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General Science / Re: What are the future scopes of nanoscience?

« on: 01/02/2020 13:38:48 »

A far as I know, Nanotech is pushing four main fields forward (or these fields are advancing nanotech--take your pick)

1) Electronics devices.
Circuit components are now essentially nanoscale, and the ability to fit more and more transistors on a chip is driving the tech to go smaller and smaller. There are also experimental technologies aimed at using fluorescent nanoparticles in
LEDs.

2) Catalysis
Nanoparticles (NPs) can be excellent heterogeneous catalysts if they are made of the right materials. In large part this is due to the surface area to volume ratio being maximized as the particles get smaller. Also, the smaller the NP, the less similar to the bulk material. Researchers are developing ways to control the shape, size, composition, and atomic structure.

3) Drug delivery
Actually, pharmaceutical companies care a lot about not only the composition of their drugs, but also the formulations. Many look into the absorption profile as a function of the size of the crystals of the drug. Nanoparticulate drugs dissolve quickly, and can deliver drugs faster than doses using larger crystals.

4)
Rockets and explosives
Many rocket motor compositions still involve mixtures of solids, which then must react. Again, due to the surface are to volume ratio, smaller particles are going to allow much much better mixing (think about mixing dark and light gravel together vs dark and light sand, vs dark and light flour...)


So... we're not yet really making nanotech machines with moving parts--though there is some progress there. Honestly, the most impressive nanotech that I am aware of, that is most like scifi... is biology! Many of our enzymes are nanotech, and we get things like this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/educationalgifs/comments/7x9zmi/kinesin_protein_moving_a_molecule_around_a_cell/

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Just Chat! / Re: Can anyone help me understand networking?

« on: 27/10/2019 01:11:43 »

Well I'd say that if you have to ask that question, it may be time to reassess who should be in your network. I believe that may have been your point, though.

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: What motion will weights released from a spinning spacecraft describe?

« on: 21/10/2019 17:57:34 »

ok, what happened to the bullet's velocity?

Bullet velocity is the vector sum of trolley velocity and muzzle velocity relative to the trolley. This is true in any frame.

Janus must be an Aussie because he drew the North wall at the bottom. 

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General Science / Re: Lab Question: Why won't stearic acid dissolve in vegetable oil?

« on: 23/09/2019 06:13:14 »

The tail is basically an alkane, and so readily dissolves in fat, oil and grease, but not in water. Thus the tail is said to be hydrophobic (water-hating). The head-group, however, is polar, and so easily dissolves in water (hydrophilic - water-loving) and will not dissolve in oil or grease.

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General Science / Re: What is dreaming and why do we dream?

« on: 02/05/2006 19:54:53 »

I've personally catagorized dreams into three sections.

1) Analyzing Dreams
2) Enlightment Dreams
3) Given Dreams

Analyzing Dreams - Dreams you experience through the analysis of your environment and experience.  The "defragmentation" part.

Enlightment Dreams - Dreams where someone or something is trying to acknowledge you of information or idea.

Given Dreams - Dreams given to you by unknown forces.  Unlike Enlightment dreams, where a force enters or conjures a dream, Given dreams are literally "given" to you, like a movie you have to watch.