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NUTSHELL Today mankind is facing many problems ranging from health issues to the environmental hazards in which he lives. If there is one technology which can rescue mankind, it is Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology by name itself means going smaller into things. It tries to manipulate the basic element of matter – atom. Nanotechnology takes its inspiration from nature. The philosophy of nature is to start creating from building blocks. This is exactly what Nano - Technology is striving to accomplish. Nanotechnology will have its own unique effect in every aspect of mankind. Its specialties range from treating cancer to reversing the process of ageing, from preventing global warming to blocking the ozone hole, from creating food to creating diamond from carbon. This technology is all set to bring about a revolution in the 21st century.

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CONTENTS •

NUTSHELL

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INTRODUCTION

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HISTORY

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BASIC CONCEPT

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MANIPULATION OF ATOMS & MOLECULES

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UNDERLYING TECHNIQUES

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RECENT PROGRESS

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ROAD AHEAD

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THE DOWNSIDE

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CONCLUSION

NUTSHELL Today mankind is facing many problems ranging from health issues to the environmental hazards in which he lives. If there is one technology which can rescue mankind, it is Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology by name itself means going smaller into things. It tries to manipulate the basic element of matter – atom. Nanotechnology takes its inspiration from nature. The philosophy of nature is to start creating from building blocks. This is exactly what Nano - Technology is striving to accomplish. Nanotechnology will have its own unique effect in every aspect of mankind. Its specialties range from treating cancer to reversing the process of ageing, from preventing global warming to blocking the ozone hole, from creating food to creating diamond from carbon. This technology is all set to bring about a revolution in the 21st century.

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INTRODUCTION The invention of Germanium transistor way back in June 1946 was the starting point that brought Microelectronics Technology to the masses. From the period 1904 till 1950’s, Thermionic valves were ruling the computational world occupying large space. Even up to the beginning of 1960s, the scientists and the technological world did not understand the full implication of the invention of Germanium and Silicon transistors and the quiet revolution taking place in Silicon valley arising out of Dr. William Shockley setting up a Shockley Semiconductors in 1955. In late 1960s a persuasive thinking that Integrated Circuit can act as brain to different products gained ground resulting in the birth of microprocessor 4004 in 1971. The late 90s saw System on Chip at 0.18 microns –180 Nano meters Hence the technology following now is semiconductor technology, Soon the parts will become smaller and smaller until they are made up of only a handful of atoms.This technology is known as nanotechnology. Hence nanotechnology is a hybrid science composing of engineering, physics, chemistry & biology. The word “Nano” which is referred to 10 -9 which was a very small negligible value. Hence the name nanotechnology.Nanotechnology is molecular manufacturing or, more simply, buildingthings one atom or molecule at a time with programmed nanoscopic robotarms. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter (3 - 4 atoms wide). Utilizingthe well understood chemical properties of atoms and molecules (how they"stick" together), nanotechnology proposes the construction ofnovel molecular devices possessing extraordinary properties. The trickis to manipulate atoms individually and place them exactly where neededto produce the desired structure. This ability is almost in our grasp. It is fully true that the technology needed to achieve this atomic level is very complex. At present this technological level has not yet been achieved. So Nanotechnology is still in its infancy. It is only conceptual stage. There are so many predictions and possibilities. In today’s scenario, Nanotechnology is in its infancy the 5

concepts discussed below are just the predominant proposals that are being made by the scientists this day.

HISTORY In December, 1959, a physicist named Richard P. Feynman gave a talk at Caltech about the problem of manipulating and controlling things on a small scale, called "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom". HEwas the first to suggest that atoms might be manipulated to build perfect small circuits of 7 atoms or so that would replicate themselves. His talk started the ball rolling on the concept of creating molecular devices that could compute, replicate, and manufacture.But there was no advancements for two to three decades..only in In 1986, K. Eric Drexler published a book named "Engines of Creation", . In this Drexler asks, "What could we build with those atom-stacking mechanisms?" For one thing, we could manufacture assembly machines much smaller even than living cells, and make materials stronger and lighter than any available today. Drexler gained quite a following from his book, and nanotechnology was "legitimized". It was an uphill battle, however. He was the first to receive a PHD in Nanotechnology iDrexler and his colleagues undoubtedly will be looked upon in the future as heroes of the definitive technology of the 21st century. History will read - Newton, Einstein, Drexler.

BASIC CONCEPT Nanotechnology broadly refers to the manipulation of matter on the atomic and molecular scales, i.e., where the objects of interest are 0.1 – 100 nanometre in size. Albert Einstein first proved that each and every atom measures about a nanometer in diameter. In 1959 Richard P. Feynman predicted a technological world composed of self replicating molecules whose purpose would be the production of nano – sized objects. o

Get essentially every atom in the right place.

o

Make almost any structure consistent with the laws of physics and chemistry that we can specify in atomic detail.

