Nanotechnology will revolutionize computers, handheld electronic devices, medicine and the way people do business, said Larry Dalton in a lecture about nano-engineering last Wednesday.
Personal computers, cell phones and new handheld devices for communication are all the result of advances in nano-engineering. Now, Dalton said, small computer chips could make medical lab results available more quickly and help create “smart cards” that can be used as cell phones, GPS tracking devices, car keys and a digital banking system.
“There has been a dramatic evolution of nano-engineering,” said Dalton, a George Kauffman professor of chemistry at the University of Washington. Dalton discussed the various new possibilities open with advancements in nano-engineering in a Frontiers of Science lecture sponsored by the U.
New technology primarily incorporates two types of signals — electrons and photons. Photons are light particles that can carry information over long distances and are used in sending e-mails and talking on the phone. Electronics are used for writing an e-mail, and photonics for sending the message across a distance, Dalton said.
Nano-engineering switches between photons and electrons and continues to use both signals to send messages at a high rate.
Nano-engineering uses extremely small particles. Microchips used for computers are about one-thousandth of a millimeter large. A human hair is said to be 0.15 millimeters.
The technology for a smart card is already available.
“We won’t have to carry around individual digital cameras, cell phones and GPS units,” Dalton said.
Nano-engineering also has the potential to speed up medical visits and lab tests. By creating a single computer chip for physicians to perform lab tests immediately, doctors could provide test results during a patient’s visit.
Dalton said the technology will be particularly helpful in places where doctors do not have the resources to perform lab tests.
“The past 45 years has seen exponential improvement in electronic chips,” he said.