• Question: what is nanoscience ?? and why is it important to teenagers

    Asked by holliedollie to Arlene, Colin, David, Eugene, Paul on 10 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by phantom.
    • Photo: Paul Higgins

      Paul Higgins answered on 10 Nov 2012:

      Nanoscience is the study of matter on the scale of ~micrometers-nanometers (0.000001 to 0.000000001 meters). A single atom is about a tenth of a nanometer! On this scale, edges don’t look sharp and objects don’t look as solid- everything gets a bit fuzzy, and physics doesn’t work the same. This is because quantum mechanics starts to take over. Nanoscience is extremely important for teenagers (how many teenagers use smart phones?). The touch screens on smartphones use nanoscience to work (when you push on them the electrical conductance changes so the phone knows that you are pushing on it). Also, some day we might build a quantum computer! And we will have to use nanoscience to do so. So, sooner or later teenagers will have quantum computers in their phones and gadgets…

    • Photo: David McKeown

      David McKeown answered on 11 Nov 2012:

      I think Physicists here will be better at answering than me. But it is the science of tiny things. Think of something tiny. Now something smaller. No, smaller than that …. SMALLER …O.k 🙂 that is the scale of nano science. Things are small, they act strangely and have great properties. Loads of cool stuff will be made from nano materials in the future, some people even say an elevator into space.

Comments

  • Arlene O Neill commented on :

    Nanoscience is just one field of science. Its a very special field that will really revolutionise our world! 1nm is 100,000 times smaller than a single strand of hair. At this tiny scale, light can no longer see objects so they are completely invisible to the human eye. However, although they are invisible they have super and unique properties, better than anything every discovered before for example, they are the strongest and most conductive materials ever discovered.
    Nanoscience is especially important to teenagers because this technology will be involved in almost every aspect of their world in the future from their clothes, to their home, to their medicine, to their laptop which can be rolled up in your pocket! Very exciting times lie ahead and nanoscience is what is making this become a reality