Category: Nanodot

Roland Piquepaille writes "Carbon nanotubes, which can have useful electrical or optical properties, are typically grown using chemical vapor deposition techniques. During this process, amorphous and useless carbon layers are also produced, meaning that a post-growth purification process is needed. Not anymore. According to this article from Technology Research News (TRN), Japanese researchers have successfully used water to get rid of these impurities. The idea of using water to clean carbon nanotubes is so simple that I'm amazed that nobody thought about it before. Anyway, this method, which eliminates the post-growth purification process, still needs some improvements and will not help to mass produce carbon nanotubes before at least five years. You'll find more details and references in this overview. And you'll find even more nanotechnology achievements in this Nanotech News Roundup #1."

Senior Associate Gina Miller brings to our attention a film from a team affiliated with University of Toronto: "N is for Nanotechnology is a new 30 minute documentary that discusses the field of nanotech. You can download the trailer at this website: http://www.knhproductions.ca. You can also click through drawings at the site. I have not figured out where, when, or even if the documentary is going to air or if it will be available for purchase?" The trailer looks promising. óCP

While current work is bulk materials-based, researchers in Texas are setting high goals for future achievements in nanomedicine: ìThe whole idea of being able to develop devices that we can manipulate at the cellular level to perform a function is very compelling"…Rosenblum likens these devices to a kind of miniscule robot ìbecause they are programmed to perform a certain task and report back to us. We can track exactly where they are in the body…We have hurdles to overcome because these are very complex devices…But we think this has the potential to solve crucial problems in cancer diagnosis and care.î

Christine Peterson points out a letter from Greenpeace UK Chief Scientist Doug Parr to the editors of the Times regarding comments from Tracy Brown from Sense About Science asserting that Greenpeace is opposed to nanotechnology. It appears that is not entirely accurate. They may support nanotechnology if a case can be made that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Christine Peterson points to this press release involving the new center.

"The goal is to merge nanotubes and a host of other Tinkertoy-like nanopieces with organic molecules – DNA, proteins or nanomolecular motors – to create sensors or nanomachines small enough to fit on the back of a virus…. While some of the researchers are synthesizing and characterizing various building blocks, others will integrate them and map out system properties, and still others will develop the tools to manipulate and construct new building blocks and systems. Several researchers will pursue the theoretical basics and limits of new devices."

Foresight Senior Associate Tom Kalil "helped meld the diverse group of researchers into a coherent center that captured the attention of the NSF."

Robert A. Freitas Jr. has announced the release of his report on a Pathway to Diamond-Based Molecular Manufacturing. This documents a possible path to diamondoid mechanosynthesis. The background academic work and studies involved a number of scientists at Zyvex who have filed for a provisional patent on the process.

This is a shortened version of his presentation at the First Foresight Conference on Advanced Nanotechnology in October 2004. Anyone who is seriously interested in the mechanosynthesis path to nanotechnology who did not attend the conference should read this document

Though the size scales are not precisely "nanoscale". The merging of transistors with quantum dots suggests that we are going there.

See: New Transistor Laser Could Lead To Faster Signal Processing.

Ed note. This is yet another area which was not covered in Nanosystems (not that it could cover everything) — but we have no concept with regard to what the limits may be in nanomagnetics, nanoopticalelectronics, nanosupercondunction, etc. These limits are still largely unexplored. Hell, we don't even know the limits of things from drug synthesis technology (and therefore minimum production costs) to DNA sequencing technology (so one can know your precise genome on a generic basis to knowing your precise genome on a cellular basis). Without those your physician is effectively operating blindfolded.

So we are operating blind at a number of developmental levels and if we want humanity to make the fastest possible progress we should fix that.

Spacedaily is reporting (here) that scientists have managed to bond oxygen to platinum breaking through the so-called "oxo-wall". One must ask, given the catalytic properties of platinum and the reactive propensity of oxygen, what could an oxo-platinum tipped Fine Motion Controller (or SPM) do?

Consideration of higher molecular weight elements is largely lacking in Nanosystems. Yet most elements from iron to uranium have some very interesting properties at the nanoscale level. Should these not be explored in more detail?

Svidinenko Yuriy writes "The Ministry of Industry and Science of the Moscow region, Administration of the city of Fryazino, Radio-electronic Industry Department of the Federal Industry Agency, "Concern NANOINDUSTRY" Joint Stock Company and "VOLNA" research-and-production enterprise supported by the Committee for Industrial Development and High Technologies of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, are organizing the International Conference "NANOTECHNOLOGIES for INDUSTRY 2004". The Conference will take place in Fryazino (not far from Moscow) from December 8-9, 2004. More here: http://www.nanonewsnet.com/index.php?module=pagese tter&func=viewpub&tid=3&pid=25"

Tekes writes "The Technology Agency of Finland, Tekes launches FinNano technology programme on 1st January 2005. The total duration of the programme is five years, 2005 ñ 2009. The costs of the programme are Ä 45 million, including Ä 25 million in research funding, and Ä 20 million in corporate financing.