Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

In this week's lecture, we focused on the great influence that nanotechnology, as a collaborative science,  has on our daily lives, as it is shifting the paradigm into the 21st century and challenging social and scientific views (Gemzewski). Following Richard Feynman, who first suggested working with objects on the atomic scale, people have been breaking down and manipulating the world from it's smallest components, in ways invisible to the naked eye. Advances in nanotechnology impact various areas of our daily living including our food, electronics, and clothing, and it brings about advantages in many respects.

Viewing the world on a nanoscale

Nanoparticles are an example of nanotechnology contributing to the lives of the general public. It is one of the biggest areas of commercial business, and for example has been used to make the self-cleaning fabric in pants, tennis balls that stay inflated longer, and alternative replacements for cosmetic products. This last example is accomplished through artificial atoms called quantum dots, which have varying physical properties based on size (Anscombe). These are all products we regularly use, and they indicate how we're exposed to nanotechnology in many ways we can't see.

Quantum dots being used to make cosmetic replacements

As Gimsewski and Vesna explain in their article, with nanotechnology, there is a blurring of fact and fiction, and this new science is also shifting our perception of reality from a visual culture to one that is more abstract. Researchers and scientists are working with things once thought to be intangible, and now it is interesting to see how minuscule changes on the nanoscale can make such a great impact in the way our society and culture is progressing towards the future.

Lotus leaf on the molecular level

References:

Anscombe, Nadya. "Quantum Dots: Small Structures Poised to Break Big." Photonics. Photonics media, n.d. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=22350>

Gimzewski, Jim and Vesna, Victoria. "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact & fiction in the construction of a new science." Web. <http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm>

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim pt1." Youtube. Youtube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7jM6-iqzzE>

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim pt3." Youtube. Youtube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HCNiU_108>

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim pt6." Youtube. Youtube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=oKlViSKkPd0>