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o

Have manufacturing costs not greatly exceeding the cost of the required raw materials and energy.

There are two more concepts commonly associated with nanotechnology: o

Positional assembly.

o

Self replication.

Clearly, we would be happy with any method that simultaneously achieved the first three objectives. However, this seems difficult without using some form of positional assembly (to get the right molecular parts in the right places) and some form of self replication (to keep the costs down). The need for positional assembly implies an interest in molecular robotics, e.g., robotic devices that are molecular both in their size and precision. These molecular scale positional devices are likely to resemble very small versions of their everyday macroscopic counterparts. Positional assembly is frequently used in normal macroscopic manufacturing today, and provides tremendous advantages. Imagine trying to build a bicycle with both hands tied behind your back! The idea of manipulating and positioning individual atoms and molecules is still new and takes some getting used to. However, as Feynman said in a classic talk in 1959: "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom." We need to apply at the molecular scale the concept that has demonstrated its effectiveness at the macroscopic scale: making parts go where we want by putting them where we want! The requirement for low cost creates an interest in self replicating manufacturing systems, studied by von Neumann in the 1940's. These systems are able both to make copies of themselves and to manufacture useful products. If we can design and build one such system the manufacturing costs for more such systems and the products they make (assuming they can make copies of themselves in some reasonably inexpensive environment) will be very low. As we go deeper into learning about atoms &molecules different laws come into play as every element / material as its own unique properties such as surface tension, fertility, malleability & so on. Atoms come together to form molecules, and molecules come together to form inherent macro – scale whose properties are

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determined by controlling molecular structure in material synthesis, mankind has gained unprecedented control over the basic material properties, such as conductivity, strength, capacity, ductility and reactivity, yielding innovative applications ranging from batteries to automotive materials. Passive nano technique that primarily focuses on tuning the properties of resulting bulk materials. Active nano technique facilitates creation of functional electronic and ultimately mechanical devices at the nanoscale.

MANIPULATION OF ATOMS & MOLECULES Tools capable of imaging and manipulating individual atoms or molecules have ushered in the nano age. The icons of this revolution are scanning probe microscopes Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) Atomic Force Microscope(AFM) capable of creating pictures of individual atoms or moving them from place to place.

SCANNING TUNNELLING MICROSCOPE: IBM first invented the STM. The instruments key element is a fine metal needle or tip. The metal is usually tungsten, nickel, or gold. When this tip is moved very close to the surface of the object being scanned and a tiny voltage is applied, the odd rules of quantum mechanics allow electrons to jump or “tunnel” across the remaining gap. Though very small, this flow of electrons can easily be detected experiments have demonstrated that the STM can be used to “etch” surfaces by blatting out single clumps of them with short busts of current. In some cases STM can be used to “herd” atoms across the sample surface.

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ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE: IBM laboratory has mounted sharp, nano – scale tips used in atomic force microscopes on to microscopic cantilevers on a microchip. These tips touches the surface of the sample. The force of contact is very small. As with the STM the instrument is scanned across the sample surface to generate an image. Since the AFM senses the surface by “touch” it can write digital bits on a polymer sheet and offers a way to examine nonconducting materials such as biological molecules, plastics, ceramics and insulating materials like glass or diamond

UNDERLYING TECHNIQUES The basic technique is to build nanoscopic assemblers, which can create molecules from atoms and then device a method so that self replication of the assemblers is possible and it is discussed in the following sub-titles:

    

UNIVERSAL ASSEMBLER A universal assembler is a microscopic factory that can manufacture necessary products molecule by molecule. Universal assemblers will have nanoscopic arms, conveyor belts and a nanoscopic computing system. The concept of universal assemblers is still in its infancy. Universal assemblers are said to be Active Cell Aggregate(ACA) which consists of a range of polygonal faced cells which can slide over each other and can form different shapes to suit the necessity. ACA works atom – by – atom and molecule – by – molecule. So to create a material consisting of billions of atoms. It

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takes a lot of time. So to speed up this process a technique has been formulated called self – replication

SELF – REPLICATION `Self – replication is a process by which assemblers create many other assemblers like themselves. This process speeds up the creation of a new material as the number of assemblers increases exponentially with time. Simultaneous processing of the desired material by millions of assemblers is possible. Replicators may be assumed to be factories shrunk to the size to a cell. Information about replication can be provided to the replicators by means of chains of polymerized molecules(data tapes) with some codes in the form of some irregularity. Speed of replication will depend on the size of the unit and the structure. Replication is an exponential growth in number of assemblers. There must also be some means of controlling replication either by the use of data tapes (synthetic polymers carrying information ) or by some external means such as electromagnetic waves. Without such effective measures of controlling replication, it can prove to be disastrous.

