Consumer products made with nanotech increasing
In 2007, nearly 500 consumer products have been developed using nanotechnology, the science of the very small.
That’s close to double what was available in March of 2006, according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, an independent watchdog organization.
Scientists say that new and useful properties emerge when materials are engineered at the nanoscale. This scale, by the way, is about 1/100,000 the thickness of a sheet of notebook paper. So far, cosmetics and stain-resistant clothing top the list of nano products.
And 2007 is seeing a range of nano products, from golf clubs to computer parts to antibacterial forks, knives and beverage containers. How will you identify these products? We have a link to a list of Nanoproducts, but in general … it might be tough. So far, the label “nano” has been used to mean a variety of things, and there’s no actual requirement to label a product if it’s made with true nanomaterials.
Experts estimate that – by the year 2014 – 2.6 trillion dollars worth of manufactured goods, or about 15 percent of the total global output, will be made with at least some nanotechnology.
Read more about nanotechnology at Earth & Sky’s All things nano.
Thanks to the National Science Foundation.
