Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

Yes, Your are correct. The Nanotechnology has become one of the most important and exciting forefront field in Science and Engineering in the 21 st century. It will rule entire world in near with many breakthroughs, which have not dremt so far. As you said it is not new, our ancestors were used it without realising the importants of nanoparticles. But because of the advancements in analytical instruments, we could able to explore the materials at this low dimension. Is it not wonder what we achieved to see three dimesionally the zero dimensional objects ( Q Dot)?. So, is important to involve ourselves and invest in this massive programme and also to unite the people working in this field

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

Bravo! For writing this very informative and innovative scientific article on Nano-Technology. This cutting edge technology would do revolution in the area of Electronics.Mechatronics .electronics and envirionmental fields. Inspired by your initiatatives ,first by organising a 5-day workshop on "Recent advancements in nano-Technology" adorned by your lecture from the marquee of President's desk, we have conceptualised suitable intrinsically safe nano-based catalysts sensors to monitor inflammable and toxic gases with appropriate and fool-proof communication system(ICT) to make a potential tool of disaster management to mitigate Bhopal gas tragedy like monster. Project in this topic would be submitted to Deptt of Disaster Management ,Ministry of Home Affair,Govt of India for grant after your kind perusal and approval.

Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

"Civilization's are fueled by the energies of visionaries"
Our country sincerely need such efforts at universities to establish itself as future world leader.

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

We in RGPV are commited to nurture an environment in which the Power of Science and the Might of Technology is created to foster a new era of innovations in our RGPV institutions.

We shall welcome proposals on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology R&D Projects.

Do submit these to us and also for external funding by DST and others.

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

its our pleasure being studying under rgpv ,which is nutured by so many imminient personalities.seeing the hi-tech innovation of our honourable VC regarding communicating with one and all through blogs over ibranch.such remarkable step towards improvement of the knowledge base & inter-personal skills of students & faculties is really praiseworthy.
i am really thankful to him for introducing such an innovative idea.

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

information given in this blog is really helpful.i have also tried to civer this new technology in my own way.to know more about this nanotechnology you may visit :http://www.divyaprakash.bravehost.com/nanotech.html

it gives really a clear picture of this technology which has become the base of new technological era.

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

Really nano-technology is gonna do wonders for the MANKIND!!
RECENT ADVANCEMENT IN THIS FIELD HAS CHANGED THE SCENARIO.
i appreciate our respected vc's quest on improving the educational environment in RGPV institutions.
power of science & the might of technology will surely nuture the budding talents

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

I am truly happy to see the interest in Nanotechnology. I want the thoughts of the learned student community on How togo about creating the Power of Science and its integration with the might of technology.

Those interested may also ask for the copy of my recent article on Scientism for Creating the Pwer of Science and its integration with the Might of Technology.

Request for more artciles from you

Sir, we want more of your recent articles, platform like this one can help us interact with you. Otherwise, its hard for us to present our views in front of you. Sir please do blogging over RGTU Website too.

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

thats right when u say that the more u get into touch with nano technology the more your belief develops in such things. recently i too read an article by some professor at iit chennai he was carrying on an experiment on aluminium metal. he reduced the dimensions of the metal by cutting it down. when the cutted metal reached a dimension less than a nanometers there was a blast and the metal disappeared. isnt it exciting that aluminium too can be a source of energy. it can be a boon in this era of energy crisis

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

sir when u talk about workshops held at rgtu auditorium i want to bring in front of you a common problem students face to get to participate.
firstly , we do not have much space to accomodate the huge strength of students
secondly, there is a lack of interest of people in nanotechnology

so please sir it should be seen that for a large university like ours we deserve a bigger and better auditoriam than this one
. and a commitee should be made to publicise nanotechnology by making tours to different colleges not only in bhopal but to different parts of the state. and not only teachers but students should also be given charge of holding the universities.

looking forward to your positive response

Re: Nano-technology can do wonders for MANKIND!

Top 10 Least Expected Products to use Nano-Technology



It probably wouldn't surprise owners of ultrathin cell phones or tiny iPod Nanos to discover that these miniature electronic miracles take advantage of the latest advances in nanotechnology, the science of rearranging atoms to create new materials and products. But would you expect to find tiny technology at work in the paint on your walls? In your perfumed night cream? In the seat of your pants?



Though you can't see it, nanotechnology is everywhere now, expanding the utility and appeal of basic products from cosmetics to all types of clothing. Below is a Top 10 list of the products you might least expect to employ this advanced technology.

