Nanotechnology: Future Science

If you can imagine controlling matter on a scale that is equal only to one micrometer (approximately one millionth of a millimeter or one micron) then what you have just done is imagined what Nanotechnology is all about. Nanotechnology is a science that deals with controlling matter at a scale that is microscopic. It also deals with the fabrication of life-size devices into lengths as that which was just mentioned.

This field of science draws a lot of its theories from Physics and Chemistry. In fact, so many of the theories are all very similar except that it involves elements on a molecular scale which is a totally different environment. Since it is still an infant science, not much is known about what it can be applied to in the future.

About the only known applications where Nanotechnology plays a major role at present is in emerging new technologies that have close connections to the use of parts built with microscopic dimensions. This includes the mobile phone and computer industries. With the ever-improving discoveries in Nanotechnology, it has been possible to develop microchips and processors so small that their detail can only be seen through microscopes. This saves a lot of space when developing new computers or new phones, a practice that is fairly evident in today's market with the release of smaller computers and phones.

However, Nanomachines are not something new. In fact, there are existing and natural nanomachines that work in everything that includes the moving of muscles in our body to the photosynthetic process of a plant. Our brain uses such "machines" to transfer electrical signals around are body, distributing information through our nervous system. The interesting part of all of this is that nanomachines can now be man-made through industrial means.

It is also interesting to not that this concept was first envisioned by a scientist about 150 years ago. A Scottish physicist by the name of James Clerk Maxwell first imagined a nano-device with parts that were built with single molecules and that was energized by light alone. It is widely known as Maxwell's Demon. This, of course, was just a prediction. Today, it is now possible to create such a machine of that size.

Scientists in the University of Edinburgh have proven that it is possible by creating their very own motor mechanism that traps other molecular-sized objects. They were also able to display a nanomachine move a drop of water up a slope, which was a big step in learning that artificial nanomachines could be developed.

Presently, it is believed that Nanotechnology will be as equally important as innovations such as the telephone and the Internet. But these suggestions are still questionable until scientists can find a proper use for the technology. At present, there is no evidence as to how the technology can be applied to everyday living. This also has partly to do with the fact that there are so many fields that this technology can be applied in, not just biologically or technologically. Another problem is that without the right testing methods and proven theories, nobody can account for the risks that this technology may potentially have on the environment and physical health.