Lesbian Fiction ForumThe Next Big Thing Is Small: Nanotechnology Could Lead To Radical Improvements For Space Exploration
When it comes to taking the next "giant leap" in space exploration, NASA is thinking small — really small.
In laboratories around the country, NASA is supporting the burgeoning science of nanotechnology. The basic idea is to learn to deal with matter at the atomic scale — to be able to control individual atoms and molecules well enough to design molecule-size machines, advanced electronics and "smart" materials.
If visionaries are right, nanotechnology could lead to robots you can hold on your fingertip, self-healing spacesuits, space elevators and other fantastic devices. Some of these things may take 20+ years to fully develop; others are taking shape in the laboratory today.
Thinking Small
Simply making things smaller has its advantages. Imagine, for example, if the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity could have been made as small as a beetle, and could scurry over rocks and gravel as a beetle can, sampling minerals and searching for clues to the history of water on Mars. Hundreds or thousands of these diminutive robots could have been sent in the same capsules that carried the two desk-size rovers, enabling scientists to explore much more of the planet's surface — and increasing the odds of stumbling across a fossilized Martian bacterium!
The article continues with the discussion of 'nanotubes'.
- have 100 times the tensile strength of steel, but only 1/6 the weight;
- are 40 times stronger than graphite fibers;
- conduct electricity better than copper;
- can be either conductors or semiconductors (like computer chips), depending on the arrangement of atoms;
- and are excellent conductors of heat.Much of current nanotechnology research worldwide focuses on these nanotubes. Scientists have proposed using them for a wide range of applications: in the high-strength, low-weight cable needed for a space elevator; as molecular wires for nano-scale electronics; embedded in microprocessors to help siphon off heat; and as tiny rods and gears in nano-scale machines, just to name a few.
And for once, some logical uses for nanotechnology:
A chemical sensor they developed using nanotubes is scheduled to fly a demonstration mission into space aboard a Navy rocket next year. This tiny sensor can detect as little as a few parts per billion of specific chemicals–like toxic gases–making it useful for both space exploration and homeland defense. CNT has also developed a way to use nanotubes to cool the microprocessors in personal computers, a major challenge as CPUs get more and more powerful. This cooling technology has been licensed to a Santa Clara, California, start-up called Nanoconduction, and Intel has even expressed interest, Meyyappan says.
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Keywords: Nanotech, NASA
last modified: 08/08/05 19:27
Wait a minnit, you left out the NASA site's mention of Chris Phoenix and his feasibility study of nanoscale manufacturing. That was the best part of the article! ('Course, my opinion is slightly biased.)
— submitted 8/8/2005 @ 9:38 pm
I have a novel idea I have been researching for, oh, a year I guess. Nanotechnology is part of it (in a good way) and I keep an eye on the news feeds.
I need to relate nanotech to sustainability. Its size alone are almost enough to meet that need. Almost.
— submitted 8/8/2005 @ 9:51 pm