Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is still in its infancy, but it has the potential to change the face of medicine, food, cosmetics, athletics, and electronics. It could also take the internet of things (IoT) to a whole new level. Thanks to nanotechnology, for example, devices could become much smaller, and batteries could become more energy efficient. You could easily control all of the gadgets in your house with a tiny, energy efficient device. And you could easily spend hours browsing the internet to find the fastest withdrawal online casino Canada has to offer and then play a ton of games without draining the battery on your mobile.

What is Nanoscience?

Nanotechnology comes from nanoscience. Nanoscience is the study of matter at the nanometre scale. A nanometre (nm) is one billionth of a metre, which is so tiny it’s hard to fathom. To give you an idea of how tiny, think of this: if every single person on the planet was the size of a nanometre, we would all fit inside a toy car. Or think of it another way: just one hair on your head measures approximately 100,000nm in width.

Size Matters

Scientists have discovered that when you break down a material to, the material no longer necessarily maintains the same properties. For example, if you break down gold into nanometre-sized particles, you will find that the particles no longer have the same appearance as gold – the colour changes to a dark red. In some cases, nanostructured material becomes a better heat/electricity conductor, or more reactive to chemicals, or more magnetic than it is in its larger size.

From Nanoscience to Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is nanoscience in action. With nanotechnology, we can increase a material’s surface area. By increasing the surface area, atoms can interact more freely with other materials. When done correctly, these materials can become stronger, more conductive, and more durable than they would be in their original form. The applications for nanotech are as vast as they are varied. In fact, you may already have benefited from nanotech without even realising it.

IoT and Electronics

Let’s go back to the IoT and electronic devices. Thanks to nanotech, you may find that you have stronger, faster internet which you can access on small, hand-held devices that have the power and capacity to store huge amounts of data. Nanotechnology is the reason why we have seen huge leaps forward in the quality of display screens – quality that does not come at the expense of power consumption or size. And with nanotech, we’ll start to see IoT sensors able to be placed in a much vaster array of products. The internet of things could very well become the internet of everything.

IoNT and Price

IoT technology is not cheap. In fact, many people have failed to embrace IoT simply because the cost involved in updating a home can be astronomical. IoT is slowly becoming more affordable, but with nanotech we could see prices reduced considerably. So much so that IoNT (internet of nano things) will become the norm. Smaller devices mean lower prices because smaller devices require less materials for production. Manufacturers will be able to make more devices using less material, and this will bring the prices down for everyone.

Smart Clothing

The future is likely to bring nanotech and the IoNT into every aspect of our lives. Our clothing, for example, could become smarter and more sustainable. With IoNT, we could be wearing clothes made from materials that that keep track of our vital signs. Or we could wear jackets that respond to our body temperature by warming and cooling when needed, made possible by tiny batteries and IoNT sensors. The nano world is our oyster, but it may take some time before we truly realise nanotech’s full potential.