The Future of Small Science Essay -- Nanoscience Technology Essays

The Future of Small Science In the last few years, nanotechnology has become a craze within the science community, even though its almost completely theoretical nature makes it an industry of potential, rather than results. But in the United States, faith in its future, backed by a government four-year plan to spend $3.7 billion on nanotechnology research, a host of entrepreneurial businesses have sprung up with â€Å"nano† written somewhere in their mission statements. Basically defined only as the manipulation of particles on the nano scale (i.e., extremely small), the fundamental science for nanotechnology has been around since 1918, when physicist Max Planck helped create the theories of quantum physics. But without precision equipment, these theories could not be tested, and until recently no applications could be developed for this new and intriguing science. Now, the term nanotechnology is used to encompass new techniques and applications made real by advanced equipment. And it isn’t only businesses fighting to stay ahead in the race for mass-production of these newly possible devices, but many competitive schools, with Massachusetts universities being main players in the State’s world-renowned nano research. Northeastern University has been a serious player in the nanotech field since 2001, when the Kostis Donation gave $200,000 to fund continued nanotechnology research. Now, with a $12.4 million grant received this March from the National Science Foundation, split mainly between two other New England universities – the University of New Hampshire and UMASS Lowell – Northeastern has big plans for the future of the very small. â€Å"It’s not a lot of money, but it attracts industry, and that’s what we need,† said A... ...reate each nano device leaves much room for error as well as being impractically slow. Nanoscience is a technology with its greatest potential not for creation, but improvement. It has caught the attention of such a large section of the market because miniaturization is such a versatile and widely desired concept; the medical world hopes to be able to use intelligently invasive nano devices to fight certain viruses within the human body; the computer chip industry could push its processors to unheard of speeds, as smaller chips mean less power, and thus what is considered hand-held technology today could become microscopic. And now with Northeastern positioning itself directly in the middle of what could be the greatest scientific revolution since the Theory of Relativity, this university could become a big force in a world becoming obsessed with the very small. The Future of Small Science Essay -- Nanoscience Technology Essays The Future of Small Science In the last few years, nanotechnology has become a craze within the science community, even though its almost completely theoretical nature makes it an industry of potential, rather than results. But in the United States, faith in its future, backed by a government four-year plan to spend $3.7 billion on nanotechnology research, a host of entrepreneurial businesses have sprung up with â€Å"nano† written somewhere in their mission statements. Basically defined only as the manipulation of particles on the nano scale (i.e., extremely small), the fundamental science for nanotechnology has been around since 1918, when physicist Max Planck helped create the theories of quantum physics. But without precision equipment, these theories could not be tested, and until recently no applications could be developed for this new and intriguing science. Now, the term nanotechnology is used to encompass new techniques and applications made real by advanced equipment. And it isn’t only businesses fighting to stay ahead in the race for mass-production of these newly possible devices, but many competitive schools, with Massachusetts universities being main players in the State’s world-renowned nano research. Northeastern University has been a serious player in the nanotech field since 2001, when the Kostis Donation gave $200,000 to fund continued nanotechnology research. Now, with a $12.4 million grant received this March from the National Science Foundation, split mainly between two other New England universities – the University of New Hampshire and UMASS Lowell – Northeastern has big plans for the future of the very small. â€Å"It’s not a lot of money, but it attracts industry, and that’s what we need,† said A... ...reate each nano device leaves much room for error as well as being impractically slow. Nanoscience is a technology with its greatest potential not for creation, but improvement. It has caught the attention of such a large section of the market because miniaturization is such a versatile and widely desired concept; the medical world hopes to be able to use intelligently invasive nano devices to fight certain viruses within the human body; the computer chip industry could push its processors to unheard of speeds, as smaller chips mean less power, and thus what is considered hand-held technology today could become microscopic. And now with Northeastern positioning itself directly in the middle of what could be the greatest scientific revolution since the Theory of Relativity, this university could become a big force in a world becoming obsessed with the very small.