Week 8 Nanotechnology and Art

Nanotechnology and Art

Strelitzia-like titanium oxide - Simone Battiston and Andrea Leto

From listening to Dr. Gimzewski who has had about 30 – 35 years of experience, nanotechnology seems to be a relatively new concept. This week’s readings and lectures focused on the history of nanotechnology and its new and developing applications.

The term “nanotechnology” was invented by Norio Taniguchi who was a professor at Tokyo University of Science (Wikipedia.com) in 1974. Nanotechnology is defined as ‘todays science, technology and engineering’ conduced on a nanoscale. Its applications can span from creating tennis balls to medical gauze to silver embedded into socks or t-shirts to reduce odor and bacteria (McKenna). There are approximately 25,400,00 nanometers in one inch.

The scanning tunneling microscope (NanoScience.com),  in my opinion, is the most interesting invention created by using nanotechnology. This impressive microscope has an exceptionally thin tip that is able to read any surface by processing the electrical signals which are released by the electrons of the surface. It is remarkable that this very advanced and intricate creation was invented in the 80’s. It is very advanced because it is able to move single atoms.

The process of the scanning telescope 
Artists have also started creating Nano Art pieces  This art is art on a nano, molecular and atomic scale (not seen by the naked human eye). This is fascinating because the artists are able to manipulate molecular matter and create different patterns and create beautiful art work which can only be seen through an atomic microscope.

A Nano-art work of a guitar


I expect that in the future nanotechnology will keep growing as a field that becomes even more widely known. I also hope that we will see even more nano-art pieces and nano-artists.


Resources:
McKenna, Phil. “Smelly Sock Treatment Leaks Silver Nanoparticles.” New Scientist, 7 Apr. 2008, www.newscientist.com/…/dn13602-smelly-sock-treatment-leaks…/. Accessed 23 May 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. “Intro to NanoTech + Art." UCLA, Los Angeles. Lecture.

"Scanning Tunneling Microscope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2017. Web. 27 May 2017.

"What Is Nanotechnology?" What Is Nanotechnology? | Nano. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017. <https://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition>.

Gimzewski, J. "Nanotechnology + Art, Pt. 3." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 2017 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

"Scientists Are Becoming Artists, Thanks to 'NanoArt'." Public Radio International. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2017. <https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-30/scientists-are-becoming-artists-thanks-nanoart>.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medicine, Technology and Art

Image
Maybe regularly seeing Stephen Hawkins in his wheelchair when we lived in Cambridge as a young child got me used to the idea of machines supporting humans to be more effective. Since then I have become a gymnast and it is this that has brought me into continuous touch with medical technology, in particular scanning machines of all kinds – x-rays, CT scans, MRIs – as doctors have checked for injuries of all kinds.  I love the impossibility of what I do as a gymnast; when I was a child I called it ‘flying through the air’. I have to be curious about what is happening beneath my skin. To do the impossible I must train my body to achieve the strength, precision and reliability of a machine, but I do so to produce a performance that is beautiful and seemingly without effort.  I am sure that it is this daily familiarity with the mechanics of my body that is the ground of my ambition to be an orth...
Read more

Event #4

Image
I went to Judith Hopf’s exhibit at the Hammer Museum for my final event. As soon as I walked in I saw numerous sculptures made up of brick and cement holding them together. I really appreciated how Hopf creates her sculptures with raw materials from the hardware store. This inspires me to believe that I can make beautiful sculptures. I found it interesting how each sculpture had a different finish. For example, the penguin sculpture (my favorite) had a very smooth body and beak but its arms seemed like they were hand molded. This sculpture looks like it took a lot of time to sand down and perfect. The feet look like they were chiseled into shape where you can see the air pockets in the feet which show dimension and depth. Penguin sculpture  Feet sculptures I found the ropes hanging In the corner of the room remarkable. It was a stark difference to the rigid brick and concrete I the center of the room. Ropes hanging from ...
Read more

stellasDESMA9

Image
Mathematics is the cornerstone of our ability to understand our world. It is (as language is) a study and organization, relationships, symbols and shapes as well as numbers. Mathematical calculations can support research and exploration of our physical world and enable us to use knowledge of chemistry and physics understand and natural environment. They also support every engineering innovation and design. Historically, pivotal ancient concepts such as 'zero', 'perspective' and the 'golden ratio' have helped shift out perception of the world. In short, the concept of zero allowed development of understanding of infinitesimals, limits, calculus, quantum physics... Zero also represents the unknown or the 'center' of ones being, the space with no noise and absolute. Perspective surfaced through the application of mathematics in the study of optics. That original use of mathematics for scientific explanation of optics provided the link and created a co...
Read more