Monday, August 20, 2007

Today’s Nanotech Roundup

I’m a nanotech geek, and so I follow the latest R&D in the field.  Given that it’s a rapidly evolving field, I’ve decided to do a roundup of cool nanotechnology applications, research, updates on previously reported applications, even the politics of nanotech.  I hope that those of you who are fellow nanotech geeks enjoy it.

Carbon nanotube skins may be able to detect cracks, stress, and corrosion on metals ( Carbon nanotube skin to prevent Minneapolis type bridge collapses, aircraft damage).  The basic idea is that you literally stretch a skin made of multiple layers of polymer and nanotube over a structure to detect different kinds of stresses on the structure.  One layer could be tailored to detect corrosion, another to detect strain, a third to detect cracks, etc.  And once it’s in place, a small electrical current would enable real-time monitoring of the structure’s health.  Put this in place on a bridge and you’ll know immediately if it’s carrying too much weight (one theory about the cause of the I-35 bridge collapse).  Sounds very useful to me.

Nanotech has amazing potential for battery and capacitor applications simply because nanoscale features have huge surface areas for a given volume and mass, and the amount of energy storage of both batteries and capacitors are directly proportional to the surface area of the electrodes.  This why the ability to make supercapacitors and batteries out of cellulose and carbon nanotubes is so impressive - not only will the devices be able to store massive amounts of energy, but they’re also flexible and as environmentally friendly as your average paper grocery sack.  If the research works out and the new devices can be made cheap enough, we might be able to do away with some of the more dangerous battery technologies out there, like nickel-metal hydride, lead-acid, NiCd, and even the relatively benign Li-Ion batteries that power most electronics these days.

Finally, another possible medical application of nanotech is the targeted delivery of pain medication, specifically for battlefield applications.  The first part of this idea is to create particles and a delivery mechanism would be enable treatment by the injured soldier him/herself, or by a comrade who is not a specially trained medic.  The second part is to have the particles deliver controlled doses of morphine.  The third is that some particles would react to respiratory distress (a side effect of morphine in some people and at some doses) automatically and deliver small amounts of morphine antidote in a way that keeps the soldier as pain-free as possible given their respiratory conditions.  Whether this is possible is still unknown, but I can see ways that it could work logically, if not necessarily biologically.