But first, what exactly is nanotechnology? Scientists explain it as the process of manipulating atoms, the building blocks of everything on earth, by using microscopic machines to do extraordinarily small-scale work. If a human hair was sliced into 50,000 pieces, each would be a nanometer wide. A single sheet of paper is 100,000 nanometers thick.

In the future, nanotechnology may be used to make bulletproof vests as thin as silk, and nano-robots that can enter your bloodstream to treat disease. But sci-fi inventions like these are still at least a decade in the future, according to nanotech scientist James Tour, who works on building nano-cars at Rice University in Houston.

For now, Tour said, the makers of consumer goods are mostly using the technology to enhance commonplace products. "This type of nanotechnology is upon us now," he said. "You can revolutionize industries that haven't changed much in the last 30 years by adding certain nano-materials" to products to make them more durable or multifunctional.

The technology is not very expensive, and getting cheaper, Tour said, so consumers can expect to encounter it at work more often in everyday products. For now, here are ten places to look:

1. Golf balls and tennis racquets: Manufacturers are always looking for the best new design to improve your score, but this sports equipment is truly high tech. Wilson previously made its nCode tennis racquets of standard carbon, but now uses nanotechnology to pack extra atoms between the carbon atoms to make the racquets stronger, but just as light. A nano-coating on NDliNX golf balls is meant to make them soar faster and feel firmer when hit, thanks to a higher-density polymer layer on the outside of the ball.
2. Stain-resistant khaki pants and ties: Ever wonder how those so-called stain resistant pants stay so clean? Dockers, Lands End and Brooks Brothers carry khaki pants and neckties whose fabrics have been redesigned to pack extra atoms between the fabric atoms to help repel liquids on the surface.
3. Shoe inserts and socks: Suffer from cold feet? Originally designed for NASA, Polarwrap has created its Toasty Feet inserts with built-in nano-size pockets of air to improve insulation and make them lightweight. Millions of nano-size silver particles are knitted into Sharper Image's Antibacterial Silver Athletic and Lounging Socks to make them antibacterial and antifungal.
4. Lip gloss: DERMAdoctor cosmetics puts nano-size zinc-oxide into its POUTlandish Hypermoist lip paint for SPF protection without the heavy consistency of liquid sunblock.
5. Sportswear: Nano-size channels built into fabrics whisk away moisture from the skin and help fabric dry quickly. The New Balance women's Skye Crop sports bra uses this technology. Eddie Bauer's Water Shorts use nano-size drying channels as well, with nano-size sunscreen embedded in the fabric to provide extra protection from UV rays.
6. Food storage containers: These plastic containers are not your mother's Tupperware. The polypropylene of Fresherlonger Miracle Storage containers is infused with nano-size silver particles that make it resistant to mold, fungus and bacteria.
7. Men's razors: The FX Diamond razor uses nanotechnology to create a coating on its blades to make them more durable. Adding nano-particles to the blade metal increases the density, and thus the hardness. The Panasonic Arc electronic razor uses nano-particles in its blades to increase their sharpness.
8. Skin cream: Both L'Oreal and Lancome use nano-size "microlifters" in some of their face and eye wrinkle-reducing creams. These create a micro-size netting of molecules on the skin intended to smooth out wrinkles and reduce puffiness.
9. Household paint: Home Depot carries Behr's kitchen and bathroom paint, designed with nano-particles that increase the density of the paint to prevent the growth of mold and mildew on the walls.
10. Canola oil: Marketed in Israel by Shemen Industries, the Canola Active brand uses molecular tinkering to deliver vitamins and to prevent the body's absorption of cholesterol in the oil. The oil contains chemical additives of micro-vitamins and micro-cholesterol blockers.

On wings of light - Tiny spacecraft are flying through the atmosphere on beams of laser light

BEHIND the lenses of laser protection goggles, there is a glint of the future in the eyes of Leik Myrabo. The scene is the once top-secret High Energy Laser System Test Facility (HELSTF), in the deserts of White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. In front of Myrabo stands one of the world's most powerful lasers, its beam pointed at the sky. And in the beam's path sits a strangely shaped, silver vehicle that looks like a lemon squeezer the size of a rugby ball. This is a lightcraft, a revolutionary launch vehicle designed to ride into space on a shaft of laser light.

