From self-cleaning windows to super energy efficient lighting, nanotechnology is revolutionizing the way we live.

Lighting has been an important aspect of our lives, of our existence.

Due to the awareness that the world is fast running out of fossil fuels and other natural sources of energy, the need for finding green and efficient lighting sources has become even more important.

CFL and LED or light emitting diodes lights are just two of the most common examples of green lighting sources.

However, as technology improves, and newer grounds are covered in science, the use of nanotechnology to further increase the efficiency of LED lighting has started looking more realistic.

LED Lighting

LEDs were first discovered in the 1920s. They are semi-conductors that have the capability to change electricity into light. Once the light switch is turned on, electrons journey through an area with larger numbers to an area with lesser numbers, and release small pools of energy or photons (which is the lowest form of light).

The best part about LED lights is that they don’t release any heat unlike traditional tungsten bulbs.

So also, LED lighting uses only a small percentage of energy as required by regular bulbs and they don’t contain any toxic metals like mercury that are used in CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs. All this makes LED lights efficient, durable, and longer lasting.

LED Lighting Colors

You’ve probably seen LED lighting in colors like blue, green, yellow, and white. The color of the LED lights is dependent on the type of semiconductors used. Red colored LEDs were the first on the scene, followed by orange.

After many years, the most commonly used, blue LED lights used in mobiles, laptops, CD players, and other electronic appliances, were developed. However, the most important of all LED lights are the white LEDs.

There is no such thing as a true white LED. The white LED used is actually blue LED filtered through a coating of yellow phosphorus that emits faux-white light that has a perceptible bluish hue.

Experts believe that if white LEDs are paired with green LEDs, we should be able to get lighting in almost every visible color.

If a high performing green LED light can be developed, it would pave the way for high performing, energy efficient electronic devices like LED TVs, Computer monitors, and many others.

Unfortunately, green LEDs are a lot more difficult to develop than perceived. Ongoing researches in the US are aiming to create LEDs in green color, which would be at par with red/blue LEDs.

Nanotech LED Lighting

As explained above, passing electrons through nano semiconductors, also known as ‘quantum dots,’ emit light which has many applications in fields like biology, computers, medicine, solar heating, and lighting.

Perhaps, that is why there is a huge focus on related R&D and scientists are researching the use of different nanotechnologies to create more energy efficient LEDs.

Companies like Nanosys are using semiconductors of remote phosphorous to develop LEDs that turn blue light into a warmer shade of white that is similar to the currently used traditional white of fluorescent bulbs. The phosphorous used in this experiment is created from ‘nano-materials.’

Since human eyes are hyper-sensitive to the color green, the LEDs have an increased level of green to give us a false sense of brightness, without actually heightening the brightness level of the display.

This helps create an excellent picture quality, but by using only very little energy, making it the primary method to be employed in devices that have display panels.

This is promising news for those following the use of nanotechnology in various fields. With this attempt by Nanosys, the company believes it will be able to design LEDs in just about any color, which is going to be a huge leap forward from the currently used LED displays as well as in other electronic devices that emit stronger hues.

While the company has created many experimental LED bulbs, these LED quantum dots will firstly be used for TV and notebook displays to offer consumer a wider range of colors. However, a larger range of colors may lead to poor battery life, especially in case of laptops etc.

The day when nanocrystals can be ‘painted’ on flat surfaces to create paper-thin displays are not far!

Furthermore, not too far from now, we’ll be able to use LED to paint walls in colors of our choice, rather than actual paint. Yes, truly with use nanotech, life is only going to be more exciting and, dare we say, vibrantly colorful!

Nanotechnology and energy have an important co-relation and scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly to develop newer and exciting technologies that have the ability to significantly improve quality of life globally.

Nanotechnology And Consumer Products

Manufacturers of several consumer products have already begun to develop and harness the immense benefits of nanotechnology to develop consumer products for improved efficiency, better performance, and reducing negative impact on the environment.

Benefits like these are motivating more and more manufacturers to investment finances in the research and development of the applications for their products using nanotech.

Old and new, many companies like BetaBatt, Inc., Oxane Materials etc, have already started using ‘nanomaterials’ to develop as well as improve on existing processes that are being used to trap, store, and transfer energy for use in consumer products.

Nanotechnology And Air Conditioning

The current buzz word in the air conditioning world is “NanoAir.” This revolutionary air treatment method uses nanotechnology to eliminate the need for using common refrigerants like CFC/HCFC that are commonly used by HVAC – heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration – industries.

