Nanotechnology for dummies

Richard D. Booker, Earl Boysen9780471776963, 9780764583681, 0764583689

This title demystifies the topic for investors, business executives, and anyone interested in how molecule-sized machines and processes can transform our lives. Along with dispelling common myths, it covers nanotechnology’s origins, how it will affect various industries, and the limitations it can overcome. This handy book also presents numerous applications such as scratch-proof glass, corrosion resistant paints, stain-free clothing, glare-reducing eyeglass coatings, drug delivery systems, medical diagnostic tools, burn and wound dressings, sugar-cube-sized computers, mini-portable power generators, even longer-lasting tennis balls, and more. Nanotechnology is the science of matter at the scale of one-billionth of a meter or 1/75,000th the size of a human hair Written in the accessible, humorous For Dummies style, this book demystifies nanotechnology for investors, business people, and anyone else interested in how molecule-sized machines and processes will soon transform our lives Investment in nanotechnology is exploding, with $3.7 billion in nanotechnology R&D spending authorized by the U.S. government in 2003 and international investment reported at over $2 billion

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Table of contents :
Nanotechnology For Dummies……Page 6
About the Authors……Page 8
Dedication……Page 10
Authors’ Acknowledgments……Page 12
Contents at a Glance……Page 14
Table of Contents……Page 16
Why Buy This Book?……Page 22
Foolish Assumptions……Page 23
How This Book Is Organized……Page 24
Icons Used in This Book……Page 25
Going Online……Page 26
Part I: Getting Small with Nanotechnology……Page 28
Grasping the Essence of Nanotechnology……Page 30
Getting a (Small) Piece of Nanotechnology for Yourself……Page 42
Going from Lab to Factory to Home……Page 50
Jumping Over the Hurdles……Page 54
Looking at Ethics and Society……Page 55
That Bit of Chemistry and Physics You Just Have to Know……Page 60
Picking Apart Objects with Spectroscopy……Page 72
Seeing Molecules with Microscopy……Page 74
Moving the World with Nanomanipulators……Page 80
Part II: Building a Better World with Nanomaterials……Page 84
It All Starts with Carbon……Page 86
How Carbon-Based Things Relate to Nanotechnology……Page 87
Bouncing Buckyballs……Page 90
Buckyballs Grow Up to Become Nanotubes……Page 94
Getting Wired with Nanowires……Page 101
Compose This!……Page 104
One Word: Plastics……Page 105
Lightening the Load with Nanofibers……Page 116
Raising the Bar with Smart Materials……Page 125
Part III: “Smarter” Computers! Faster Internet! Cheaper Energy!……Page 136
Chapter 6: Building a Better Digital Brain……Page 138
Linking the Brain with the Computer……Page 139
And Fast Is Good Because . . . ?……Page 140
End of the Transistor Road……Page 141
Does a Nano-Size Elephant Ever Forget?……Page 157
Quantum Leaping (Oh, Boy . . . )……Page 172
Chapter 7: Routing Information at the Speed of Light……Page 182
Manipulating Light with Crystals……Page 183
Magic with Mirrors……Page 194
Lighting Up Tomorrow……Page 204
Sensing Your Environment……Page 208
Mechanizing the Micro World……Page 211
The Energy Challenge……Page 222
Using Nanotechnology to Make Solar Cells Affordable……Page 223
Making Hydrogen Fuel Cells……Page 225
Using Nanotechnology to Energize Batteries……Page 231
Using Nanotechnology to Reduce Energy Consumption……Page 232
How Nanotechnology Can Help Our Environment……Page 234
Part IV: Living Healthier Lives……Page 240
Chapter 10: Diagnosing Personal Health Quickly, Easily, and Pain-Free……Page 242
Lab-on-a-Chip……Page 243
Super X-Ray Vision……Page 260
Mapping Our Genes……Page 263
Chapter 11: The Fantastic Voyage into Medical Applications……Page 270
Understanding How Pharmaceutical Companies Develop Drugs……Page 271
Delivering a New Drug the Nanotech Way……Page 272
Cooking Cancer with Nanoshells……Page 282
Biomimetics……Page 289
Part V: Investing in Nanotech……Page 300
Semiconductor Types Are Completely into Nano……Page 302
Mining the Medical Possibilities of Nanotechnology……Page 304
Making Better Materials from Tires to Clothing……Page 305
Making Nanotech Materials for Others……Page 306
Designing for Small with Software……Page 307
Testing Things……Page 308
Fueling Energy with Nano……Page 309
Making Up with Nanotechnology……Page 310
Showing Nano-Initiative, U. S. Government Style……Page 312
Nano in the Lab……Page 315
U. S. State and Regional Initiatives……Page 317
Euro Nano……Page 319
Jumping on the Bandwagon: Asia……Page 321
Nano Is Going Over Big Time in Israel……Page 323
Harvard . . . of course……Page 326
Small as Rice……Page 327
“And Perhaps Cornell?”……Page 328
Nano House on the Prairie: Northwestern University……Page 330
Small Progress at Rennsselaer……Page 331
Made in Japan: University of Tokyo……Page 332
Educating Yourself in Nano……Page 333
And a Whole Bunch More . . …….Page 335
Part VI: The Part of Tens……Page 338
Richard Smalley……Page 340
Hongjie Dai……Page 341
James Von Ehr II……Page 342
Paul Alivisatos……Page 343
Visionaries: Richard Feynman and Eric Drexler……Page 344
Molecular Logic: James Tour and Mark Reed……Page 345
Investors: Steve Jurvetson and Josh Wolfe……Page 346
Web Sites……Page 348
Magazines……Page 351
Glossary……Page 354
Index……Page 364