Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

Newman's Microscopic Text
This week’s lectures and readings focused on the history of nanotechnology and its recently increasing applications.  One of the more fascinating things that I thought we covered in the lectures was the two competitions offered by Richard Feynman for the advancement of nanotechnology in 1959.  The first was to build a miniature motor that could fit inside of a 1/64 inch cube and the second was to reduce the size of a page of a book to a 1/25,000 linear scale (CalTech.edu).  The first cash prize of $1,000 was awarded relatively quickly to William McLellan in 1960, while the second prize took 25 years until Tom Newman completed the task using an electron beam in 1985 (Kornei).  Such advancements in nanotechnology have obvious application in the artistic and literary world, with new art being created out of nanostructures.

I also found the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in the 1980s to be particularly interesting within the field of nanoscience (NanoScience.com).  This microscope contains an extremely fine tip that scans the surface of an object by reading the electrical signals given off by the electrons of said object.  This allows the stylus to detect microscopic details of the surface it is detecting, and an extremely thorough portrayal of such features are displayed (Nobelprize.org).

Scanning Tunneling Microscope
One last item that caught my attention during this week’s lectures was the concept of nanoparticles integrated into fabric.  For example, silver nanoparticles embedded within socks for antibacterial purposes (McKenna).  This aids in reducing the stench associated with one’s feet; however, studies have shown that the nanoparticles included in fabrics have been prone to leaking out during washing.

Moving forward, it is easy to see an increased role that nanotechnology will play in art.  From the shrinking of a page of literature in the 1980s to the possibility of nanoparticles being included in and aiding in the preservation of art, nanotechnology will help define art in the 21st century.


Silver Nanoparticles in Sock


References:
“Feynman Pays Up.” ARCHIVES :: IN THE NEWS, California Institute of Technology, 14 Apr. 2016, archives.caltech.edu/news/feynman-nanotech.html. Accessed 23 May 2017.

Kornei, Katherine. “The Beginning of Nanotechnology at the 1959 APS Meeting.” American Physical Society, Nov. 2016, www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201611/nanotechnology.cfm. Accessed 23 May 2017.

McKenna, Phil. “Smelly Sock Treatment Leaks Silver Nanoparticles.” New Scientist, 7 Apr. 2008, www.newscientist.com/article/dn13602-smelly-sock-treatment-leaks-silver-nanoparticles/. Accessed 23 May 2017.

“Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.” NanoScience Instruments, 2017, www.nanoscience.com/technology/scanning-tunneling-microscopy/. Accessed 23 May 2017.

“The Scanning Tunneling Microscope.” Nobelprize.org, 2017, www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/microscopes/scanning/. Accessed 23 May 2017.

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 1, 2017 at 4:34 PM

    It was also really interesting for me to find out that there are silver nanoparticles in socks and underwear for antibacterial purposes. It turns out that aside from their use because of their antibacterial properties, nanoparticles are used in some objects to give them colors that wouldn't otherwise be achieved. A couple examples of objects with which we are familiar that use nanoparticles to give them beautiful pigments are pottery and stained glass.

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