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Nanotech at Work

Posted by timothy on from the more-nanopants-technology dept.

Rackemup writes: "This article on CNN takes a quick look at some of the areas where nano-technology is being put to work. While nanobots in your bloodstream may be a few years away yet, some companies are already using nano-tech to develop everything from chameleon-like military garments to clear sunscreen (protects like normal sunscreen but looks transparent when you apply it). I wonder how long it'll take them to make me a suit like The Predator..." At this rate of discovery, Gap ads will have nanopants in months ...

8 comments

  1. More leg, less money.... by heliocentric · · Score: 2

    GAP ads eh? I can only fear the slogans of the nano-ads. Well, maybe we can convince them to run ads directly proportional to the technology- really small!

    But what really is the point of clear sunscreen? Do we find the white stuff all that disgusting? Hasn't it become sort of a social norm?

    As for a suit like that from the preditor, what if it was made to be reversable? Would it what is behind you instead of what is behind me? And the article mentions "embedded sensors and tiny computers that allow it to stop bullets" - how will computers help to stop the bullets? People wear protective armor in places they don't want to be injured, i.e. themselves and their vehicles. These are areas they expect a higher degree of bullets to be thrown towards - how will a computer "sensing" the approach of a bullet do anything more for you? Will it cause a burst of "pain" before you get shot? Isn't that the idea of a reflex to the sound of the gun shot? If this computer is able to sense a bullet coming, then why skip over this great detection thing and not let a computer inform people that there is the potential of being shot? What is the difference here?

    Then there's the "odor-trapping fabric whose molecular-sized sponges hold stale vapors through multiple wearings, until the item -- socks, for example -- come into contact with a washing machine's soapy water" talk about the potential of smelling like a wet dog when you hop on the elevator at work after running in from the rain...

    --
    Wheeeee
    1. Re:More leg, less money.... by Transcendent · · Score: 1

      "embedded sensors and tiny computers that allow it to stop bullets"

      It says STOP bullets... not detect it. You just went on and one about the stupid effects of detecting bullets and warning the person about to be shot, when that's not even what it was stating.


      talk about the potential of smelling like a wet dog when you hop on the elevator at work after running in from the rain...

      Again... they said SOAPY WATER... not just water. Do you really think that they would let that slip or something?

      Wow dude... pay more attention

    2. Re:More leg, less money.... by heliocentric · · Score: 2

      Ok, lets stop for a minute and think about more than just what the article says in black and white. What do you need a computer to do to help stop bullets? What device that cannot stop bullets could begin to stop them just by adding a computer? Adding a computer seems, to me at least, to imply some sort of sensing and adjusting. For instance maybe you make a product that can stop bullets, but is too difficult to wear as it would not flex - understandable, a brick wall is easy to make, but hard to wear. So, you would like your product to change states from flexible (denim) to "safe" (brick wall). Ok, so you use a computer. Now, how the heck is this computer going to know there is a bullet? Maybe detect it? What else is the point of adding smartness (computers) to armor? Once a bullet penetrates thru the armor it is a little too late to start to think about repelling this bullet. Maybe you'd prefer armor with the guarantee "Will stop n-1 bullets where n is the number of bullets that impact."

      As for "SOAPY WATER" - ever wash your car? Ever get the soapy water on you when you didn't want to? Ok, forget that, ever wash your clothes? Assuming you use the regular non-nanotec-clothes washer, do you really think every last residue of soap is free of your clothes? Many detergents contain phosphorous to make whites just that extra bright when sun hits them, ever get near a black light and see how your clothes phosphoresces because of the residual things left behind?

      I guess to me the difference between these magic socks and regular socks is the idea of having to endure the regular stench of people over a long period of time, or a condensed version of their stench every now and then... Now, jeans that keep that SBD in until I'm ready to (ahem) air it out and now we're talking....

      --
      Wheeeee
    3. Re:More leg, less money.... by Transcendent · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "What device that cannot stop bullets could begin to stop them just by adding a computer?"

      --Well if you have a small, lightweight piece of 'nanoclothing', the clothing can detect an incoming projectile, and perhaps reinforce that area with extra fibers or machinery. It would have a very strong resistance on demand, and only in the places needed... allowing you to stay away from heavy and cumbersome bullet proof vests.

      "Now, how the heck is this computer going to know there is a bullet?"

      --Obviously you don't really understand computers, or you wouldn't be questioning the capibility of one. A computer is limited to the geniouses that design them, and the brains that program them. If you can detect any motion of an object, you can modify it to detect a bullet. Also, it's just a tech-forecast... the real technology hasn't been perfected.

      "Ever get the soapy water on you when you didn't want to? ...do you really think every last residue of soap is free of your clothes?"

      --Well if they're gonna make something like that, I'm sure they would have it be able to tell what kind of soap it's coming in contact with. Even if it did release the scent or dirt into the soap, it would be in the soap, just just spraying it on your face or something. Cloth fibers and nano-bots are totally different. Soap doesnt stick into machinery like it does cloth fibers... even it it was half and half... there must be a tolerance level for it to relase the captured dirt... not just a frekin molecule of soap.

      "ever get near a black light and see how your clothes phosphoresces because of the residual things left behind?"

      --I think semen and blood show up best for that... that's pretty much what the police use it for. When they test a shirt or something for semen, soap doesnt show up... semen does. ...you dont wash your clothes in semen, do you?

    4. Re:More leg, less money.... by Transcendent · · Score: 1

      BTW... your clothes don't 'phorphoresces' under a black light. Phosphorescent materials hold the energy from the light and release it over time... like a glowing super-ball. Soap doesn't do that. The SEMEN just is ILLUMINATED under the black light... thats all... cuz it's white.

    5. Re:More leg, less money.... by mhh5 · · Score: 1

      Then there's the "odor-trapping fabric whose molecular-sized sponges hold stale vapors through multiple wearings, until the item -- socks, for example -- come into contact with a washing machine's soapy water" talk about the potential of smelling like a wet dog when you hop on the elevator at work after running in from the rain...

      Um, so I actually work for the company that makes the odor-absorbing fabrics mentioned in the article. The clothes do not smell bad upon contact with water. That would be stupid. The soapy water releases the smelly particles in the wash, but does not produce odors when doing so.... Don't ask me how. I'd have to kill you.

    6. Re:More leg, less money.... by Rackemup · · Score: 2
      What do you need a computer to do to help stop bullets?

      Nano-tech isn't just tiny little computers, it's the manipulation of a material on a molecular (nanometer-size) scale. Scientists can change the structure of a fabric and modify how it behaves at the same time (ie, colour changing, bullet proof, stain resistant, etc)

      how the heck is this computer going to know there is a bullet?

      These aren't magic shields that instantly switch to bullet-proof mode when an incoming bullet is detected, the fabris is engineered to be bullet-proof while still being comfortable. This technology could also be used to embed sensor strips in the fabric connected to a central computer... the computer would be able to localize the bullet penetration area and signal the medic with an estimation of the injuries.

      The world is getting smaller, we'll need nano-technology to deal with it.

  2. More realistic information by pantaz · · Score: 2, Informative

    Scientific American devoted most of the September issue to nanotechnology. Including specific topics such as medicine, computer circuitry, and nano-scale machines (a.k.a., nanobots)

    http://www.sciam.com/nanotech