Week 8

Nano Scale

Practical Nanotechnology 

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. It was first referred to as the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products. ‘Scientists knew that matter existed on the nano scale but were unable to analyze it through microscopes. In 1981, scientists at the IBM laboratories in Zürich, Switzerland, invented the Scanning Tunneling Microscope, which looked at the topography of atoms that previously could not be seen. This breakthrough marked a paradigm shift in how scientists analyze minuscule matter, allowing them to record shape by tactile sensing instead of viewing it, much like a blind man reading Braille, only on the atomic scale.’  

Now, nanotechnology is used in so many things that intersect with art on an nanoscale.

Sports Wear

Norio Taniguchi, who coined the term ‘nanotechnology’, first talked about thin filaments deposited on things, like glare reduction on lenses. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles are widely used in sports wear, featuring an antimicrobial effect that keeps it from smelling or accumulating bacteria. It keeps food lasting longer and is used in food packaging of consumer products. It is also used in biomimicry, quantum dots, nanomedicine, nano photonics, cosmetics, self-cleaning coatings, and nanoclay in tennis balls and plastic beer bottles. I have never thought about how much technology goes into making a tennis ball, but on the nano scale, the fibers help keep it inflated for longer.

Tennis Ball

We are exposed to nanotechnology in many ways and have been using it for quite a while. For example, in old stain glass, beautiful, richer colors are achieved using nanoparticles. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, pottery containing copper and silver nanoparticles created beautiful colorations and designs that we not due to glazing. In the daylight this cup looks green but when illuminated from the inside it appears red because the Romans used nanosized gold particles. It doesn’t actually look like gold and thus has special properties that exemplify nanotechnology used in art in 400 AD. 

 

 

Roman cups

Pottery and nanoparticles

The characteristics of nanotechnology can also be seen in beautiful seashells, trees, weather patterns, cloud formations, bird formations, and snowflakes. Its chemical and physical properties allow it to form specific pattern and ripple effects in petri dishes as well. In morphogenic processes, a belousov reaction creates a chemical response where colored patterns move and interact with each other in an artistic way.

 

Petri Dish

However, it's most fascinating properties are shown in the application to cosmetics because it combines scientific mechanisms with health concerns and the beauty industry. The applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials can be found in many cosmetic products including moisturisers, hair care products, make up and sunscreen. In sunscreens, zinc and titanium are “micronized”, making them transparent, less greasy, less smelly and more absorbable into the skin. Nanoemulsions in hair products encapsulate active ingredients and carry them deeper into the hair shafts. L’Oreal (which ranks No. 6 in nanotechnology patent holders in the U.S.) has used polymer nanocapsules to deliver active ingredients, like retinol and Vitamin A, into deeper layers of the skin. In 1998, they unveiled Plentitude Revitalift- an anti-wrinkle cream using nanoparticles. It just goes to show how much nanotechnology is immersed in our everyday lives. 

Cosmetics

Works Cited:

"Nanotech Jim Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7jM6-iqzzE>.

N.d. Photograph. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/id1360.jpg>.

"Nanotechnology in Cosmetics." Nanotechnology in Cosmetics. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-in-cosmetics.php>.

"What Is Nanotechnology?" Where Nature & Nano Technology Unite: Sella All Natural Skincare. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.stylechicago.com/Category.asp?ID=19293>.

Tennis Ball, Http://i.forbesimg.com/images/2003/12/29/tenninsball_250x155.jpg. Personal photograph by author. 2013.

"Nanotech Jim Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HCNiU_108>.

YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

"Nanotech Jim Pt4." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHCuZetAIhk>.

"Nanotech Jim Pt5." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OWc8nmHJmY>.

"Can Art Make Nanotechnology Easier to Understand?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1223_031223_nanotechnology.html>.