Since NanoAir is based on harnessing energy using nanoparticles, it doesn’t need cooling/agents like fluorocarbon, thereby cutting down on carbon footprint by more than 50%. Moreover, toxic CO2 emissions are reduced as much as 57%. Once this technology becomes a standard, there’ll only be a huge upside to its use. Consumers will be able to save more, get more comfort, breathe in fresher, cleaner air inside and outside, and generally, enjoy a better quality of life.

NanoAir’s mechanism is based on having separate controls for moisture (humidity) and temperature. This ‘separation’ mechanism is the value proposition of the NanoAir system and studies have determined SEER or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratings of higher than 30, and EER or Energy Efficiency Ratings of around 25 as a result of this method.

NanoAir Requirements

NanoAir spells simplicity, whether it’s the parts, the system, the operation or the design. So much so that the air conditioning unit will be installed at almost the same or lower cost than the current systems. With Dias nanomaterials (Dias is the company working on this project) for internal components, the system will also use regular HVAC parts and a supply of drinkable water. The NanoAir system will contribute heavily to repair the damage caused to the environment as well as increase efficiency.

Benefits of Using Nanotechnology In Air Conditioning

As of 2007, the global air conditioning industry (medium-and-small size) was estimated at around $190 billion. However, the principles of operation were still a century old or as patented by Willis Carrier in the year 1906!

However, use of nanotechnology in HVAC systems has revolutionized the industry. The biggest sources of the depletion of ozone layer are fluorocarbons like CFC and HCFCs. While reducing the use of these gases has been a challenge, successful use and implementation of NanoAir can reduce these harmful emissions to ZERO!

Furthermore, NanoAir can improve the quality of indoor air significantly, leading to healthier lifestyles and higher energy levels and lower number of respiratory diseases like asthma, which cost the US public health department $3.5 billion in 2007 alone.

NanoAir system also produces 30Btu/h of cooling as compared with the current 13Btu/h per W of energy input. This means that while a traditional 3T air conditioning system in a small-sized home requires 2.77kW of electricity, the nanotechnology based air conditioning system of the same size and at the same location would use only 1.2kW of electricity and produce just 1.64lb/hr of CO2 as compared to 3.77lb/hr of CO2 generated now. The impact of this will be seen promptly in form of lower electricity bills and enhanced savings per year.

While NanoAir system is undergoing the first stage or beta testing at the Dais’s Tampa Bay facility, the day when this technology can be implemented on a large scale is not far and saving the environment will no longer just be a dream, but a reality.

It’s easy to start smoking but, as the smokers amongst us know, it’s very difficult to stop.

While all of us are inundated with the horrifying facts about smoking, the truth remains that most smokers simply sweep this information under the carpet, and continue enjoying this habit, even if it means taking a step closer to death with every puff of smoke.

Solid Facts About Smoking

Despite my resolve not to share the gory details about how smoking is affecting the world population at large, and the Americans in specific, I think it’s time we faced some truths.

1.    Did you know that cigarette smoking is the single most known reason for premature deaths in the US and across the globe? Believe it, more than 440,000 Americans die each year due to diseases caused by smoking cigarettes.
2.    The US spends more than $150 billion on health care cases related to smoking alone, every year. This figure is likely to increase year after year.
3.    Did you know that when you puff on a cigarette you breathe in 4, 800 chemicals out of which 69 are responsible for causing cancer?

Chemicals in a cigarette - Image via Wikipedia

4.    It’s not just the men who suffer health consequences from smoke, almost 40% smoking-related deaths happen in women.
5.    Americans spent over $90billion on products containing tobacco in 2006 out of which approx. $84 billion was spent on buying cigarettes, while $3.4 billion was used on cigars and the remaining $2.5 billion was paid towards buying chewing tobacco or smokeless tobacco.
6.    Can you guess how many cigarettes were sold in the US in the year 2009? 315 billion, that’s how many!

Needless to suggest, that smoking is like a virus that is slowing eating away at the country’s economy, the health of its citizens, as well as their well-being.

However, there is hope for those of you who have been trying to stop smoking, but haven’t managed to despite trying all the nicotine patches, gums, and what have you. That ray of hope has come in the form of nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology and Smoking

One of the fields where nanotechnology can contribute the maximum is medicine. This is especially true case of in diseases caused by first hand or second hand smoke, which is also one of the biggest reasons for early mortality in developed and developing countries.

The main culprit is tobacco tar that reduces the lifespan of the smoker. However, now with the help of nanotechnology, it may be possible to remove tobacco tar from a smoker’s lungs, helping him/her live a higher and longer life.

Nanotechnology is a technology that uses very tiny particles like 1 billionth of a meter in size. Nanometer is the scale used to measure these particles and to make it easier to understand, let me give you an example. 1 nanometer or nm = 3 atoms (approximately). Clearly nanotechnology has the capability to manipulate elements (energy etc) at the level of molecules quite successfully.

