{"id":96477,"date":"2016-10-07T09:43:53","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T13:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/countingpips.com\/?p=96477"},"modified":"2016-10-07T07:44:25","modified_gmt":"2016-10-07T11:44:25","slug":"nanotechnology-how-the-science-of-small-things-is-solving-big-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/2016\/10\/nanotechnology-how-the-science-of-small-things-is-solving-big-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Nanotechnology: How the \u201cScience of Small Things\u201d Is Solving Big Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"
October 7, 2016<\/div>
\r\n<\/div><\/div>

By WallStreetDaily.com<\/u><\/a> \"Nanotechnology:<\/p>\n

Richard Feynman invented nanotechnology during a 1959 lecture. In 1984, he asked, \u201cHow small can you make machinery?\u201d Scientists inspired by his vision are working to answer that question.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

\n

Let\u2019s start by trying to picture \u201cone billionth part of something\u201d \u2013 the simple definition of \u201cnano,\u201d according to Merriam-Webster.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some help contextualizing this prefix for units of length and time.<\/p>\n

Pick a finger; any will do. The nail on it will grow about a nanometer in one second.<\/p>\n

Consider the hair that just fell out of your head. It\u2019s about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide.<\/p>

\r\n
\r\n

Free Reports:<\/p><\/div>\r\n

\r\n

<\/a>\r\n\t Get Our Free Metatrader 4 Indicators<\/u><\/b><\/a> - Put Our Free MetaTrader 4 Custom Indicators on your charts when you join our Weekly Newsletter<\/p>

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n

<\/a>\r\n\t Get our Weekly Commitment of Traders Reports<\/u><\/b><\/a> - See where the biggest traders (Hedge Funds and Commercial Hedgers) are positioned in the futures markets on a weekly basis.<\/p>

\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n
<\/div>\n

The sheet of paper on which you write your grocery list is about 100,000 nanometers \u201cthick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those gold bars or coins you hold in your safe at home, in a safety-deposit box at your bank, or with a third-party storage firm? Three gold atoms are about a nanometer long.<\/p>\n

And it takes about a nanosecond for light to travel 30 centimeters through the air or 20 centimeters through an optical fiber.<\/p>\n

That something so small could carry us into the future is the realization of a far-out concept first articulated by famed physicist Richard Feynman almost 60 years ago.<\/p>\n

In his December 29, 1959, talk at a meeting of the American Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology, Feynman \u201cdescribed a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feynman invented nanotechnology, which is \u201cscience, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, \u201cNanoscience and nanotechnology are the study and application of extremely small things and can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n

That something so small could carry us into the future is the realization of a far-out concept first articulated by famed physicist Richard Feynman almost 60 years ago.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And how: Evidence of a nano revolution abounds.<\/p>\n

Just this week, the Royal Academy of Sciences awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Jean-Pierre Sauvage of the University of Strasbourg, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart of Northwestern University, and Bernard L. Feringa of the University of Groningen \u201cfor the design and synthesis of molecular machines.\u201d<\/p>\n

These guys \u201cdeveloped molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the nanoscale machines they designed and\/or built: a molecular elevator, a molecular muscle, a molecule-based computer chip, a molecular motor, and a nanocar.<\/p>\n

Their breakthrough was taking \u201cmolecular systems out of equilibrium\u2019s stalemate and into energy-filled states in which their movements can be controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sauvage, Stoddart, and Feringa have brought us nanometers away from creating stronger materials, better sensors, and more efficient energy-storage systems.<\/p>\n

In the mid-19th century, scientists used electric motors to spin cranks and wheels. Now we use them to power cars, blenders, and washing machines.<\/p>\n

Feringa\u2019s frame of reference is the Wright brothers and their flying machine. At the time, laymen had no idea of its practical applications. \u201cAnd today,\u201d the new Noble Laureate tells Scientific American<\/em>,\u201d we have Boeing 747s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feringa sees a future that includes nanobots injected into the body to find and fight cancer.<\/p>\n

