by Richard Booker and Earl Boysen Nanotechnololgy FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page iii Nanotechnology For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005924596 ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-8368-1 ISBN-10: 0-7645-8368-9 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1O/RY/QX/QV/IN 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page iv About the Authors Richard Booker is a doctoral student at Rice University working under Dr. Richard Smalley, discoverer of the buckyball. He was lucky enough to get an outstanding education, starting with four intense years at Boston University earning a computer-engineering degree. After college, he joined the Air Force, where he managed weapon systems and researched battlespace networks while simultaneously working on his master’s degree in computer engineering. After four years, Captain Booker left the wild blue yonder to pursue his Ph.D. in applied physics at Rice and delve into the “new” world of nanotechnology. Rich’s next ambitious adventure will be developing the armchair quantum wire (see Chapters 4 and 5 of this book) and helping to bring other nano- applications to market. His interests include flying, skydiving, scuba diving, music, art, movies and, in his spare time, working on being humble. Earl Boysen is an engineer who, after 20 years in the computer-chip industry, decided to “slow down” and move to a quiet town in Washington. Earl is the co-author of Electronics For Dummies, and holds degrees in chemistry and physics. He lives in a house he designed and built himself, and keeps as busy as ever writing, acting, teaching math and science, dancing, and walking. 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page v Dedication For Him who gave us wisdom and heart to help each other. For my fantastically supportive parents, Richard and Lorraine: Dad, whose insatiable appetite for knowledge, tenacity, and hard work ethic led me by example; and Mom, whose great teaching, organizational skills, and love kept me sane during my writing. — R.B. To my wonderful lady, Nancy, who (as well as providing support during the writing of this book) is the best thing that ever happened to me. — E.B. 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page vii Authors’ Acknowledgments We’d like to thank our acquisitions editor, Katie Feltman, for giving us this opportunity and Richard Smalley for permitting his graduate student (Rich) to write this book in his “spare time.” Our project editor Paul Levesque and copy editor Barry Childs-Helton did a fantastic job at deciphering our nano-lingo and “Dummying” the rest. The graphic artists at Wiley did a great job at reproducing graphics — and a spe- cial thanks to those who provided use of photos free of charge; both fulfilled our vision of visually representing nanotech. Special thanks to Nancy Stevenson for helping out on several of the chapters. We’d also like to thank some of our tech reviewers: Drs. Enrique Barrera, Wade Adams, and Howard Schmidt Ph.D.s in training Joseph Cole, Aaron Saenz, Erik Haroz, Sungbae Lee, and Tushar Prasad To our Web site developer, Jasyn Chen — thanks for all your hard work and generosity. And yes, nanoscientists do marry supermodels. 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page ix Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor: Paul Levesque Acquisitions Editor: Katie Feltman Senior Copy Editor: Barry Childs-Helton Technical Editor: Earl Boysen Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron Permissions Editor: Laura Moss Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle Media Development Supervisor: Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Shannon Schiller Layout and Graphics: Jonelle Burns, Karl Brandt, Carl Byers, Andrea Dahl Lauren Goddard, Stephanie D. Jumper Lynsey Osborn, Rashell Smith Proofreaders: Leeann Harney, Jessica Kramer, Joe Niesen, TECHBOOKS Production Services Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page x Contents at a Glance Introduction 1 Part I: Getting Small with Nanotechnology 7 Chapter 1: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Nanotechnology 9 Chapter 2: Nano in Your Life 29 Chapter 3: Gathering the Tools of the Trade 39 Part II: Building a Better World with Nanomaterials 63 Chapter 4: Nanomaterials Galore 65 Chapter 5: Adding Strength with Composites 83 Part III: “Smarter” Computers! Faster Internet! Cheaper Energy! 