Due to its versatility, nanotech can be used for many things but, its applications in the field of medicine would be most useful to the world. Also known as ‘nanomedicine,’ this breakthrough will especially play an important role in treating diseases that the doctors have not been able to treat previously. And one such application would be to remove the tobacco tar from a smoker’s lungs.

Cigarette tar is a compound of chemicals that is created when a cigarette is lit. This compound contains hundreds of organic as well as harmful inorganic chemicals known to be very harmful for our bodies like ‘benzopyrene’ and ‘vinyl chloride.’ These inorganic chemicals are also called ‘carcinogens.’

Over the years, as you smoke, these chemicals form a coating inside your lungs along with the tobacco tar and cause diseases ranging from cancers like lung (affects 90% smokers), mouth, and esophageal, to Atherosclerossis or stiffening of arteries, to Coronary Thrombosis (blood clots in vessels carrying blood to the heart), to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD (insufficient airflow leading to breathing difficulty) etc.

Now it is a known fact that smoking causes certain types of cancers and the most common of them all is lung cancer. However, with there being a 20 years window (from the time you start smoking to the time you are likely to develop cancer) the use of nanotechnology to remove cigarette tar could well be the vital link to help people stop smoking.

Why is this viable proposition? Simply because lungs have the ability to self- clean. And once the tar is removed from the smoker’s body, the effects of the cleaning process will be visible in a few days. That being said a smoker’s lungs may require 10-15 years to become pink once again.

So, I’d like to say that if by using nanotechnology doctors can remove tar from the lungs of chronic smokers, it would be a major breakthrough in prevention of the occurrence of the ‘king of maladies.’ Are you willing to use nanotechnology for your own good?

Due to blurred definition of applied nanotechnology in terms of production procedures and ingredients, as well as due to loose regulatory and safety control systems, is the current scope and scale of nano-based personal care and cosmetics products only a wild guess.

However, one such estimation shows there is currently around 1000 personal care and cosmetics products on the global market that are nano-based.

While nanotechnology is widely applied and marketed in certain groups of cosmetic products such as sunscreens, anti-aging skin care and hair care products, much less is known about nanotechnology in perfumes; their production and application.

Applications of Nanotechnology in Perfumes

Currently known applications of nanotechnology in perfume production and application are predominantly based on nano-encapsulation methods (coating of nanoparticles with different substances):

1. Production of perfume (aroma) compounds. Application of nanotechnology enables reduction of costs of perfume compounds manufacture, while at the same time making it possible to produce purer and completely natural perfume compounds.

This can be achieved by using nanoparticles such as gold-palladium that can replace expensive and potentially toxic reagents that promote oxidation of aromatic primary alcohols to aldehydes, which is one of the crucial processes in the perfume production.

Another nano-encapsulation procedure proposes the use of nanoparticles coated in natural enzymes in the process of manufacturing expensive perfume compounds. There are no unwanted or harmful residuals.

Further, the acquired scent compounds are of higher purity and can be labeled as completely natural since they are derived from reaction catalyzed by enzymes from natural organisms. This procedure could replace expensive extraction of perfume compounds from natural materials or their expensive purely chemical synthesis.

2. Time-controlled and prolonged release of scents. Nano-encapsulation (nano-delivery systems) can also help improve the attributes and performance (durability, stability) of substances such as fragrances that can be negatively affected by changed conditions of the environment (light, air). Application of nano-encapsulation in fragrance products enables more efficient (prolonged) and time-controlled release of the scents.

This can be used in the manufacture of more durable fragrance samples used for marketing purposes, in textile and accessories fashion (e.g., embedding perfume into textiles, shoes, jewelry) and other materials (e.g., ceramics, baby dippers). Release of scents can be time-controlled by stimuli such as diffusion, pressure or temperature sensitivity.

3. Use of nano-encapsulation procedures in development of ‘nanotechnology electronic noses’ (replication of human olfactory sense) promises detection and absorption of variety of odors, which could be used in detection and absorption of unwanted or hazardous odors (e.g., carbon monoxide).

Further, this could facilitate electronic sampling and testing of fragrance products, thus reducing the costs of fragrance and fragrance products development, and it could even enable development of artificial noses for people who lost the sense of smell.

Recently, one type of electronic appliances in this direction, nano perfume ejectors, has been put on market. They are designed to mix nanoparticles with perfume and / or water particles and enable sterilization of air, absorption of unpleasant and release of pleasant odors.

