Nanotechnology | Science & Technology | Enliven

Have you ever heard about a Fourth Century AD, structure called the Lycurgus cup?

Let me tell you, it's considered one of the oldest and finest inventions in the field of nanosciences.

This cup changes its colour when seen in a different light. It's called Dichroic glass, meaning the green colour appears in direct light and red-purple when light shines through the glass. Weren't the Romans advanced?

The word "nano" is a Greek word meaning very small and shows one thousand millionths of a meter (10^-9 m ).

This word was first used by the American physicist Richard Feynman who is also a noble prize winner. He was at the California Institute of technology in 1959 and was given a lecture entitled "There's plenty of room at the bottom". His Ideas were to create small machines from already existing machines which were proved in further years. This is the reason why he is considered as Father of Modern Nanotechnology. 

Jumping to 1974, a Japanese scientist, Norio Taniguchi defined nanotechnology. He formulated "Nanotechnology mainly consists of the processing of separation, consolidation and deformation of materials by one atoms or one molecule".

Definition and Terminologies :

● Nanotechnology is a science that deals with understanding, controlling and manipulating matter at dimensions between 1 and 100 nanometers.

While the study of structures on the nanoscale between 1 to 100 nm is called nanoscience, the practical application involved in the formation of such devices is nanotechnology.

Some examples to explain the size of nanoscale :

1) 1 nanometer = 10^-9 meters = 0.000000001

2) A human red blood cell is about 7000 nm wide

3) Human hair is 50,000 to 100,000 nm thick. 

4) Your Finger-nails grow about 1nm per second.

5) 1 nm is to a tennis ball what a tennis ball is to the earth.

Application of Nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology may seem futuristic, but it has wide applications nowadays

i) Sunscreen ⇒ Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are nanoparticles added to sunscreens as they block UV Radiations and make sunscreen nowhere near as thick.

ii) Clothes ⇒ Silica is used in textiles to repel water and other liquids. That makes clothes waterproof.

iii) Furniture ⇒ Same way furniture is also made waterproof as clothes. Also with carbon nanofibers, manufacturers can reduce flammability up to 32%.

iv) Computers ⇒ From faster-running computer processing to affordable and adjustable technologies, Nanotech has made everything possible.

v) Nanobiotechnology ⇒ Production of nano pesticides, Nano fertilizers, nano bio stimulants are some soil enhancers. It has also opened the door for many diagnostic and therapeutic activities for important diseases.

Career in India ⇒ 

To make a career in nanotech in India, a person has to have Physics, Math and Chemistry in 10+2

After that Bachelor courses in India Include:

i) BE (Bachelor of Engineering) Nanotechnology 

ii) B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) Nanotechnology 

iii) M.Tech (Masters of Technology) Nanotechnology 

iv) M.Sc (Masters of science) Nanotechnology

There are many entrance exams conducted by prestigious Institutions in India, Including ⇒

a) Delhi University, Delhi

b) Pune University, Pune

c) IIT Roorkee, Mumbai, Guwahati and Kanpur 

d) Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru

e) Amity University, Gurgaon

f) BITS, Hyderabad

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