Indeed, we\u2019re already talking about nanotechnology, nanorobotics, and nanobots with medical applications<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nanoelectronics researchers at the University of Southampton have made huge strides toward the development of \u201cneural implants that communicate with prosthetic limbs when neurons fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

As IEEE Spectrum reports, Themis Prodromakis is exploring the use of memristors \u2013 which are, like resistors, capacitors, and inductors, electronic devices \u2013 in systems with integrated circuits in a way that would enable monitoring of \u201cpotentially millions of neurons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Memristors are unique among electronic devices because they have memory.<\/p>\n

In a paper published September 26, 2016, by the journal Nature Communications<\/em>, Prodromakis and his team described a way to solve \u201cthe bottleneck\u201d limiting \u201can efficient bio-electronic link,\u201d which is \u201cthe real-time processing of neuronal signals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key is the introduction of a memristor as part of \u201ca unique concept where the intrinsic properties of memristive devices are exploited to compress information on neural spikes in real-time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prodomakis\u2019 goal is to use low-power memristors as part of an implanted system including other devices to control prosthetic limbs.<\/p>\n

The theory is awesome. But we\u2019re a long way from a clinical application.<\/p>\n

As I noted in the July 29, 2016, Wall Street Daily<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, \u201cWe\u2019re already making tiny biological machines \u2013 \u2018designer microbes\u2019 or \u2018genetically modified bacteria\u2019 \u2013 that are helping to make pharmaceuticals and \u2018sweat\u2019 biofuels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biological approach is also exciting. Together with advances in the synthetic approach to nanomachines, the flood of nano-based applications predicted by futurist Ray Kurzweil may be soon unleashed.<\/p>\n

Feynman, at the outset of a 1984 lecture, asked, \u201cHow small can you make machinery?\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting into the substance of his presentation, Feynman said, \u201cNow let us talk about the possibility of making machines with movable parts, which are very tiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

That possibility is now reality.<\/p>\n

\n

Old Things New<\/h2>\n

I have a list of 78 songs that comprise the \u201cMy Morning Run\u201d playlist on my mobile phone. One that popped up Thursday morning was \u201cSteps\u201d by the great jazz clarinetist, alto saxophonist, singer, and bandleader Woody Herman.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s slower than most of the other 77, but \u201cSteps\u201d is bouncy and buoyant, yet still languid, which, paradoxically, establishes a terrific and appropriate rhythm while pacing down the path along the Potomac River at 6:15 a.m.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure, too, that Herman, a longtime aficionado of a certain substance that\u2019s only now \u2013 slowly but surely and with great promise to help ease many types of suffering \u2013 making its way to legality, would appreciate helping fuel this particular runner\u2019s high.<\/p>\n

Woodrow Charles Herman was a cutting-edge musician who helped bring the blues out of the shadows, led the way as bebop replaced swing, and defined \u201ccool jazz\u201d from the mid-1930s all the way to the late 1980s.<\/p>\n

His longevity was much a function of getting screwed by an accountant in the 1960s and having to play in order to pay millions in back taxes to the IRS. But even under such stress, he mentored and jump-started the careers of younger musicians.<\/p>\n

His extensive catalogue is available for download via most of the major digital music sites, including Amazon<\/strong><\/a>, Apple Music<\/strong><\/a>, and Spotify<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Smart Investing,<\/p>\n

David Dittman
\nEditorial Director, Wall Street Daily<\/i><\/p>\n

The post Nanotechnology: How the \u201cScience of Small Things\u201d Is Solving Big Problems<\/a> appeared first on Wall Street Daily<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WallStreetDaily.com Richard Feynman invented nanotechnology during a 1959 lecture. In 1984, he asked, \u201cHow small can you make machinery?\u201d Scientists inspired by his vision are working to answer that question. Let\u2019s start by trying to picture \u201cone billionth part of something\u201d \u2013 the simple definition of \u201cnano,\u201d according to Merriam-Webster. Here\u2019s some help contextualizing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96477"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96501,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96477\/revisions\/96501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.investmacro.com\/forex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}