Considering the wide range of places where it could be used (e.g., homes, hospitals, public places) this type of nano-appliances undoubtedly has a bright commercial future.

Potential Risks of Nano-based Perfumes

The main concerns of using nanotechnology in perfumes as in all personal care and cosmetics products are connected to potential human health and environment hazards.

Concerns regarding human health got louder after it has been discovered that it is possible for some nanoparticles to cross the natural blood-brain barrier and that they can lethally damage living cells. Nanoparticles can enter the human bodies in many different ways; nanoparticles from nano-based fragrance products for example through skin and inhalation.

Due to their small size, nanoparticles are extremely mobile once they enter the body and it is feared to what extent they can penetrate naturally selective barriers in the living cells, which could result in toxic or even lethal consequences. Using nano-based fragrance products could thus implicate a variety of negative health consequences, such as severe damages of DNA, chromosomes and immune system, toxic accumulation in tissues and organs (e.g., lungs, brain), interference with vital processes and mechanisms.

This is all due to the fact that nano-scaled particles tend to develop properties which can not be assigned completely to their chemical nature. Their properties and behaviour when interacting with other (living) substances and processes are not yet researched in sufficient detail to enable prediction and avoidance of possible negative consequences for human health.

Another concern the application of nano-based fragrance products raises is connected to potential environmental hazards. Scarce information about conducted environmental impact assessments is available regarding the possible impacts of spreading nanoparticles into the environment during the life cycle of nano-based fragrance products.

Parallels and environmental hazard warnings are drawn similar as in the case of introducing genetically modified organisms, nuclear energy and use of asbestos in construction.

Up until recently majority of nano-based cosmetic products entered the global market without sufficient safety and risk assessments conducted and transparent product labeling. The producers of nano-based (cosmetics) products advocated this by declaring nano-scaled ingredients to be chemically and thus safety-wise identical to bigger-sized particles of the same substance.

However, concerned public, NGOs and even governmental bodies have in the last years intensified their calls to set up tighter regulatory systems that would more efficiently control the production, risk assessment, handling and labeling of nano-based (cosmetics) products and that would also apply the so called ‘precautionary principle’ already widely applied for the newly introduced medications.

Nanotechnology in Perfumes: High Tech of Small That Serves Giant Thrills with Giant Threats

As with any novel cutting edge technology that promises unprecedented benefits and solutions to the existing problems, the same should hold also for the nanotechnology applied in perfumes: ‘curb your enthusiasm’. In order to avoid unwanted effects on human health and environment, tighter and more efficient regulative rules regarding the manufacture, handling and labeling of nano-based fragrance products need to be enforced as soon as possible.

Considering the vast scale and scope at which consumers are directly exposed to fragrance products daily (e.g., perfumes, deodorants, home fragrances), the unwanted health and environmental consequences of smelling nano could be of unimaginable magnitude in the longer term.

Cosmetics and fragrance industry giants, such as L’Oreal and Coty, are heavily investing in nanotechnological research, therefore further nanotechnological leaps in the way perfumes and related products are produced and applied can be expected in the very near future. But if the perfume industry wants healthy returning customers, they need to build consumer confidence regarding the safety of using nano-based perfumes.

This could be achieved by conducting rigorous risk assessments and by providing an efficient labeling and consumer information system. Feared or factually proven negative health impacts of using such mass-products as perfumes, could stigmatize the public image and consequently investments into R&D of nanotechnology as whole.

So, the next time you smell, let’s say the newest Chanel women’s perfume, ask yourself, do you smell nano-future? And if you do, will you want to – know?

When you talk about nanoparticles, you may begin to visualize those little robots that a certain cartoon character developed to help him with certain tasks and deeds. These are nano-bots and are not what scientists in universities in Mexico have developed in order to help clean water of toxic substances in less than an hour.

How this happens seems to need the power of the sun or of ultraviolet light to complete the purification process. What the researchers in these universities used was titanium oxide nanoparticles that have been made to adhere to glass with the use of heat.

Once water in these glass containers that have been treated with these nanoparticles is hit by sunlight or by UV rays, the water is then purified.

This same concept is actually being used by certain companies who purify water but not as their main water purification mode. Instead, the use of nanoparticles for purification is a secondary method used with other water purification methods to further remove toxins and dirt from water.

What these companies do is to add porous nanoparticles to water-purifying membranes to help increase their water purification efficiency and to enhance productivity without compromising quality. This method is often seen as doubly effective as current water purification methods and would help with increasing volume while reducing energy requirements.

This new idea for purifying water is paired off with reverse osmosis and is seen as the new solution to the ever-increasing need for clean drinking water in a time when water supplies are fast disappearing. This new technology for making fresh water can be used with desalination and can make fresh water out of saltwater faster and with the use of less energy.

