The Nanotechnology and its contributions to economic development

Abstract

When you control atoms, you control just about everything," said Richard Smalley, the 1996 Nobel Laureate, who discovered buckyballs, referring to the possibilities of nanotechnology". The guiding vision of nanotechnology is atomic precision. In reality, nanotechnology is an enabling technology providing tools for the fabrication, manipulation and control of materials at the atomic level. At the heart of nanotechnology, it brings into collaboration ideas in chemistry, physics and biology mixed and blended with engineering and medicin e". Scientists and engineers have shown an active interest in nanotechnologies because at sizes below 100 nm, the fundamental chemical or electrical properties of materials can change. For example, silver metal used in jewellary is typically inert, however, at the nanoscale, it becomes chemically more active possessing antibacterial properties. Such useful changes in property have become the catalyst for predictions of a range of fundamental new advances in chemistry and physics over the next 10 - 50 years, mostly in the domains of new materials, the environment, in medicine and information technology. Although the top and bottom of the nanoscale (ideally ranging from 1 to 100 nm) does not have sharp demarcations - especially the upper value, it excludes individual atoms on the lower end, and matter that can be seen with a very good optical microscope on the upper end. This harnessing of properties of matter at the nano scale was predicted by Richard Feynman's famous prophesy in 1959:" there is plenty of room at the bottom." Nanotechnology is estimated to make a great impact on the global economy, and as such an appropriate indicator of its significance can be market volumes. However, nanotechnology as an industry cannot be easily quantified although its contribution to improvements in the existing products and even to produce brand new products. Most global market forecasts of nanotechnology spans between the period between 2000 and 2015. According to the United State National Science Foundation estimate of 2001, the world market for nanotechnological products by 2015 will be around 1 trillion US Dollars". On the other hand, the Lux Research Corporation estimated in 2004 that the same Globally, nanotechnology is market to be 2.6 trillion US Dollars projected to be an all pervasive by 20144. The latter which gives a EconomicReview:Dec.2010/Jan.2011 - Applications of nanotechnology are enabled by nanomaterials, which have novel optical, electric or magnetic properties. The building blocks of nanotechnology are semiconductors, metals, metal oxides, carbon materials and organics. The emerging commercial growth areas in nanotechnology are nanomaterials and nanomaterials processing, nanobiotechnology, nanophotonics, nanoelectronics and nanoinstrumentation. Nanomaterials and nanomaterials processing companies develop the materials and methods to manipulate and manufacture products based on nano materials. Nanophotonics involves the development of highly integrated optical- communication s components using nano-optic and nano-manufacturing technologies leading to rapid prototyping, highperformance advantages, smaller forms and lower costs. Nanobiotechnology IS multidisciplinary combining areas such as biology and nanoelectronics to fabricate arrays of tiny diagnostic sensors that can detect specific biological molecules or individual strands of DNA. These devices will provide faster, cheaper and more comprehensive diagnoses of complex diseases. Nanoelectronics includes electronic and optoelectronic devices in which individual assemblies of nanometer-scale components function as active device elements. Potential nanoelectronics products include integrated memory logic, passive optical components, field emission devices, and flat-panel display and light-emitting diodes.