands. The physics of quantum dots shows many parallels with the behavior of naturally-occurring quantum systems in atomic and nuclear physics. As in an atom, the energy levels in a quantum dot become quantized due to the confinement of electrons. Unlike atoms however, quantum dots are easily connected to electrodes and are therefore excellent tools to study atomic-like properties.

Bibliography

Montgomery, Jeff. "Risks of Nanos No Small Matter." Delaware Online. 2 Dec. 2007. 27 Jan. 2008 .

Prigent, Gilles. "[OPINION] "the Opportunities for Good and Bad Offered by Nanotechnology Demand an International Response"" Scitizen. 12 Sept. 2006. 28 Jan. 2008 .

Reitz, Victoria. "Nanotechnology the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Medical Design. 1 Dec. 2005. 27 Jan. 2008 .