This may seem too good to be true since saltwater has seldom been purified with the use of membranes like the one used in reverse osmosis due to the energy needs that are required by such an action.

The use of nanoparticles in this equation seems to not only help purify water effectively by removing the toxins that can be found in the water being cleaned, it also helps increase the production of clean water due to the water-attracting or hydrophilic properties that this membrane now has due to these nanoparticles.

While this may seem way too idealistic, the company that seems to have developed this technology is set to put out their water purification system for commercial use in the coming year. Sounds too good to be true? Probably, but imagine if this produces what it says it can produce.

You will be able to solve the water pollution problem that a lot of countries around the world are experiencing—and all you will need is this new nanoparticle water purification system and a salt water source and you have water that you can drink safely.

Many people have never even heard of this cutting-edge science, but it’s quite simple: nanotechnology studies and modifies elements at the particle level, so it can be applied to almost anything you can imagine. And when you apply it to mattresses, you get an extremely pleasant result.

Scientists at the University of Florida and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a mattress built on flexible nano-engineered carbon microtubes. In form and appearance this material will basically resemble foam.

The two schools published their findings in Journal Science in 2006 and essentially revealed that by using nanotechnology they were able to create a thin film of multiwalled carbon tubes. These tubes were then combined into large groups to create the foam-like structure, which behaves quite similarly to the famous memory foam employed by high-end luxury companies like Tempur-Pedic.

There is one key difference: nanotube foam recovers its shape much faster than conventional foam and doesn’t collapse or fracture under weight. Thanks to some brilliant engineers, the nano-foam is able to compress to approximately one-sixth of its normal size and still rebound completely as if it had never been compressed.

Researchers have even taken cosmetic appearance into consideration. They have designed and patented small fibers known as “nano-whiskers” that measure only 1/1000th the width of a human hair. These are then attached to the individual fibers that make up fabric.

They act as a protective shield over the fabric because substances bead up and wick off the whiskers before they ever get through to the fabric itself, thereby allowing it to repel stains. Almost every mattress manufacturer who produces the memory foam mattress also equips the fabric surface of that mattress with nano-whiskers so that the mattress is not only softer and more comfortable for your body, but also easier to clean.

Some companies don’t produce mattresses that are completely composed of nano-foam, but almost every serious contender in the mattress industry is now providing at least one model that incorporates nano-foam elements in one way or another. They are tapping into the technology that will revolutionize our generation: nano-materials can “do it themselves.”

We are already beginning to see Eddie Bauer khakis that can’t be stained, shirts that “eat” odors or self-clean, and household cleaning chemicals that require only a quick spray-on application and then keep surfaces clean for weeks. And, of course, the nano-mattress, which is made of the same molecularly engineered carbon tubules that NASA plans to use for its infamous space elevator.

NASA needed a material that was strong enough yet also light enough to handle the forces that would assail a cable strung from Earth into space orbit, and out of all the available materials at their disposal they chose nano-carbon tubules, the same substance used in a nano-foam mattress.

The more you learn about nano-mattresses, the more you want to replace your creaky old innerspring. And if you find out more about that old innerspring mattress you’ll become even more eager to update.

The traditional innerspring mattress uses what is known as a “Bonnell coil,” which was directly adapted from late-19th century buggy seats. It has almost nothing to do with the human body and sometimes causes adverse effects, as anyone who’s ever woken up with a sore back can attest.

But now you have miraculous modern materials like nano-foam, which can resist stains, conform to your body more effectively than any other substance, and won’t tear, collapse, or indent.

All of this is remarkable, but it’s even more impressive when you consider how much comfort the researchers were able to achieve using such a limited amount of material. The nano-foam ratio they developed for use in these mattresses is 85% air, giving new meanings to the phrases “Lighter than air,” and “Less is more.”

When you crush a traditional innerspring mattress during testing, each of the coils reacts individually—this means that as the weight of your body pushes on such a mattress, you will have an uneven surface putting stress on your joints and muscles. Nano-foam fixes these issues because each of its tiny tubes moves in unison with the others.

During its crushing test it showed unanimous movement throughout the mattress body, which translates directly into comfort that conforms to your every move.

These nano-materials, with their unprecedented levels of springiness and luxury, are also extremely strong. Researchers are continuing to find varied uses for this wonderfully versatile new foam, including high-tech cushioning pads, energy-absorbent coatings, and various accessories that will probably be used by NASA in space-flight.

This harks back to tempur, also known as memory foam. Tempur revolutionized the way people sleep when it was introduced into the public market back in the late 90’s. Looking at how memory foam has so drastically and positively affected our quality of life gives you some idea of the incredible nature of nano-foam, which is basically the new tempur.

