How NanoTechnology Can Help Enhance the Future

If scientists can conquer nanotechnology, mankind will be able to improve electronics and many other aspects of modern life.

Fremont, CA: Two small technologies have changed how we live and work over the last 70 years. All current electronics are made possible by electronic transistors and microchips, which have been shrinking since their invention in the 1940s. Today, a single chip can have up to 5 billion transistors. However, in order to maintain this advancement, we must be able to build circuits on the nanometer scale. The real challenge is using these techniques reliably to make operational nanoscale devices. At the nanoscale, physical properties of matter such as melting temperature, electrical conductivity, and chemical reactivity fluctuate dramatically, hence shrinking a device can have an impact on its performance. However, by mastering this technology, humans can enhance their future.

Here’s how nanotechnology can enhance the future:

Doctors inside the body

Wearable fitness technology allows users to track their health by attaching devices to their bodies. There are also electronic tattoos in the works that can detect vital signals. If scientists scaled down this technology, humans could go much further by implanting or injecting microscopic sensors into their bodies. This will allow doctors to personalize their treatment by capturing considerably more detailed information with less inconvenience for the patient.

Sensors are everywhere

To make them smaller, more complicated, and energy efficient, these sensors rely on newly created nanomaterials and manufacturing techniques. Sensors with very fine details, for example, may now be printed in huge quantities on flexible plastic rolls at a low cost. This opens up the potential of installing sensors at a variety of locations throughout the vital infrastructure to ensure that everything is working smoothly.

Improving big data capabilities

All of these sensors generate far more data than anyone has ever seen before, necessitating the development of technology to interpret it and identify patterns that will alert someone to potential hazards. The same will be true whether humans want to use "big data" from traffic sensors to help manage congestion and prevent accidents, or if they want to reduce crime by better allocating police resources using statistics. Nanotechnology is assisting in the development of ultra-dense memory that will enable the storage of this vast amount of data. However, it is also inspiring ultra-efficient methods for processing, encrypting, and transferring data without losing its integrity.