DISSEMBLERS Dissemblers are also microscopic factories like the assemblers. But they are the opposite of the assemblers. The job of the dissemblers is to dissemble the assemblers once its job is over. The assemblers assemble the product and the replicators replicate more and more assemblers to quicken the time of production.. The dissemblers will break the bonds between the atoms of the assemblers and hence they will be dissembled to junk atoms.

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CONTROL UNIT In operations so nanoscopic as this co – ordination between the different assemblers, replicators and dissemblers must be robust. There are many proposals for the control unit. One proposal suggests that there has to be macroscopic control unit outside the working environment to co – ordinate the actions of the assemblers, dissemblers and replicators. The communication medium between the control unit and the constituents could be electromagnetic waves. Another proposal suggests the presence of nanoscopic control units inside each and every constituent so that the constituents can be programmed to perform the particular task. In this case communication between the individual units may be some form of polypeptide chains with some irregularities which carry coded information.

MATERIALS USED Materials used for the manufacture of the individual units may differ depending on the requirements. For example if an enzyme has to be created from the assemblers, dissemblers and replicators may be made of proteins, amino acids, tissues, mitochondria, vessels and other bio – chemical materials. The proteins could serve as building blocks, the mitochondria could serve as energy producing elements and the vessels could serve as conveyor belts etc.. on the other hand if a nanoscopic transistor has to be created, the building blocks of the individual units will be totally different.

RECENT PROGESS SCREENING AT AIRPORTS After the september11disaster,sirports all over the world heave gone for the highest security check-ins. secret cameras, sniffer dogs and round the clock patrolling have added more beef to the security.But still the terrorists manage to give the slip. Hence Tim Delong , the GM of the Regional Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County is banking on nanotechnology to counter any overt terrorist strike.According to him,new devices for baggage screening will be tiny enough to be

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embedded in the floors of the baggage wells between ticket counter position to scan each bag as the passenger checks it in. These machines are expected to be available within three years.

NANO SCALE DIGITAL CHIP DESIGN Computer chips will get smaller, more powerful, connectedand pervasive,” They will bring digital intelligence into all kinds of objects and spaces” Cadence is heavily into nanoscale design.According to its acting country manager for IndiaHimansha singh”Cadence is breaking new ground in digital design,SoC functional verification,custom/analog design,design for manufacturability and silicon design-in. The company heas recently launched the Encounter platform,the RTL- TOGDSIIarchitecture for nanometer scale design implementation. The Encounter system combines silicon virtual prototyping and detailed IC implementation into a unified architecture with a single in memeory data model and user interface.What’s more , the latest version of Encounter platform supports both Sun and Linux, and was recently voted the EDN Innovation of the Year of the Award.

NANO MEDICINE Nanocomputers are small enough that several hundred of them could fit inside the space of a biological cell. Medical nanites could patrol your body, and armed with knowledge of your DNA, repel any foriegn invaders by forming an artificial immune system. The common cold would no longer exist, nor would threats of any biological or viral infection. Biological warfare would then cease to be a threat, also. These nanites, composed of smart materials, could take over from the plastic surgeons and people would be able to remake their bodies, even change their sex if that was what they wanted to do. There would be no pain, no bruises, and the results would be overnight. Additionally, imagine your body and bones woven with invisible diamond fabric. This body "reinforcement" could increase your tolerance to "G" forces, enable you to fall from a 10 story building and walk away, replace the oxygen in your blood in case of fire or chemical spill, and allow you to walk away from normally fatal accidents. Life consists of molecular machines controlled by a program (DNA). Aging is a disease and is the real number one killer of humans. With the new genetic therapies it is hoped that the aging process can be reversed within the next 12 to 20

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years. With medical nanites,we can not only extend our lives but stop completely the aging process.

IMAGING MAGNETIC RESONANCE FORCE MICROSCOPE About a year ago, J.A. Sidles of the University of Washington proposed a method for using magnetic resonance to detect and locate single protons on a surface. Now he and D. Rugar and C.C. Yannoni of IBM have built a device to prove the validity of the basic concept. In this initial effort their goals were modest: to detect electrons rather than protons, and to measure position with low resolution in only one dimension. These goals were were achieved last fall. In the device, a few grains of a crystalline sample are glued to a small cantilever. The cantilever is then subjected to the combined effects of three different magnetic fields: a field A varying strongly in space, a field B oscillating at the resonant frequency of the cantilever, and a field C to excite the electron spins in the sample. The forces generated by these fields cause the cantilever to vibrate at its resonant frequency. The strength of the field B is systematically varied while the vibrational amplitude of the cantilever is measured optically. In a plot of the amplitude versus field strength, peaks occur where there is resonance with the electron spins. Because the field A is spatially inhomogeneous, different parts of the sample may be subject to different field strengths and may resonate at different values of field B. Thus, the peaks in the resonance curve can be interpreted as images of these different parts of the sample. The researchers believe that these techniques can be used to build magnetic resonance microscopes capable of forming images of molecules in three dimensions at atomic resolution.