Nanotechnology has effectively outdated memory foam in the same way that memory foam outdated the innerspring, all thanks to some brilliant scientists. And after all, I don’t know about you, but those are the people I want working on my mattress.

Nanotechnologists are now saying that they have produced “self-cleaning” products that, when applied to typical household surfaces, simply make the dirt disappear.

Nanotechnology cleaning has several branches and functions in many different ways, but just a few of them are:

Self-cleaning fabrics. Fashionistas, rejoice! Australian researchers have discovered that a thin layer of titanium dioxide nanoparticles will immediately “eat” any stain. This could revolutionize the clothing industry.

So far they’ve only tried this technique on wool and silk, but don’t worry—eventually they’ll get around to all your favorite fabrics.

Cleansing films. These chemical treatments are applied (usually sprayed) onto smooth surfaces that tend to accumulate a lot of grime.

This makes them perfect for the kitchen or bathroom. After being sprayed, the nanotechnology in the chemical breaks down dirt at a molecular level, so that if left on long enough it will completely dissolve. If left to work only a small amount of time, it will at least make the grime easy to wipe off.

One of these films uses titanium oxide nanoparticles as its main ingredient. Titanium oxide is known as a “photocatalyst” because it has the ability to turn ordinary light into energy, and then uses that energy source to kill harmful bacteria. When you use this nano-spray, it literally eats the dirt right off of anything you spray it onto.

This form of nanotechnology cleaning has also been modified to create a super-effective window cleaner. Nanotechnologists have customized the molecular characteristics of thin polymer layers, making a product that you can quickly and easily apply to glass surfaces from your kitchen window to your car’s windshield.

Many people enjoy using it on their windshield because it has long-lasting water repellant properties. This not only makes the windshield easier to keep clean, but also makes driving in the rain much safer.

Nanoparticle soaps. When nanoparticles—or in other words small amounts of a chemical whose structure is based on nanotechnology, are placed within a regular hand soap, they greatly increase the efficiency of the soap.

This is great news for the environment, since nanoparticles can replace other chemicals with harmful byproducts. It also increases the natural efficiency of hand soap to keep your hands clean, making this a win-win situation from many angles.

Silver nanoparticles. This one is still in question because there is some concern that small particles of silver may damage helpful bacteria if they find their way into the water systems, as they inevitably will if used for cleaning purposes.

On the other hand, their antibacterial properties make them great cleaning agents when it comes to the gunk on your counters and floors. Elemental silver naturally kills off harmful bacteria.

Super washing machines. Companies like Samsung have used nanotechnology cleaning to revolutionize the way we clean clothes.

During the wash and rinse cycles, their machines electrolyze silver particles to produce over 400 billion silver ions. These ions penetrate and permeate the clothing inside the washing machine, giving it a deep-clean at the molecular level.

Not only this, but the nano-silver provides a lasting layer of sterilization that eliminates 99.99% of household bacteria on your clothing for up to 30 days. And perhaps best of all for mothers is that it automatically keeps the washing machine clean.

The silver nanoparticles disinfect every little nook and cranny of the washer’s insides. Samsung is also developing a similar product that will keep your refrigerator clean and free of bacteria.

Below is a list of  other household cleaning products that are currently in development:

Altimate Enviorcare. This spray-on film is packed full of titanium oxide nanoparticles and not only kills bacteria, but also eliminates odors.

EnviroSan Products. This line of cleaning products replaces harmful substances with more environmentally-friendly nanoparticles called “micelles,” which remove grease and dirt with unparalleled efficiency.

Nanofilm. As the name suggests, this one is also a liquid film. It uses polymer molecules that bond to glass surfaces like your windshield, protecting it with a thin, strong shield that repels dirt and water. This means that your windshield will self-clean for weeks before another application is needed.

Nanotec.Similar to Nanofilm, but with a more all-purpose application. It can be sprayed on most smooth surfaces and not only cleans the dirt off them, but leaves behind a hydrophobic layer of nanoparticles that repel water and dirt.

Although these miraculous nanotechnology cleaning products are still in their experimental stages, within as little as five years we may find them becoming a central part of our everyday lives. Already there are a handful of everyday cleaning products being developed.

However, the ramifications of this technology will go beyond your living room, although they are useful around the house. Nanotechnology is keeping everything clean, from cars to windows to historical monuments.

Certain important buildings in Rome and Tokyo have already been given a liberal coat of self-cleaning spray to keep grime and dirt from accumulating.

