Aquistions, Googlemania, Internet politics, the Microsoft versus Google war and other current stories. That’s what I had been writing about for the last few weeks. This week I decided it was time to for hopping on the learning centre. Ok let me ask you. Can you name a technology that could be pervasive in manufacturing in times to come? Ok one more hint, a ‘dwarf’ technology that could be the next big thing and make a really huge impact to our lives? I think you must have guessed it by now. That’s Nanotechnology, small science that is becoming really big.

Nanotechnology – small science huge impact

Nano comes from the Greek νᾶνος, meaning dwarf and is a prefix (symbol n) in the SI system of units denoting a factor of 10−9. It is often used in prefixing time and length units encountered in electronics and computer systems, like 30 nanoseconds (symbol ns) and 100 nanometers (nm).

Wikipedia defines it Nanotechnology as technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0.1 to 100 nm. (One nanometer equals one thousandth of a micrometre or one millionth of a millimetre.) According to National Nanotechnology Initiative “Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications.” Wikipedia has explained Nanotechnology really well and it may be worth visiting this link ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology. )

Dr. Stanley Williams, the director of Quantum Science Research (QSR) at Hewlett-Packard Labs in California says “Nanotechnology is harnessing the new properties of matter that appear only at the nanometer size scale.” At the nanometer scale, the physical and chemical properties of materials change with their sizes and shapes. For example, if you cut a one-meter long piece of steel in half, it is still a piece of steel. It has the same molecular structure, the same conductivity and magnetic properties. “But if you cut a one-nanometer long piece of steel, everything about it changes.” Leo Maliksi has explained various aspects about nanotechnology really well on mercatornet

Impact of Nano technology

Nanotechnology covers a wide range of industries, and therefore the potential benefits are also widespread. Telecommunications and Information technology could benefit in terms of faster computers and advanced data storage. Healthcare could see improvements in skin care and protection, advanced pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems, biocompatible materials, and nerve and tissue repair. Other industries benefits include catalysts, sensors and magnetic materials and devices. It will soon be the cornerstone of every manufacturing industry says a Deloitte research trends report. For example, the vastly increased ratio of surface area to volume opens new possibilities in surface-based science, such as catalysis.

Nanotechnology promises breakthroughs that will revolutionise the way we detect and treat disease, monitor and protect the environment, produce and store energy, and build complex structures as small as an electronic circuit or as large as an aeroplane. It will have a fundamental impact on many sectors of the economy, leading to new products, new businesses, new jobs, and even new industries.

R&D magazine cited a survey of the global nanotechnology market. It showed that the market size for nanomaterials was roughly US$7 billion in 2003 and that is was projected to grow to over US$20 billion by 2008. The market for nanodevices was almost non-existent. “There is practically nothing that you could buy today,” said Williams. “But the market will grow from nothing to over US$5 billion dollars per year by 2008.”

Political Patronage
Nanotechnology received huge patronage under the former US President Bill Clinton. Neal Lane, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under Bill Clinton, “If I were asked for an area of science and engineering that will most likely produce the breakthroughs of tomorrow, I would point to nanoscale science and engineering.” carrying forward the legacy, in 2003 Bush signed into law the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which authorizes expenditures for five of the participating agencies totalling $3.63 billion over four years.

Nano the next big thing
Nano is no longer a science just of curioisty value. It is being billed as the next big thing that’s going to impact our lives, business and much more, majorly. Just this morning there was news of Mr.Hotmail Sabeer Bhatia planned launch of a “Nano City” in Haryana with an investment of $2 billion. The nano materials market itself is being projected at $20 billion by 2008.

Puneet Mehrotra is a web strategist at www.cyberzest.com and edits www.thebusinessedition.com you can email him on puneet@cyberzest.com