Nanotechnology

Last week, I spoke at a Kingston Ontario Innovation conference, warning participants to expect big surprises in nanotechnology and energy conversion (heat to electricity or vibrations to electricity). To my great surprise, I found this breakthrough announcement on my laptop, when I got back to Toronto."Would you like to have a jacket that charges your cellphone using your own body heat?  How about your own in-home distributed mini-power plant that uses the heat from your apartment to light... Read Full Story

Current Situation & Problem It is known that some bacteria found in geothermal fluids of hot springs can precipitate arsenic trisulphide particles.  This important infrared-transparent inorganic material has been used for many different optoelectronic applications, such as waveguides and photonic crystals.  Traditionaly, these nanotubes have been manufactured in a very chemical-intensive and not so "green" process. Improved Smart Solution Now, researchers in Korea and the US have... Read Full Story

It's really too bad nanotechnology is so gosh darn morally unacceptable, it could do so much good for humanity! Take this new wiperless windshield, for instance. Designed by Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina, the Hidra features an aerodynamic design, and a bit of a nanotech sandwich (mmm, sandwich) to keep the front glass clear of water and debris. Nanotechnology refers broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic... Read Full Story

We are continuing to see questions being raised about those little tiny structures that we know of as manufactured nano particles. Within the nano-technology world they make up things like tiny carbon tubes that add strength to reinforcing steel in concrete. Other forms of nanotechnology structures are showing up in paint, glue and as additives to coatings that will extend the insulative qualities of those coatings along with the surfaces they are applied to. In a recent study by the... Read Full Story

It sounds like a gel but this is a solid, tougher than glass. This crazy material is a product of Nanotechnology. Aerogel is like foam, principally made out of air (99.8% air). Aerogel is made from alcogel (a gel made by polymerisation silicon alkoxide with water in a mixing solvent). The alcogel is dried and liquid is extracted from the solid silica. The remaining solid is then filled with air to 50-99% of the volume of the original alcogel (Aerogel - gel filled with air). Aerogel is... Read Full Story