Nanotechnology also creates a positive solution for pollution. The future of nanotechnology is bright, there are endless possibilities, could we invent a substance that eats garbage, who knows ! ? Scientists are conducting research  products of this nature.

Researchers at the University of South Australia’s Ian Wark Research Institute have found a way to purify drinking water with nanotechnology, something that is increasingly crucial in today’s world. Poor-quality drinking water continues to be a dangerous health issue for the majority of the earth’s population.

However, researchers Peter Majewski and Chiu Ping Chan discovered that by coating silica particles with a thin layer of hydrocarbon-based active material and releasing them into major water systems, they can remove bacteria, viruses, and toxic chemicals from water to make it safe for human consumption.

These Surface Engineered Silica, or SES, were mixed into the water for an hour and then strained out. After its nanotechnology treatment the previously contaminated water was found to be completely free of pathogens.

Back from Nanotechnology Cleaning To Nanogloss.com – Home

Of course, this is not the case and as we start to understand what nanotubes are used for, we start to understand the potential of this particular science.

One of the most impressive and potentially life changing potential for the use of nanotubes is the ability to help the human body transmit nerve signals where there was previous damage.

When the spinal cord receive trauma, the brain and the body are often cut off from each other by the lack of nerve signal transmission along the spinal cord. Nanotubes have actually been proven to be able to correct this problem in some patients.

Nanotubes are actuall stronger than steel by about one hundred times. Additionally, nanotubes are a fantastic electricity conductor, outperforming copper and silicone.

When nanotubes are used as semiconductor chips their potential is actually limitless. Their strength and their ability to conduct electricity make them prime options for medical advancement, space exploration, undersea exploration, and even computer advancement. The carbon nanotube could one day become the basis of all sciences.

Medical science has been able to see the potential for medical advancement. Paralysis and neurological diseases could be treated and even cured with the nanotube. Once carbon nanotubes are created for nerve cell transmission, the potential for human cell growth on the surface makes nanotube therapies a prime choice for all of medical science to continue to explore.

There is promising research that indicates that the cure for cancer could lay in the hands of nanoscience. Since the nanotubes’ surfaces allow for the growth of human cells, the hope is that the nanotubes could be injected into cancer patients with pinpoint accuracy and the cancer cells could be destroyed while noncancerous cells would be encouraged to grow on the nanotubes’ surfaces.

This technology has not been perfected yet but the hope that the technology will one day eradicate cancer. This hope is thus far the most promising that medical science has ever witnessed.

Those who suffer from diseases and ailments like chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, and even depression may very well also be helped by the use of nanotubes. By creating the nanotubes to conduct specific nerve impulses, the altered nerve impulses that can cause the symptoms of these diseases can be over ridden.

Those who are opposed to stem cell research believe often have cited that there has been drastic improvements in the research that nanotubes present. It could have the same effect with the ability to engineer them for specific nerve cell signals.

This may one day turn out the be more productive and promising than stem cell research, which are clean human cells that can be injected and grow into the appropriate human cells that are needed to quiet the symptoms of the disease.

Some nanoscientists are creating carbon nanotubes to actually record the perpetual cell activity in the human body. This would mean that the nanotubes would have the capacity to “understand” what the human cells are doing, record the information, and then respond appropriately.

This means that we have the technology to direct the nanotubes to respond to human cells in different ways, which would allow us to direct the nanotubes to address diseases on the cellular level. The potential to treat almost any disease exists with the use of nanotubes.

Nanotube research is not as well known as other forms of medical research, but it holds great promise. It is vital that the communities that will one day implement this science continue to increase their education regarding nanotechnology and all possible applications of nanotubes.

Nanotubes are now being coated to increase their ability to respond to nerve cell direction, they are being tested on human cancer cells and even worms.

They are being specifically created for various disease relief. While the science and the technology has not received much media attention (most likely because it is not controversial) there are some human trials taking place around the world to attempt to prove that this is the next viable treatment options for many medical problems.

Back from What Are The Nanotubes Used For to Nanogloss.com – Home

While originally nanotubes were a highly rare commodity to the point where the first nanotubes were discounted as nanotubes for not meeting the width requirements, today it is a very different story.

Now, nanoscientists can order up premade carbon nanotubes in order to shorten their time in the cultivation stage and spend more energy in the application effort.

In 1996, Rice University studies successfully developed a rapid production of the single walled nanotubes. This has allowed scientists to simply submit an order and receive the necessary raw materials for creating new and improved scientific strides.

The ordered nanotubes are created through a process of laser vaporization. The laser vaporizing process targets the carbon particles and is confined to a 1200 degree Celsius furnace that in effect “grows” the nanotubes.

