Week 8: Nanotech + Art

Big Hero 6 Microbots

Life itself is an amazing example of nanotechnology with bacteria, viruses, and proteins. People hear the word technology and assume that nanotech must be man made, but in actuality it is the manipulation of matter on a molecular level. Nanotechnology is all around us already and most people have no idea. It has been used to create stronger sunscreens, wound dressings, corrosion resistant paint, and many more things. There are also a lot of examples of nanotechnology in movies like Big Hero 6 and Ant-man. In the kids movie Big Hero 6 there are many different technologies that are showcased, but one of the main one inventions is microbots that respond to neural stimulation and will take the form of whatever the user can imagine. This technology is not yet a reality, but it is the perfect example of the potential within art that nanotechnology can accomplish.

Nanoprocessor

One of the devices that I found really interesting was a programmable ‘nanoprocessor’ that computer scientists can use for circuiting. The nanoprocessor would allow for more complex circuiting to run through nano-sized areas. This technology could speed up the development of a lot of other computer technologies as well. The great thing about this technology is that it is scalable. The architecture allows the technology to be a tiny nanoprocessor, but it can also be scaled to much larger circuits which can be used for larger functions.

Giant Ant-man

Sources:

“Nanotechnology: A Simple and Fun Introduction!” Explain That Stuff, 5 Dec. 2018, www.explainthatstuff.com/nanotechnologyforkids.html.

ScreenPrism. “ScreenPrism.” Does Technology like That Seen in "Big Hero 6" Actually Exist, screenprism.com/insights/article/does-any-technology-like-that-seen-in-big-hero-6-actually-exist.

“NanoArt: Nanotechnology and Art.” Academy of NanoArt, nanoart.org/nanoart-nanotechnology-art/.

Dillow, Clay. “The World's First Programmable Nanoprocessor Takes Complex Circuitry to the Nanoscale.” Popular Science, 9 Feb. 2011, www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/worlds-first-programmable-nanoprocessor-takes-complex-circuitry-nanoscale.

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. “The Nanoneme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact and Fiction in the Construction of a New Science.” Technoetic Arts, vol. 1, no. 1, 2003, pp. 7–24., doi:10.1386/tear.1.1.7/0.