115 Chapter 6: Building a Better Digital Brain 117 Chapter 7: Routing Information at the Speed of Light 161 Chapter 8: Nano-fying Electronics 183 Chapter 9: Getting Energy and a Cleaner Environment with Nanotech 201 Part IV: Living Healthier Lives 219 Chapter 10: Diagnosing Personal Health Quickly, Easily, and Pain-Free 221 Chapter 11: The Fantastic Voyage into Medical Applications 249 Part V: Investing in Nanotech 279 Chapter 12: Industries Going Small 281 Chapter 13: Countries Investing In a Nano Future 291 Chapter 14: Nanotechnology Goes to School 305 Part VI: The Part of Tens 317 Chapter 15: Ten (or So) Nanotech Movers and Shakers 319 Chapter 16: Further Reading on the Web and in Your Library 327 Glossary 333 Index 343 02_583689 ftoc.qxd 6/27/05 9:16 PM Page xi Table of Contents Introduction 1 Why Buy This Book? 1 Why Nanotechnology? 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part I: Getting Small with Nanotechnology 3 Part II: Building a Better World with Nanomaterials 3 Part III: Smarter Computers! Faster Internet! Cheaper Energy! 3 Part IV: Living Healthier Lives 4 Part V: Investing in Nanotech 4 Part VI: The Part of Tens 4 Icons Used in This Book 4 Going Online 5 Part I: Getting Small with Nanotechnology 7 Chapter 1: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Nanotechnology . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Grasping the Essence of Nanotechnology 9 Finding out what it is 10 Why you want nanotechnology in your life 14 You say you want a revolution? 16 Knowing what to expect (and not expect) 18 Getting a (Small) Piece of Nanotechnology for Yourself 21 The nanotech industry 22 Battle of the bubbles: Nanotech versus Internet 23 Caveat Emptor — Buyer Beware 25 Chapter 2: Nano in Your Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Going from Lab to Factory to Home 29 What’s a Kevlar? 29 Phase One: Research 30 Things heat up 32 To market, to market . . . 32 Jumping Over the Hurdles 33 Looking at Ethics and Society 34 Possible harm from nanomaterials 35 Encountering a Nano Divide? 36 02_583689 ftoc.qxd 6/27/05 9:16 PM Page xiii Chapter 3: Gathering the Tools of the Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 That Bit of Chemistry and Physics You Just Have to Know 39 Molecular building blocks 40 Turning on the light 46 Picking Apart Objects with Spectroscopy 51 Infrared (IR) spectroscopy: Feel the heat 51 Raman spectroscopy: Where’s the energy? 52 UltraViolet-Visible spectroscopy: Who’s there? 53 Seeing Molecules with Microscopy 53 Atomic force microscope (AFM) 54 Scanning electron microscope (SEM) 55 Transmission electron microscope (TEM) 57 The scanning tunneling microscope 57 Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM) 58 Moving the World with Nanomanipulators 59 What’s available today 59 What’s down the road 60 Part II: Building a Better World with Nanomaterials 63 Chapter 4: Nanomaterials Galore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 It All Starts with Carbon 65 How Carbon-Based Things Relate to Nanotechnology 66 Delocalizing with benzene 67 Letting things slide with graphite 68 Bouncing Buckyballs 69 Creating buckyballs 70 Using buckyballs in the real world 71 Buckyballs Grow Up to Become Nanotubes 73 Producing nanotubes from thin air 75 Eying the structure of carbon nanotubes 76 Scanning the properties of nanotubes 76 Putting nanotubes to good use 79 Getting Wired with Nanowires 80 Growing nanowires 80 Nanowires at work 81 Chapter 5: Adding Strength with Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Compose This! 83 Lighter, stronger, cheaper 84 Interfacing the fiber with the matrix 84 One Word: Plastics 84 Dissipating static electricity 87 Displaying images 92 Nanotechnology For Dummies xiv 02_583689 ftoc.qxd 6/27/05 9:16 PM Page xiv Lightening the Load with Nanofibers 95 Nanotubes 96 What a tangled web we weave 97 Putting nanofibers to use: Clothes make the man 99 Putting nanofibers to use: Into the wild blue yonder 101 Raising the Bar with Smart Materials 104 Coming back to normal 104 Sensing strain 108 Heal thyself 111 Part III: “Smarter” Computers! Faster Internet! Cheaper Energy! 115 Chapter 6: Building a Better Digital Brain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 Linking the Brain with the Computer 118 And Fast Is Good Because . . .? 119 End of the Transistor Road 120 From FETs to SETs 122 Fabricating new chips 128 Does a Nano-Size Elephant Ever Forget? 136 Magnetic Random-Access Memory (RAM) 136 Oh, yeah. We forgot . . . 142 Quantum Leaping (Oh, Boy . . .) 151 Chapter 7: Routing Information at the Speed of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . .161 Manipulating Light with Crystals 162 Getting hooked on photonics 163 Controlling light: Photonic band gaps 165 Optical switching: Nano-defects to the rescue! 170 Making the switch: Photons on a nano-highway 171 Magic with Mirrors 173 Light-steering: Nanotechnology at the wheel 175 Mirror, mirror on the wall/ Nano’s the sharpest image of all 179 Try looking at it through nanotechnology’s eyes 180 Chapter 8: Nano-fying Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183 Lighting Up Tomorrow 183 Making quantum leaps with quantum dots 183 Getting light from nanotubes 185 Sensing Your Environment 187 Detecting chemicals 187 Biosensors 189 Mechanizing the Micro World 190 Micro-electromechanical machines (MEMS) 190 Building computer brains from molecules 192 xv Table of Contents 02_583689 ftoc.qxd 6/27/05 9:16 PM Page xv [...]