There is a specific catalyst of cobalt nickel is part of the growth process. The idea is that the cobalt nickel helps the growth process by preventing the capping of the nanotubes so that they have the opportunity to grow into long tubes in a short period of time. The carbon that is targeted this way can be manufactured into nanotubes between 70 and 90% of the attempts.

Two separate laser pulses are effective at helping the growth continue over longer periods of time, which helps produce larger nanotubes in a shorter period of time. It is vital that the growth process is controlled in order to maintain some sort of uniformity in the manufactured nanotubes.

This is important when it comes to scientific research. Research is naturally more effective when the nanotubes are the same size and width for the project.

The nanotubes are then removed from the superheated furnace via a constant flow of argon gas that ushers the nanotubes directly into a cooling chamber in a copper nanotube collector that is cooled by water. This stabilizes the process and gets the microscopic tubes ready to be delivered to the scientists in need of the tubes for experimentation and application.

A few years later, the University of Montpellier, France amended the process of how nanotubes are made. The production of nanotubes were based on the same need, but the process of manufacturing them was altered in an attempt to get the orders filled with more accuracy in less time.

Ionized carbon is still targeted and the superheating of the discharge has been shown to grow nanotubes in a controlled and quick manner.

There are many other scientific groups that are now altering the original two methods and using them in combination to mass produce carbon nanotubes for scientific experimentation.

With the increase in demand, many different collaborative efforts (even internationally) are merging to attempt to continuously improve the quality, accuracy, and uniformity of carbon nanotube production.

Back from How Are Nanotubes Made to Nanogloss.com – Home

While most applications for nanotubes are still quite futuristic, the progress in this relatively young science has been astonishing. The 1990s and the early part of the 21st century has proven to be a continuous developmental promise for the applications of carbon nanotubes.

Nanotubes are a round connection of atoms that create one of three distinctive patterns, capped at the ends by fullerene molecules. These tubes can be manipulated with care to conduct electricity and to withstand very great stresses.

The nanotubes are stronger than steel and can be directed to take on specific human cell or be used to create special coatings for the quantum wires that can be used for a host of potential applications of nanotechnology.

While the idea of materialization is still rather far from our current reality, but this could essentially become another application for nanotubes, nanotechnology, and the high tech communications that would be necessary for such an event. The idea is that nanotechnology could potentially dispense with the need for a monetary system.

With materialization, high tech machines would allow people to simply push a button for their daily needs. The molecular structure of the item would be completed by the machines that are in each home. With this sort of immediate response system, there would be no need for money in our society for daily items.

The idea might seem far fetched and even in the realm of science fiction, but the potential is there as one of the many applications of nanotubes.

Nanotubes are very good at conducting communicative impulses, whether in the body or through technological devices. With the creation of special coatings for the nanotubes, the science may very well give sight to the blind, sound to the hearing impaired, and motion to the paralyzed.

Medically speaking we could soon find a new field of specialty known as nanosurgery. In these procedures, cancer cells or other diseased cells could be eradicated from the body and then replaced by engineered nanotubes that are ready to redevelop the diseased cells with healthy impulses.

It is speculated that the application of nanotubes in medical procedures are likely to completely change the way illness and injury are handled.

Ecologically speaking, nanotubes can change the way we perform ecological research. With the nanotubes, we can create very tiny chips that can record and transmit information that is vital to understanding the way the creatures within the environment are being affected by the changing world.

Through these observations, we can then determine the best way to coexist with the natural world while understanding the impact on ecology we have all the way down to insects and fauna.

The purpose of nanotubes is to potentially help with understanding the realm of space. Scientists can create computers that are crafted from particles and wires that are as small as human cells.

This would mean that we would be able to send these ultra tiny communication devices farther into space.

Since the nanotube is about 100 times stronger than steel, the chances of it making back to Earth despite the atmospheric conditions are probable. Scientists could then download or track the information from these tiny computer devices in order to know what lays beyond the limits of human exploration of space.

As the science of nanotechnology progresses the applications for nanotechnology will grow and expand. Many nano scientists believe that there will be no limits to the power of progress that nanotubes will introduce to the world over the next fifty years.

Because this science is so young, it is almost impossible to predict just how much something that measures one tenth the width of a human hair will be able to change our world and improve our living conditions.

Everything from ultra smart nano robots to changes in the health care options patients have, and even the potential to engineer our children to be smarter and faster people could be the result of finding new applications for nanotubes.

This exciting science is just getting started and the next ten years will start to really open up the true realm of possibilities and we’ll definitely find different purposes of carbon nanotubes that we haven’t even considered yet.

Back from Applications of Nanotubes to Nanogloss.com – Home