Nanotechnology.

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Nanotechnology.
Introduction

• What is it?
• What are the risks?
• What are the uses?

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Nanotechnology.
What nanotechnology is

• Nano billionth of something.
• Creating and changing.
• Pushing the limits.

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Nanotechnology.
Risks of nanotechnology

• Can cause serious damage.

• 3 reasons

• More reactive
• Can accumulate
• Lack of knowledge

• Company policy.

• Lack of leadership and organisation.

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Nanotechnology.
Uses of nanotechnology

• Health
• - Detecting curing cancer
• Computers
• - nano-sizing microchips for data storage
• Electricity
• - cheap solar panels
• Construction
• - ultra light and ultra strong materials

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Nanotechnology.
- Nanotechnology in health

• Nano-sized protein detectors
• detect protein imbalances that point to cancer
• Gold nanoshells to treat tumours
• harmless nanoparticles which kill tissue
• around them when heating up under IR light

6
Nanotechnology.
- Nanotechnology in computers

• IBMs Millipede memory device
• microscopic data storage chip

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Nanotechnology.
- Nanotechnology in electricity

• Solar panels
• - simply painting nanocrystals on metal foil
• - nanocrystals can be grown very cheaply
• - very flexible solar panels

8
Nanotechnology.
- Nanotechnology in construction

• Incredibly strong and light materials
• Carbon nanotubes
• - can carry more than a million times their own
  weight
• - very light 100 g of it can cover about 1/2
  hectare

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Nanotechnology.
Discussion questions

• Do you think the usefulness of nanotechnology
• outweigh the risks, or vice versa?
• Do you think that products that already use
• nanotechnology are safe? Would you use
• them?
• Do you know any products that already use
• nano-sized particles?

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Nanotechnology.
Gap exercises
1. Research can ____________ (seemingly
contradictory) add to the problem. 2.
Nanomaterials also offer huge ________
(possibilities) for making better batteries,
generating green energy and producing clean
water. 3. Moreover, _______ (even though there
have been) hundreds of years of experience in
chemistry, it is not easy to predict how a
substance will behave when it is made extremely
small. 4. These particles can also be __________
(designed and constructed) into shapes that
provide some functional property, like _______
(stiffness).
paradoxically
potential
despite
engineered
rigidity
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Nanotechnology.
Gap exercises
5. At such small sizes, silver can have
____________ (germ-killing) properties. 6. The
European Commission concluded that each new
material should be _________ (evaluated) on a
case by case basis. 7. Some ________ (taking
small quantities for tests) of ________ (floating
in the air) particles is done, but it is still
not clear what should be _________ (kept under
surveillance).
antimicrobial
assessed
airborne
sampling
monitored
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Nanotechnology.
Translation exercises
1. Many products are now embedded with silver
nanoparticles. 2. At the moment, firms with
product-liability insurance are implicitly
insured for their nanoparticles. 3. There was a
pressing need for a strategic programme of
spending. 4. Nanoparticulate versions of a
material can act in novel ways. 5. Titanium
dioxide is commonly used as the white pigment in
sunscreen.