... one of these icons next to it Going Online This book has its very own Web site, www.nanotechnologyfordummies.com This is your go-to source for updated information on the fast-changing world of nanotechnology Go to this Web site to ask us questions and get updates on nanotechnology 5 6 Nanotechnology For Dummies Part I Getting Small with Nanotechnology N In this part anotechnology is the hot buzzword... looks interesting (it is!), you won’t be lost We provide cross-references where relevant information is explained, and repeat the most important terms and ideas when necessary Introduction How This Book Is Organized Nanotechnology For Dummies is organized so you can quickly find, read, and understand the information you need — and if you want to move around the various topics, you can skip chapters... where the big wins are likely to occur If you’re interested in speculating on the future of nano with your checkbook, this part is for you Part VI: The Part of Tens Every For Dummies book rounds things out with a few chapters that follow that tried-and-true List of Ten format In Chapter 15 you hear all about ten movers and shakers in nanotechnology, and in Chapter 16 we cover ten resources in print... Reading on the Web and in Your Library 327 Web Sites .327 www.nanotechnologyfordummies.com 327 nanobot.blogspot.com .328 www.azonano.com 328 www.nano.gov .328 www.forbesnanotech.com 328 www.fda.gov/nanotechnology 329 www.nano.org.uk 329 www.foresight.org .329 Other great sites 330 Magazines 330 Technology... prospects for atomic engineering (To read the talk in its entirety, check out www.its caltech.edu/~feynman/plenty.html for a handy transcript.) 13 14 Part I: Getting Small with Nanotechnology ߜ Seeing is Believing: In 1981, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer of IBM’s Zurich Research Laboratory create the scanning tunneling microscope, enabling researchers to both see and manipulate atoms for the first time (For. .. nano realm Icons Used in This Book A picture is worth a thousand words, so this book uses little graphic icons to visually point out useful information that you may want to know more about Introduction The Tip icon indicates information that might be of interest for further exploration or lead you into new ideas These icons tend to point out tidbits that make exploring nanotechnology more enjoyable,... Prairie: Northwestern University .309 Small Progress at Rennsselaer 310 Ben Gurion University and Nano 311 Made in Japan: University of Tokyo 311 xvii xviii Nanotechnology For Dummies California (Nano) Dreaming at Berkeley 312 Educating Yourself in Nano 312 And a Whole Bunch More 314 Part VI: The Part of Tens 317 Chapter 15: Ten (or So) Nanotech Movers... its aggressive focus on developing applied technology — and the emergence of the right tools for the job When faced with a squishy term that can mean different things to different people, the best thing to do is to form a committee and charge it with drawing up a working definition In fact, a committee was formed (the National Nanotechnology Initiative) and the following defining features of nanotechnology... sheet rolled into a tube — comes in two main forms, metallic and semiconducting The carbon nanotube was discovered in 1991 and within only seven years, was used for shuttling electrons across two electrodes Not only is it incredibly small (nano-scale), but it also uses less energy and gives off less heat by using few electrons to indicate whether it’s on or off (For more on carbon nanotubes, see Chapter... word “nano” has become as ubiquitous as the word “calorie” in a diet book? Are you looking for the latest hot investment opportunity and you’ve heard that something called nanotechnology will someday revolutionize our lives, and quite possibly your portfolio? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Nanotechnology For Dummies is a fantastic way to get beyond all the hype and really understand what nanotechnology . Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies. com, and related trade dress. by Richard Booker and Earl Boysen Nanotechnololgy FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_583689 ffirs.qxd 6/27/05 9:09 PM Page iii Nanotechnology For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111. useful information that you may want to know more about. 4 Nanotechnology For Dummies 03_583689 intro.qxd 6/27/05 9:19 PM Page 4 The Tip icon indicates information that might be of interest for further