I found this week’s materials to be quite interesting as it covered the intersection of nanotechnology and art, something I haven’t previously explored at any real depth. The materials most useful to me during my exploration were the lectures presented by Dr. Jim Gimzewski, the reading by Gimzewski & Vesna, and the gallery of “Art in the Age of Nanotechnology”.
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| The possibilities of nanotech imagined, courtesy of Big Data Analytics |
The reading by Gimzewski and Vesna starts off by explaining that the nano scale itself is just too small for a brain to fully comprehend, as it is represented on the metric scale as 1x10^-9. Even though the work being done is at a level that the naked eye cannot detect, the products and technology being created is revolutionary and stretches across many different disciplines, including NASA, the military, biotech, and more everyday practical uses. The implications of nanotechnology are endless and only beginning, but it requires immense collaboration from the humanities and the sciences in order to make these products a reality and widely available.
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| Nanotech Circuit board, Courtesy of Nano Magazine |
One of the largest examples of commercial nanotechnology today are nanoparticles, which take the normal scale of a material and convert it into a nanoscale size, resulting in new properties that the material would otherwise not have. This can be applied to a myriad of materials and then combined with other materials to give items a new performance, such as silver nanoparticles added to socks and underwear to provide the garment with antimicrobial and anti odor effects. The issue however, is that often these nanoparticles are released from the product and end up in the environment where the effects of such nanoparticles have not been well understood. Scientists understand that the nanoparticles provide nuanced properties once converted to their size, however they haven’t researched the lasting effects they will have in the environment and the efforts it will require to remove nanoparticles from the environment.
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| The Risk of Nanotech on the Environment, Courtesy of azonano.com |
The possibilities to implement nanotechnology are abundant and will call for collaboration between many fields in order to ensure we reach the maximum potential that nanotechnology offers, while also mitigating the potential downfalls of this microtechnology.
Sources:
Abbasi, Ibtisam. “Nanomaterials for Environmental Remediation.” AZoNano.Com, 14 Feb. 2022, https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=38684.
Allen, Liz. “How Does Nanotechnology Impact the Environment?” Treehugger, 30 June 2021, https://www.treehugger.com/how-does-nanotechnology-impact-the-environment-5186947.
“Art in the Age of Nanotechnology on Art.Base.” Art.Base, https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology. Accessed 20 May 2022.
Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science. UCLA, http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm.
Global DNA Nanotechnology Market Report 2022-2027 Featuring Major Players - NuProbe USA, Tilibit Nanosystems, GATTAquant, Genisphere, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, & Novartis. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-dna-nanotechnology-market-report-150000229.html. Accessed 20 May 2022.
“Is Nanotechnology the Future of Medicine?” Big Data Analytics News, 10 June 2021, https://bigdataanalyticsnews.com/nanotechnology-future-of-medicine/.
Silva, Gabriel A. “Introduction to Nanotechnology and Its Applications to Medicine.” Surgical Neurology, vol. 61, no. 3, Mar. 2004, pp. 216–20. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surneu.2003.09.036.
“The Quantum World of Nanotechnology.” Nano Magazine - Latest Nanotechnology News, https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/5/23/the-quantum-world-of-nanotechnology. Accessed 20 May 2022.
Vesna, Victoria. "Nanotech for Artists Part 1-4- Dr. Gimzewski." DESMA 9, 16 May 2022, UCLA, Bruinlearn, Unit 8
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