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AFM IMAGING OF ACT IN MOLECULES IN LIVING CELLS E. Henderson, et al., at Iowa State University have imaged actin filaments in living cells with an atomic force microscope (AFM). Glial cells adhering to a coated glass surface have thin flat borders in which actin filaments lie close to the cell membrane. It unclear whether the AFM was detecting bulges in the membrane caused by the underlying actin filaments or was penetrating the surface and imaging the filaments directly.

AFM IMAGING OF SOFT SAMPLES AFMs are routinely used to image hard samples with atomic resolution, but soft samples are often problematic.The mechanism of soft sample imaging has been studied by M. Radmacher, and others, at the Technische Universität München. Their analysis helps to explain why AFM images of soft materials have lower resolution and spurious contrast. For example, when an AFM tip crosses a region of higher friction, the resulting deflection of the AFM cantilever will produce an erroneous value for the height of the region. However, the authors show that these effects give AFMs the ability to measure local properties of surfaces,such as viscosity & elasticity.

THE ROAD AHEAD Nanotechnology, though mostly confined to laboratory set-ups at present, promises to revolutionize electronics in the coming decades . It finds applications in several fields, including mechanical engineering, biology, process technologies, medical sciences and so on. Any advanced research carries inherent risks. But nanotechnology bears a special burden. The field's bid for respectability is colored by the association of the word with a cabal of futurists who foresee nano as a pathway to a techno-utopia: unparalleled prosperity, pollution-free industry, even something resembling eternal life. If the nano concept holds together, it could, in fact, lay the groundwork for a new industrial revolution. The nano future is emerging through the haze of hype: the road to terabit memory and cheap flat-screen displays will be paved with carbon nanotubes. Nantero is developing NRAM™, a high-density nonvolatile

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random access memory chip, using nanotechnology. The company's objective is to deliver a product that will replace all existing forms of memory, such as DRAM, SRAM and flash memory, with NRAM serving as universal memory.

THE DOWNSIDE In additions to the changes our society will have to make to cope with this new technology, there will come the most ominous spectre of all: war more dangerous and devastating than it has ever been. This new technology will also make war between states more likely in our present world system. The weapons of MNT (Molecular Nano Techmology) will be on such a small scale that they will be invisible, smaller by far than their biological and chemical counterparts, and more precise because they will be programmable. This means that they can evade defenses and strike predetermined targets much as cruise missiles do, though invisibly. Even worse, with the new technology it becomes useless to strike traditional targets such as weapons and factories because they could be restored overnight by the the advanced manufacturing of nanotechnology. Raze a factory one day, it will grow back soon thereafter. So the target will become the ultimate target: people. Military planners will seek a target that cannot be easily replaced and that is large enought to find and hit, and that only leaves the civilian population. MNT also makes war between states inevitable because by it's very nature it creates a general equality in destructive capacity. As MNT spreads, so does the ability to create powerful and deadly weapons and the ability to rebuild an industrial base in a very short time. So each state becomes more of a threat to it's neighbors by making it more deadly due to the weapons and more difficult to defeat due the the rebuilding capabilities. MNT promises to be a destabilizing influence on the world system as we know it.

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CONCLUSION All this proves beyond doubt that Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the way of life. Taking into account the obstacles in the path of realization of the goal, It is supposed that Nanotechnology will be in a definite and commercial form only by 2030. Many of the concepts that Nanotechnology presents may look impossible now, but they may not be so far away after all. Could any one who have been through 1970s have predicted that the computers of 2003 would have been so powerful? Or would even have thought of something like a television in the 1960s? Likewise, Nanotechnology is nearer than what we can think. Nanotechnology will have its unique effect in every part of man’s life. Nanotechnology will no doubt be the most promising of all technologies of the 21st century and will make a tremendous impact on our lives. Nanotechnology

is likely to be adopted to

miniaturize human being to counter the huge population by the next century. In 1995 there was a $100 bet made to create the impossible within 16 years, the world's first nanometer supercomputer. This resulted in the NanoComputer Dream Team, and utilizes the internet to gather talent from every scientific field and from all over the world, amateur and professional. Their deadline: November 1, 2011. Watch for it! Are you ready for a computer that is billions of times faster than our present PC's?

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BIBILIOGRAPHY: ELECTRONICS FOR YOU – MAY 2002 ELECTRONICS FOR YOU – JUNE 2003

WEBSITES: www.zyvex.com. www.londoncentrefornanotechnology.com www.lucida.com www.nanotechnology.com

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