On 5 November last year, Myrabo tested his lightcraft outdoors for the first time. The tests, funded jointly by NASA and the US Air Force, were a huge success. The lightcraft rose to a modest altitude of 15 metres in 5.5 seconds and then dropped into a net when the laser was switched off. In December, the lightcraft reached 20 metres in only 4.9 seconds. And the tests continue.

Big plans

Myrabo has big plans for his invention. With each test he shoots the vehicle slightly higher. If all goes according to schedule, he will have launched the spinning craft to an altitude of 1 kilometre within 18 months. With a more powerful laser, the lightcraft could reach space. A lightcraft launch vehicle would carry almost no fuel, a major proportion of the weight of conventional rockets. As a result, they could put their payloads into orbit at a fraction of the cost of conventional launchers.

Lightcraft have been on the drawing board for several years ( "Rider on the shock wave", New Scientist, 17 February 1996, p 28) and are unlike anything that has flown before. They are hollow and machined from aluminium only fractions of a millimetre thick. Each craft weighs less than 50 grams, lighter than a rugby ball and only slightly bigger. Myrabo chemically mills the metal to make the ship even lighter. The lightcraft are quite delicate, Myrabo says. "They can get damaged when they land so we've started making them in numbers."

The prototype lightcraft carry no fuel at all. Instead, they convert a series of brief pulses of energy from a laser on the ground into a propulsive force. This is hugely significant. A large percentage of a conventional rocket's mass at take off is fuel. This has to be stored and carried during the flight. It is converted into thrust by complex and expensive engines which are generally used only once .

By contrast, lightcraft engines are cheap and simple. The prototypes work without any moving parts and are entirely reusable. The engine consists of a ring-shaped mirror at the rear end of the vehicle that reflects and focuses the laser light into a ring-shaped combustion chamber. At the focal point, the concentration of energy is high enough to rip electrons from the molecules to form a plasma.

The process is called inverse bremsstrahlung and it occurs with explosive force. The pressure wave it creates can reach thousands of atmospheres and temperatures of 30 000 kelvin. It is this pressure wave that pushes against the vehicle driving it forward. What's more, there are no toxic by-products. "We're using a completely clean propellant—air," says Myrabo, a professor of engineering physics from Renssalaer Polytechnic in New York State who is working with the propulsion directorate of the US Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base in California. After each explosion, cool air rushes into the engine, ready for the next pulse of energy.

Each flight begins by spinning the lightcraft to around 6000 revolutions per minute as it rests above the laser. This rapid rotation keeps the craft stable during the flight by the same principle that keeps a spinning top upright. Then the laser bursts into action, generating some 20 pulses per second. The infrared light is invisible, but the explosions of plasma behind the lightcraft glow brightly and generate a noise like machine-gun fire. Slowly, the spinning vehicle rises into the air, floating atop a cushion of light.

The flight ends when the craft hits a black plywood board mounted at the top of the test stand. The board absorbs any laser light that might otherwise spill into the sky and damage the sensors on passing satellites. "Free" flights will require clearance from the North American Aerospace Command, a US and Canadian military organisation monitors satellites. "Eventually, we'll be given time slots when there is nothing overhead. Then we will fly freely," says Myrabo.

Perhaps the most critical part of the experiment is the laser. It must supply its energy in short pulses. Each pulse must be powerful enough to trigger inverse bremsstrahlung and must be repeated many times a second. Thanks to the American Star Wars programme in the 1980s, HELSTF is well equipped with powerful lasers that can be precisely controlled and carefully aimed at moving targets. The laser Myrabo uses is the most powerful of its kind in America. Known as the Pulsed Laser Vulnerability Test System (PLVTS), it generates a rapid series of short infrared pulses lasting only 18 microseconds each. One pulse has the energy of 450 joules. And the PLVTS can generate 20 of them every second. This gives an average power of 10 kilowatts.

Apart from reducing the weight, the only way to improve lightcraft performance is by increasing the pulse rate of the laser while reducing each pulse duration. This has two consequences. It allows Myrabo to control the lightcraft more precisely: the longer the interval between each pulse, the greater the chance that the vehicle could drift out of the beam. Short pulses also increase the efficiency of the engine, whereas longer pulses create explosions that burn partly outside the engine and so contribute little or no thrust. Later this month, Myrabo plans to reduce the pulse duration.

This gradual approach is important, says Franklin Mead, co-director of the programme with Myrabo and a researcher with the USAF's advanced propulsion group. "Every experiment with the lightcraft gets us more engineering information," he says.

