 |
 |
 |
|
| HOME | FEATURES | DEPARTMENTS | CLASS NOTES | BACK ISSUES | OHIO FRONT DOOR |
|
|
Other stories:
|
 |
|
The science of small matters
Researchers at a new Ohio University institute are studying the science behind these tiny machines - called nanotechnology - to help bring them from lab to home and office.
In June, the University's Board of Trustees approved establishment of the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute, a partnership involving the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the departments of Physics and Astronomy; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Biological Sciences; and Chemical Engineering. The institute received $1.2 million in seed money from the National Science Foundation to examine the feasibility of building minuscule computers.
Nanotechnology involves the development of new materials and devices at the scale of molecules and atoms. One nanometer is equal to a billionth of a meter, or the size of 10 hydrogen atoms side by side. Scientists around the world are engineering these materials for such applications as computer chips and other electronic devices for use in medicine and to create strong construction materials. Future possibilities include nanomachines that could be injected into the human body and programmed to find and treat cancerous tumors or nanogauges that could monitor air pressure in car tires.
"Research is needed to see where this field is going. It's still embryonic but very worth doing," says Jean Heremans, director of the institute and an assistant professor of physics. "This is invariably where a lot of science and technology is going to be focused."
It's impossible to predict how soon nanoscience will affect consumers.
"It's like the semiconductor industry in the 1920s - it was just a glimmer. But in the 1950s, it became reality," Heremans says.
|
The next generation of computer chips and other electronic devices could be smaller than a speck of dust but more powerful than products available today.