A Brief History of Nanotechnology: Part 2 - Early Developments

In our first post, we looked at some surprisingly early examples of nanotechnology at work. However, the field is generally considered to be a very modern one, and most major early developments occurred within the latter half of the 20th century.
The history of nanotechnology is often traced to a very specific moment of inception: the 29th of December, 1959, when physicist Richard Feynman delivered an after-dinner lecture called "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" during a meeting of the American Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology.

Feynman's lecture predated the use of the term "nanotechnology" to describe the field of study as we now know it, but many of the ideas he explored and the questions he asked are still highly relevant.

Feynman wondered "why cannot we write the entire 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the head of a pin?" and spoke of the possibility of building machines on a minute scale by "manoeuvring things atom by atom".

‘There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom’ writes Dr. K. Eric Drexler, whose own work in the 1970s and 80s did much to advance the field, "was a comparatively casual effort - an after-dinner speech at a conference - yet in it he presented a bold and enduring vision of a technological journey leading toward the atomic scale and toward the ultimate boundaries set by physical law. The world has travelled far toward what Feynman saw, and has far still to go."

It's hard to measure the exact impact that Feynman's talk had on the emergence of nanotechnology, of course, but, as Drexler points out, "Feynman was the first to outline a world of technologies that would work and build at the ultimate, atomic scale".

The term "nanotechnology" itself wasn't coined until 1974, when Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi defined it: "'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or by one molecule’.' Taniguchi used the term "to describe semiconductor processes such as thin film deposition and ion beam milling exhibiting characteristic control on the order of a nanometer. The ideas contained in this definition were further explored and developed by Drexler in the late 70s and 1980s, culminating in the release of his book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology in 1986, which "is considered the first book on the topic of nanotechnology".

In next weeks post we will take a closer look at these ideas and how they developed.

Exhibiting at CTIA Wireless 2012

This week we have been exhibiting for the first time at CTIA Wireless in New Orleans. The show is a leading electronics event and we were there showcasing our Aridion technology to a host of brands, businesses and media.

You can see some images of our booth further below but one of the highlights from the event was the video that Phone Arena took of our demonstration which you can watch by clicking the below screen:

You can read the article in full here. If you would like to know more about Aridion and how it works do ask in the comments below otherwise you can visit www.aridion.com

A Brief History of Nanotechnology: Part 1 - Roots

In this series we are going to take a closer look at the history of nanotechnology, from early findings through to the present day and what developments nanotechnology can bring for the future.

To begin we are going to explore the beginnings of nanotechnology.

Most people consider nanotechnology to be a modern field of science. Primary development occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, and it continues to evolve. Its history is usually traced as far back as Richard Feynman's famous 1959 lecture "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom". Feynman did not specifically name nanotechnology, but his talk "inspired the conceptual beginnings of the field decades later”.

However, as a recent article in the Guardian suggests, the field may actually have roots that extend much further back - all the way into the ancient world. "Artisans from the past also controlled matter at the tiniest scales," writes the article's author, Rosamund Daw. "By modern-day standards, they were working in a branch of nanotechnology called nanocomposites. These are bulk materials in which nanoscale particles are mixed to improve the properties of the overall or composite material."

One example of this is the Lycurgus cup, a Roman glass cage cup containing nanoparticles that make the glass look red when light shines through it but green when viewed in reflected light. Another is Maya Blue, a bright azure pigment discovered in the Mayan city of Chichen Itz which is particularly resistant to wear and contains clay with nanopores into which indigo dye was combined chemically to create an environmentally-stable pigment. And in 2006 researchers in Germany revealed that they had discovered nanowires and carbon nanotubes in a Damascus steel sabre from the 17th century.

The artisans who crafted these objects and materials may not exactly have been nanotechnologists by modern standards, but it's impressive to see how far back the history of this modern technology can be traced. Moreover, the discoveries that today's scientists have made as a result of looking at these very old objects may actually help advance the field. "Some of these studies are providing pointers for new nanotechnology research," writes Daw. Based on a study of the properties of the Lycurgus cup, for example, "researchers have developed thin nanocomposite films containing gold nanoparicles which can reflect infra-red while still transmitting light. These films could be used to coat windows in hot countries to reflect heat away while allow light through the glass, thus reducing the need for air conditioning." So the history of nanotechnology is informing its future.

In our next post we will take a look at the early stages of nanotechnology development...

Kangol introduces P2i headwear collection

You may have seen on our Facebook and Twitter accounts about our collaboration with Kangol on their new range of headwear featuring our ion-mask™ technology. Well, we are delighted to announce that the collection is now available!



To tie in with the launch both Kangol and P2i have released a video which showcases the benefits ion-mask™ brings to headwear which you can see below:

As you can see from the video, headwear that is treated with ion-mask™ will stay dry and lightweight keeping the wearer comfortable throughout the day.

The complete collection can be viewed here: http://www.kangol.com/category/shop/p2i/ and below is an example of how the ion-mask™ technology repels water:

Polo Stripe featuring ion-mask™

We are excited to be working with Kangol and look forward to hearing your thoughts on how you find these hats? If you have any questions about ion-mask™, such as how it works, please do comment below or you can get in contact with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Update from NEPCON 2012

We are currently exhibiting at the 2012 NEPCON Expo in Shanghai where the electronics world gathers for 3 days to see new product launches and learn about industry developments and trends.

This is our first time at the Expo where we are showcasing and demostrating our Aridion technology. Here are collection of images from Shanghai:

The Shanghai skyline

Entrance to NEPCON 2012

Our booth gathers a crowd

Our booth before the expo opened

NECPON finishes tomorrow (Friday 27th) so if you are at the show come and visit us in booth 1H57. You can also find out more about how Aridion works here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c83n-vkno8U

Scott Steinberg highlights Aridion as technology to look out for in 2012

Scott Steinberg, technology analyst for broadcast networks including CNN, FOX, NBC and publications such as The New York Times and Wired has spoken with NewsWatch TV about some of the top technology products to look out for in 2012. And Aridion technology is one of them!

The show which was hosted by Scott, was broadcast across America on the 5th April and highlighted what technology products are worth keeping your eye out for this year. The show which is 30 minutes in length showcased our Aridion technology towards the end of the episode and you can watch our segment below:

If you would like to know more about Aridion and how it protects electronics from water and corrosion damage you can here.

We did it again!

So we have returned from AudiologyNOW! 2012 and not only was it a great show but we are delighted to have won the Best of Show award for the second year running! What makes it even more exciting is that this is the first times in AudiologyNOW's history that a company has won the award twice.

P2i's CEO, Carl Francis and Natalia Delclaux accepting the award from AudiologyNOW!

The 2012 Best of Show award

Winning the award topped off what was another great show for us, where we increased awareness of Aridion™ as well as introducing the technology to new businesses and people.

We have put up a collection of images from the show which you can see on our Flickr site as well as watching a montage of what we got up to below: