Nanotechnology has led to significant breakthroughs in everything from medicine to engineering and telecommunications. It has an even greater potential because, thanks to it, the human being copies nature – atom after atom, molecule after molecule. But the promising future of nanotechnology leads to excessive media coverage and hyperbole that can undermine a rational discussion about its real potential and its effects on society. Visit MSTnano website in order to get nanotechnology related service.
Research by various countries
Renowned scientific organizations generally praise nanotechnology. In Canada, the National Research Council believes that nanotechnology “opens up new horizons in virtually every sector of the economy, from materials science to biomedicine, to information and communications technologies.” The US Federal Government’s nanotechnology program, the National Nanotechnology Initiative, has adopted the slogan “Revolutionizing Technology and Industry for the Good of Society.”Consider MSTnano for nanotechnology related services.
“New Horizons” and “revolution” are words that carry weight. If we do not want to be buried in the hype surrounding nanotechnology, we must come to understand how we perceive nanotechnology and why we choose certain words rather than others to describe it.
Nanotechnology and science fictions
“Science fiction can help us understand how we view nanotechnology. Science fiction is usually based on revolutionary technology or a milestone event that changes the way a society works. This is how we talk about nanotechnology – some think it will revolutionize everything.
This revolutionary technology or event is called a “novum” in science fiction – time travel and parallel universes are classic examples. The science-fiction texts usually feature a master builder who manipulates the novum and directs the plot. From this perspective, we see nanotechnology as a way of remaking the world – and scientists are the masters of it. We are arrogant in thinking that we can control the future. We must not forget that nanotechnology is still in its infancy.
Science-fiction scenarios prevent us from taking a critical step backward when discussing nanotechnology, obscuring the gap between what is possible today and what could be tomorrow. But eliminating the gaps goes beyond technical issues. By building a fictional world with socially beneficial impacts and few ethical dilemmas, social and ethical gaps are hidden or reduced.
In fact, if nanotechnology is tracking the movement of most revolutionary technologies, there will likely be a gap between the application of technology and the time when we become aware of its social implications. One need only think of the debates that the Internet has today on the question of confidentiality or concerns about the genetic discrimination that genetic tests raise.
We need to adopt policies and make decisions that will allow us to deal with social issues. We cannot wait for the advent of nanotechnology and then react to it. Science-fiction’s technology of arrogance must be replaced by a technology of humility rooted in genuine scientific thought, conscious of the extent of its ignorance.
Nanotechnology: tiny, but powerful
Nanotechnology works with matter that can measure from one nanometer (one billion meters) to a few hundred nanometers. A human hair is 80,000 nanometers thick. The length of a single nanometer is eight to ten atoms; this new domain may be the key to understanding the arrangement of atoms. This knowledge may then allow us to create new materials with wide application possibilities.
