Episode 14: Nanotechnology

The Wonder of Reality

Few technologies could revolutionize the world as completely as nanotechnology. Artificial intelligence would help us work smarter, solve complex problems, and perhaps even educate us while quantum computing has untold potential to quickly solve repetitive tasks and could be harnessed to better our lives in a myriad of ways. Nanotechnology could outdo both of them by a making a world of material wealth for everyone to the point of absurdity. Listen to episode 3 of Miniseries 3: The Technologies of Tomorrow and let us know what you’d want to see from nanotechnology in the comments below.

Links:

• Our Show Notes for the episode including The Future of Nanotechnology, The Physics of Nanotechnology, and Getting to the Future
• Credit for the “roads becoming diamond-plated solar cells” goes to Robert J Sawyer, an incredible science fiction author
• The first reported case of a person being cured of HIV through a blood cell stem transplant
• Vaccines are often made from weakened versions of the virus
• The science behind gold nanoparticles as explained by Sigma-Aldrich (a company manufacturing them) and the corresponding article on Wikipeida
• The structure of diamond
• More on the history of pencils and lead can be found on Wikipedia
• Making graphene from a pencil and tape
• A wealth of information on graphene can be found on Wikipedia
• Research into bullet-proofing our shirts with carbon nanotubes
• Power Felt is made from carbon nanotubes and turns body heat into electricity
• Carbon nanotube clothing could call for help
• The world’s longest carbon nanotube
• Buckyballs are being used as lubricants and antioxidants; as antioxidants they’re better than anything out there, including vitamin E
• How Stuff Works on five applications of nanotechnology