Earth & Sky

How much nanotech is in your life already?

The burgeoning field of nanotechnology – the engineering of invisibly small particles to create new materials not found in nature – has been said to herald “the next industrial revolution.”

But how much nanotech is showing up in your life already? Earth & Sky spoke with Christine Peterson, Vice President of the Foresight Nanotech Institute. The nanotech that you probably notice most, she said, is its contribution to new materials.

Christine Peterson: These are just new substances to make old products with. And what we’re seeing are new coatings for automobiles, lighter weight materials to build transportation systems from. We’re beginning to see some advances in solar cells. People are most familiar, perhaps, with the new sunscreens. Probably we’ve all used them.

Peterson said nanotechnology also shows promise in medicine, especially in treatments for cancer, which may become available in the next five to ten years.

Meanwhile, she said, most of the nanotech’s advances have been in the industrial sector.

Christine Peterson: We’re only beginning to see some of the more really important uses, perhaps uses that might make a big difference for, say, the energy issue. These are the solar cells, the batteries, fuels cells. All these kinds of things that will make a big difference to us in terms of the energy challenge.

Thanks today to the National Science Foundation.

4 Comments for How much nanotech is in your life already?

1. 1

   Jul 2, 03:24 PM #

   florist says:

   Didn’t I hear a radio show or see on your site somewhere that there’s an online list of prodcucts that have nano-stuff in them?

2. 2

   Jul 2, 07:40 PM #

   florist says:

   Florist:

   Thanks for asking. Here is the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory –
   http://www.nanotechproject.org/index.php?id=44

   Eleanor

3. 3

   Aug 20, 06:46 PM #

   CeciliaLiu says:

   Nanotech is certainly a very important new technology which may tremendously change our life in the next few decades. However, most people offen have an ambiguous understanding of nanotech, and the misunderstaning results in the greatly exaggerated commercial advertisement today. I think it is necessary for us to understand about nanotech more, not only because it will play a vital role in the future, but also there are more and more applications in connection with nanotech in our daily life.

4. 4

   Aug 21, 06:02 PM #

   sglasson says:

   I think nanotechnology could be great in the fight against cancer.