Week 8 | Nanotech+Art |

Having not too much interest or knowledge in science subjects like physics and chemistry, I felt this week’s lectures on Nanotechnology to definitely be new ground for me. The most interesting part of the 6 lectures was when Dr. Gimzewski talks about the nanotechnology products, in specific nanoparticles. Going back to the Ancient Roman times, the “Lycurgus Cup” was quite fascinating to me because not only was it beautiful, but also showed me that nanotechnology isn’t something invented in modern times, but has been used for millennia. I further researched the Lycurgus Cup since I found it surprising that ancient Romans could even use nanotechnology without advanced equipment, and how did they even know what effects it would have? Turns out that they “impregnated the glass with particles of silver and gold, ground down until they were as small as 50 nanometers in diameter” according to the Smithsonian Magazine. It further turns out that this 1600-year-old usage of nanoparticles has actually been a mystery to scientists until the 1990s, and that “this effect offered untapped potential” because of its capabilities of changing color; planned uses include diagnosing diseases and “thwarting terrorists trying to carry dangerous liquids onto airplanes”. 

Figure 1 - Lycurgus Cup (left unlit/right lit from behind)
http://thumbs.media.smithsonianmag.com//filer/phenomenon-Glow-With-Flow-631.jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpg

A more modern use of nanotechnology would be the use of silver nanoparticles which have an “anti-microbial” effect, used in socks and food bags. It’s surprising to know that my socks contain silver in them, and the fact that that silver is helping to stop bacteria and microbe growth in my sportswear. However, as Dr. Gimzewski notes in Nanotech Jim pt6, there are some dangers with using nanoparticles in everyday life. For example, he explains that “Slim Shake Chocolate”, a diet milkshake, uses “silica nanoparticles coated in cocoa clusters to increate taste”; after additional research I found out that nano-silica has the potential to cause pregnancy complications in mice, and thus “has raised health safety concerns, especially for pregnant woman”.  

Figure 2 - Slim Shake Chocolate by Nanoceuticals
http://corall-clubs.com/components/com_jshopping/files/img_products/full_819882.jpg

Digressing from the lecture videos, I found something I learned in Physics 10 to be of some interest in the relation to Nanotechnology and Art. On the topic of atoms and molecular structure, we learned that scientists use a “scanning tunneling microscope” to measure atoms that measure “just a few nanometers in diameter”. The resulting image (as shown below) reminded me a lot of the “Brainbow” from last week’s lecture, and how science inadvertently can create such colorful pieces of art.  

Figure 3 - "Here they have positioned 48 iron atoms into a circular ring in order to "corral" some surface state electrons and force them into "quantum" states of the circular structure. The ripples in the ring of atoms are the density distribution of a particular set of quantum states of the corral." - IBM's "STM Image Gallery
http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys314/lectures/stm/corral_top.gif

Citations

• Jarreau, Paige Brown. "The Downside of Nano: Pregnancy Complications."SciLogscom. N.p., 07 June 2011. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.scilogs.com/from_the_lab_bench/the-downside-of-nano-pregnancy-complications/>.
• Merali, Zeeya. "This 1,600-Year-Old Goblet Shows That the Romans Were Nanotechnology Pioneers." Smithsonian Magazine. N.p., Sept. 2013. Web. 25 May 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1600-year-old-goblet-shows-that-the-romans-were-nanotechnology-pioneers-787224/?no-ist>.
• Nanotech Jim Pt3. Perf. James Gimzewski. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=472&v=X0HCNiU_108>.
• Nanotech Jim Pt6. Perf. James Gimzewski. YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&t=92&v=oKlViSKkPd0>.
• Richmond, Michael. "The Scanning Tunneling Electron Microscope." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys314/lectures/stm/stm.html>.