Nanotechnology, October 27, 2003

Since the beginning of time, humans have been in search of wisdom. They were constantly discovering new theorems and ideas, such as the wheel. Such inventions are necessary for humankind to progress. We identify this as technology. Today, technology has progressed so much that it is beyond our imagination to know what scientists are capable of doing. This research will deal with the progress of nanotechnology. It will explain what nanotechnology is, its advantages and disadvantages for business, and how it will affect the citizens’ way of life. Nanotechnology affects the society in ways one cannot imagine.

To begin with, we will describe what nanotechnology is. Pethokoukis (2003) explains that a nanometer means one billionth of a meter. It is the equivalent of 1/75,000 of the diameter of a hair, which means extremely small. Nanoscience generally represents machines or robots in the nano-scale with specific tasks such as moving atoms to atoms or molecules to molecules (Nanotechnology; microbots could manipulate cells, operate various medical devices [Nanotech microbots], 2003). Nanotechnology touches many fields, such as biology, physics, chemistry, ecology and economy. Merkle (1994) explains that the main objective of nanotechnology is to build nano-robots; and these nano-robots will duplicate themselves. Then these two will duplicate themselves and so on; and in few years, there will be masses of these little robots controlled by supercomputers to work together as a team. They will build “anything” by moving and placing atoms just like Lego blocks.

The “anything” mentioned means much faster computers, no more pollution, safe naval space launches, cure to many deadly diseases, no more famine, plants or animals no longer in extinction, and cloning (University of Sheffield; Report tries to be neutral point in noisy debate [UoS], 2003). Imagine that you can drink your favourite beverage to cure your fever, cancer or any other existing illness. This will create new opportunities for companies to invest in. As a matter of fact, the article “Nanotechnology U.K. to make multi-million dollar investment in development” (2003) stated that corporations such as U.K. MicroNanoTechnology Network, Northwest Development Agency, Nanotech NI and Advantage West Midlands have invested millions of dollars to focus on research and to develop this new technology. Since these nanomachines are invisible to the human eye and undetectable to radar, they will attract the government to invest in important fields, such as the military. For instance, the government will be able to use such miniature robots for spying. Pethokoukis (2003) reported that the federal government of the United States has planned spending $847 million on research in 2004. This may seem utopian, but scientists are already capable of managing with microtechnologies such as the creation of a microlaboratory on compact disc (Nanotech microbots, 2003). According to Pethokoukis (2003), we will be able to build robots smaller than 100 nanometers in a decade from now, and the global market involving nanotechnology will be worth a trillion dollars. Governments and companies have already invested three billion dollars while the number of investors will be increasing every year.

On the other hand, if this technology falls into the hands of the wrong person, it could be disastrous; which proves the importance of ethics. Such technology could multiply the fears of genetically modified organisms (UoS, 2003). In other words, every natural thing in life will start to become artificial. Thus this could unbalance our planet into a chaotic world. Today’s internet networks aren’t so secure either. There are many hackers in the web that already caused a lot of havoc. Greenberg (2000) reported that the infamous “Love Bug” virus has caused $10 billion of damage to businesses and individuals. Verton (2002) confirms that there was a man, nicknamed RaFa, who hacked through NASA and downloaded top secret documents. What if an expert hacked into one of the many supercomputers that control the nano-robots? He will be able to create and control everything and he will be tempted to take advantage of the situation. Such threats must be watched very cautiously, or it could destroy the world’s economy.

To sum it up, this new technology affects the world politically, socially and economically, some examples include safe naval space launches and the elimination of famine. However, it brings up some ethical issues such as genetically modified organisms. Both private and crown corporations such as Northwest Development Agency and Nanotech NI are rushing their money into this new opportunity; for example, no more famine and undetectable spying devices. It is inevitable that nanotechnology will definitely be widely used in business one day. The human race will benefit its advantages and be exposed to its threats at the same time. This means we, the citizens and the politicians, must do our part to prepare for this new era. Otherwise, we might be the one suffering the consequences of our own creation.


References
Greenberg, P. A. (May 10, 2000). U.S. mobilizes against future viruses. E-Commerce Times. Retrieved October 6, 2003, from http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/ 3291.html

Merkle, R. C. (1994). Self replicating systems and low cost manufacturing. Zyvex. Retrieved October 22, 2003, from http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/selfRepNATO.html

Nanotechnology; microbots could manipulate cells, operate various medical devices. (2003). Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week, 117. Retrieved September 23, 2003, from ProQuest database.

Nanotechnology; U.K. to make multi-million dollar investment in development. (2003). Biotech Week, 177. Retrieved September 23, 2003, from ProQuest database.

Pethokoukis, J. M. (2003). Is small the next big thing? Nanotechnology is getting the familiar high-tech hype. U.S. News & World Report, 135, 7, 29. Retrieved September 23, 2003, from ProQuest database.

University of Sheffield; report tries to be neutral point in noisy debate. (2003). Biotech Week, 576. Retrieved September 23, 2003, from ProQuest database.

Verton, D. (2002, August 8). NASA investigating hacker theft of sensitive documents. Computerworld. Retrieved October 2, 2003, from http://www.computerworld.com/ securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,73305,00.html