Assignment in

Research 2:
Nanotechnology
Andrian Lorenze L. Floro
10 Pythagoras
Ms. Charo Gimolatan
Research 2

Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology ("nanotech") is manipulation of matter on
an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale. The earliest,
widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular
technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for
fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular
nanotechnology. A more generalized description of nanotechnology
was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology
Initiative, which defines nanotechnology as the manipulation of
matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers.
This definition reflects the fact that quantum mechanical effects are important at this quantum-realm scale,
and so the definition shifted from a particular technological goal to a research category inclusive of all
types of research and technologies that deal with the special properties of matter that occur below the given
size threshold.
It is therefore common to see the plural form "nanotechnologies" as well as "nanoscale technologies" to
refer to the broad range of research and applications whose common trait is size. Because of the variety of
potential applications (including industrial and military), governments have invested billions of dollars in
nanotechnology research. Until 2012, through its National Nanotechnology Initiative, the USA has invested
3.7 billion dollars; the European Union has invested 1.2 billion and Japan 750 million dollars.

Applications
Medicine
Researchers are developing customized
nanoparticles the size of molecules that can
deliver drugs directly to diseased cells in your
body. When it's perfected, this method should
greatly reduce the damage treatment such as
chemotherapy does to a patient's healthy cells.
Electronics
Nanotechnology holds some answers for how
we might increase the capabilities of
electronics devices while we reduce their
weight and power consumption.

Food
Nanotechnology is having an impact on several
aspects of food science, from how food is grown
to how it is packaged. Companies are
developing nanomaterials that will make a
difference not only in the taste of food, but also
in food safety, and the health benefits that food
delivers.
Fuel Cells
Nanotechnology is being used to reduce the cost
of catalysts used in fuel cells to produce hydrogen ions from fuel such as methanol and to improve
the efficiency of membranes used in fuel cells to separate hydrogen ions from other gases such as oxygen.
Solar Cells
Companies have developed nanotech
solar cells that can be manufactured at
significantly lower cost than
conventional solar cells.
Batteries
Companies are currently developing
batteries using nanomaterials. One such
battery will be a good as new after
sitting on the shelf for decades. Another
battery can be recharged significantly
faster than conventional batteries.
Space
Nanotechnology may hold the key to
making space-flight more practical.
Advancements in nanomaterials make
lightweight spacecraft and a cable for the
space elevator possible. By significantly
reducing the amount of rocket fuel
required, these advances could lower the
cost of reaching orbit and traveling in
space.
Fuels
Nanotechnology can address the shortage
of fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline
by making the production of fuels from
low grade raw materials economical,
increasing the mileage of engines, and
making the production of fuels from
normal raw materials more efficient.

Better Air Quality

Nanotechnology can improve the performance of catalysts used to transform vapors escaping from cars or
industrial plants into harmless gasses. That's because catalysts made from nanoparticles have a greater surface
area to interact with the reacting chemicals than catalysts made from larger particles. The larger surface area
allows more chemicals to interact with the catalyst simultaneously, which makes the catalyst more effective.
Chemical Sensors
Nanotechnology can enable sensors to detect very small amounts of chemical vapors. Various types of detecting
elements, such as carbon nanotubes, zinc oxide nanowires or palladium nanoparticles can be used in
nanotechnology-based sensors. Because of the small size of nanotubes, nanowires, or nanoparticles, a few gas
molecules are sufficient to change the electrical properties of the sensing elements. This allows the detection of
a very low concentration of chemical vapors.
Fabric
Making composite fabric with nano-sized particles or fibers allows improvement of fabric properties without a
significant increase in weight, thickness, or stiffness as might have been the case with previously-used
techniques.

Grey goo (also spelled gray goo) is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular
nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more
of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy ("eating the environment", more literally "eating the
habitation"). The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations
have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident.
Self-replicating machines of
the macroscopic variety were
originally described by
mathematician John von
Neumann, and are sometimes
referred to as von Neumann
machines or clanking
replicators. The term gray
goo was coined by
nanotechnology pioneer Eric
Drexler in his 1986
book Engines of Creation. In
2004 he stated, "I wish I had
never used the term 'gray
goo'." Engines of
Creation mentions "gray goo"
in two paragraphs and a note,

while the popularized idea of gray goo was first publicized in a mass-circulation magazine, Omni, in November
1986.
A Martian Sends a Postcard Home Analysis
The poem A Martian Sends a Postcard Home by Craig Raine depicts exactly what the title says:
a Martian sending a postcard home. However, we must take into consideration that the Martian is
actually on Earth, sending a postcard back to his own home; therefore the descriptions of our
everyday objects are depicted so bizarrely. Every detail alludes to items as well as actions seen on
Earth. In the poem Raine illustrates several things from the Martians perspective: a book, fog, car,
clock, telephone, bathroom, and dream. The author applies a very unique technique in describing all
these things, he breaks down each object into unrecognisable parts and compares them to something
similar. A book is illustrated and compared to a mechanical bird with many wings. The flapping wings
of a bird imitates the turning pages of a book. Raine also says some are treasured for their markings
referring to that fact that some books are cherished by individuals because of their markings, the
words written in them. One final things the author does to compare a book to a bird is to remove
certain qualities of a bird that dont fit in the description of a book, such as flight, but also emphasize a
similarity; a book sitting compared to a bird perching on someones hand. This kind of dismantling of
objects and analysing them in a new perspective is done for every object Raine depicts. Another
excellent example of this would be the authors depiction of a car. The author says, Model T is a room
with a lock inside, from an outside look, a car is nothing more than an enclosed space, exactly what a
room is. Raine removes features of a room that dont apply to a car, a room doesnt lock from the
inside but a car does. The ending of the poem is the most intriguing since it doesnt depict anything
tangible but rather the concept of dreaming or the action of sleeping. Raine states that at night when
all colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves in colour, with their eyelids shut. It is
very clear in these last stanzas Raine is illustrating a scene where two people are sleeping. The night
is dark and no colour can be seen; but in our dreams, where we learn or read about ourselves, we see
in colour. This is the only thing that the author doesnt compare to another object but
simply analyses what dreaming truly is, using the simplest of descriptions.