For the craft to climb higher, the pulses must be shorter still, about a microsecond each. The laser would have to fire 1000 pulses a second, and each would have to be more powerful than PLVTS. Such lasers are not in use in the US today—but they have been in the past.

A 150-kilowatt pulsed laser now lies in pieces in crates at HELSTF. Called Driver, it was once part of a larger laser built in the 1970s capable of firing megawatt pulses. Pulling Driver out of mothballs and converting it for use with the lightcraft will cost around $500 000, a small fraction of what it would cost to build a the laser from scratch. If Myrabo can generate the funding, it could be ready in less than a year.

This ready availability of materials is part of the project's beauty, says Mead. "We're not inventing anything new," he says. "Rocket propulsion, lasers, pointing and tracking—it's all there. It's just a matter of putting them into this package."

Reaching space will require more advanced lightcraft. As the vehicle accelerates to supersonic and hypersonic velocities, it compresses the air in front forcing it through the engine inlets (see diagram). "Very little air is needed so the inlets are tiny," says Myrabo. Ahead of the craft a shock wave will build up and this must be kept well away from the inlet since it would reflect off the inner surfaces in the engine causing havoc. The lightcraft's nose is carefully shaped to deflect the shock wave away. "This is a complicated subject but one that is well understood," says Myrabo.

While this might be true of the current research, Myrabo and Mead will have to rely on new technology if lightcraft are ever to reach space. For a start, steering the vehicle will be tricky. Myrabo does not bother with the short flights he is making now since they are stabilised by the craft's spin. But in the future, he and Mead will have to change the angle of the thrust to steer. This could be done by changing the position of the laser on the cone at the back of the craft or by firing microthrusters.

Of course, Myrabo can rely on air as a propellant only for the first few tens of kilometres of the journey into space while the spacecraft is in the atmosphere. Beyond that, the spacecraft will have to carry its own propellant such as liquid hydrogen or nitrogen which will be pumped into the combustion chamber ready for laser detonation. Myrabo reckons that the a kilogram of propellant could put a lightcraft in orbit. This would be about equal to the weight of the empty lightcraft.

Light but strong

Myrabo's vision is to use a megawatt laser to put in orbit a spaceship about a metre in diameter that weighs only 1 kilogram and carries a kilogram of propellant. Making a vehicle of this size and weight will be difficult. The trick is to find a material that is light and strong but that can also withstand the tremendous temperatures and pressures generated in the engine. "They will need to get away from aluminium," says Timothy Knowles, president of Energy Science Laboratories (ESL) in San Diego, California, which has pioneered a different approach.

Instead of aluminium, ESL has developed a way of producing thin carbon shells which are strong and heat-resistant. Knowles is tight-lipped about the details but says the technique involves heating a thin layer of resin until it turns to a carbon-based film. With the right resin and the correct technique, the resulting film can be surprisingly strong. Coated with metal, the carbon film can even act as a mirror inside the engine.

With such a vehicle and at the rates of acceleration that will be possible with a megawatt laser, Myrabo reckons a lightcraft will need a distance of 800 kilometres to reach orbital velocity. This would require a lift off trajectory of about 30 degrees to the ground and would lead to an eventual orbit some 200 kilometres above the surface.

The lightcraft would have to carry a new generation of ultralight sensors into orbit, since no more than 10 per cent of the ship's weight can be devoted to payload—less than 100 grams. Myrabo does not see this as a problem. "Electronics don't weigh very much," he says. "We could easily carry a small hard drive, some memory, a sensor and a communications package." Parts of the spacecraft could even have dual uses. For example, the engine mirror could double as a telescope, a receiver or a way of focusing signals towards the ground.

Jonathan Campbell, manager of beamed energy propulsion at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, is impressed with the results so far. "We've proven that keeping our propulsion system on the ground actually works," he says. "The promise is that we can put things into orbit more cheaply than with conventional rocketry."

Conventional rocketry also began modestly. The first liquid-fueled rockets were built by the American inventor Robert Goddard in 1926 and many tests were carried out at Roswell, New Mexico, not far from HELSTF. Although his first rocket reached a height of only 12.5 metres, Goddard's work heralded the space age. Today, liquid-fuelled rockets ride regularly into space. If Myrabo and Mead have their way, lightcraft will not be far behind.
________________________________________du hust