How can some things be so small, and yet so significant? A new video series produced by NBC Learn, the educational arm of the NBCUniversal News Group, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, sheds light on this question. "Nanotechnology: Super Small Science" features a dozen world-class American researchers, including quantum physicist and National Medal of Science winner Paul Alivisatos. This six-part series shows viewers how atoms and molecules that are thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair can be used to create technology for the future.
"Today, we are learning to rearrange the basic atomic and molecular building blocks - foundational technology for understanding nature and creating things that were not possible before," said Mihail Roco, senior adviser of
Science and engineering at the National
Science Foundation. "The videos
NBC Learn created with the National
Science Foundation illustrate the potential of nanotechnology."
Narrated by
NBC News and
MSNBC anchor Kate Snow, "Nanotechnology: Super Small Science" will be available through
NBC affiliate stations, and can also be seen for free online at NBCLearn.com, NSF.gov and Science360.gov.
"We're proud to launch an original series that shows viewers how scientists and engineers manipulate material only billionths of a meter in size, and the powerful impact that can have on the world around them," said Soraya Gage, vice president and general manager of
NBC Learn. "Through our partnership with the National
Science Foundation, we're using our digital platform and journalistic expertise to explore how nanotechnology advances innovation in fields such as medicine, energy, and electronics."
"For 15 years, more discoveries have come from nanotechnology than any other field of
Science and engineering. Now, its discoveries are penetrating all aspects of society - new industries, medicine, agriculture, and the management of natural resources," added Roco.
Viewers will learn how scientists are using nanotechnology to capture energy from the sun, increase the power of smaller microchips and computers, build structures that are lightweight and resilient, as well as much more from these videos:
"Nanotechnology: Harnessing the Nanoscale" - Why is something only billionths of a meter in size so important? Dawn Bonnell at the University of Pennsylvania shows how the ability to control and manipulate material at this extremely small scale is having a big impact around the world in medicine, energy, and electronics.
"Nanotechnology: A Powerful Solution" - Paul Alivisatos' team at the University of California, Berkeley, is working to develop a new type of solar cell using nano-sized crystals called quantum dots. Quantum dots are already helping to produce brighter, more vivid color in displays. The ability of solar cells to efficiently process energy in the form of light also makes them an ideal solution to our energy problems.
"Nanotechnology: Nanoelectronics" - You may have nanotechnology in your pocket and not even know it. Today's smartphones are much smaller than computers of the past, and yet significantly more powerful, thanks to nanotechnology. Tom Theis with the Semiconductor Research Corporation and IBM, and Ana Claudia Arias at the University of California, Berkeley, explain how nanotechnology has already changed our lives and the exciting possibilities for the future.
"Nanotechnology at the Surface" - How could something only billionths of a meter thick defend against water, dirt, wear, and even bacteria? Working at the nanoscale, scientists and engineers, like Jay Guo of the University of Michigan, are creating protective nanoscale coatings and layers. These surfaces have applications in energy, electronics, medicine, and could even be used to make a plane invisible.
"Nanotechnology: Nanoarchitecture" - Caltech's Julia Greer is proving that using big and heavy materials is not the only way to build strong, robust structures. Beginning at the nanoscale, her group is constructing materials that are more than 99 percent air yet strong and resilient. These new materials are breaking the rules by behaving in unexpected ways.
"Nanotechnology: Nano-Enabled Sensors and Nanoparticles" - Some of the biggest advances in medical technology may soon come from devices built on the nanoscale. Donglei Fan with the University of Texas at Austin, and Paula Hammond with Massachusetts Institute of Technology discuss how their use of nanotechnology may one day sense, diagnose, and even treat cancer.
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