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Although nanotechnology has been given undue praise and discrimination at the same time, en thing is certain; this paper is of the stand that nanotechnology is a force which will shape the world of tomorrow. If badly controlled or deployed however, the environment, and its inhabitants stand the risk of being mutilated. Developing countries are yet to fully grasp and accept this concept, and this paper shows some ethical reasons why, particularly in the case of the Nigerian state. Keywords: Nanotechnology, Nigeria, Anna, inconsonance.
Introduction “My own Judgment is that the nanotechnology revolution has the potential to change America on a scale equal to, if not greater than, the computer revolution Senator Ron Widen (C)-Ore. ) The word “Anna” originates from the Greek word, “NГnosy”, which means dwarf, or little old man. In English terms, it means “extremely small”, whereas the mathematicians and scientists describe it in nacelles as “one billionth”, or 10-9 (nanosecond, manhole, manometers) (The Free Dictionary, 2014).
Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nacelles. The study and application of extremely minute items, which cuts across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering, s known as Nanotechnology and Inconsonance. Nacelles particles are not new in either nature or science. However, the recent advancements in areas such like microscopy have given scientists new tools to understand and take advantage of phenomena that occur naturally when matter is organized at the nacelles.
In addition, the fact that a majority of biological processes occur at the nacelles gives scientists models and templates to imagine and construct new processes that can enhance their work in medicine, imaging, computing, printing, chemical catalysis, materials synthesis, and many other fields. Nanotechnology is not simply working at ever smaller dimensions; rather, working at the nacelles enables scientists to utilize the unique physical, chemical, mechanical, and optical properties of materials that naturally occur at that scale (National Nanotechnology Initiative, 2014).
However, Narrower (2014) points out that many definitions of Nanotechnology exist which emphasis on the study and control of phenomena and materials at length scales below 100 manometers, and quite often make a comparison with a human hair, w is about 80,000 manometers wide. Some definitions include a reference to molecule yester and devices. Nanotechnology ‘purists’ argue that any definition of nanotechnology needs to include a reference to “functional systems”.
Another important criteria for the definition is the requirement that the Anna-structure is man-made. Otherwise every definition would have to include every naturally form biomedical and material particle, in effect, leads to redefining much of chemistry and molecular biology as “Nanotechnology’. The most vital requirement for the nanotechnology definition is that the Anna-structure has special properties that a exclusively due to its nacelles proportions.
A good definition that is practical an unconstrained by any arbitrary size is as thus: The design, characterization, production, and application of structures, devices, and systems by controlled manipulation of size and shape at the nanometer scale (atomic, molecular, and macromolecular scale) that produces structures, devices, and systems with at leas one novel/superior characteristic or property. (Narrower, 2014) Because nanotechnology is still evolving, there doesn’t seem to be any one definite generally agreed upon. Even as such, each definition contains certain key element
Popular facts that Anna deals with matter on a very small scale, and that matter at the nacelles can behave differently than bulk matter. Nanotechnology involves activities such as measuring and manipulating nacelles matter. Therefore, nanotechnology is a phenomenon which seeks to create and use structures, device and systems whose minute size generates novel properties and functions (Hinkle, 2013). The notion of nanotechnology was placed forward by Richard Funnyman in 1959 in his speech ‘There’s A lot of Area at the Bottom’.
This was the very first speed to deal with the principles of nanotechnology but this was not a new notion. Aha Funnyman, someone else had talked around this notion of nanotechnology. It was proposed by James Clerk Maxwell in 1867(Patria et al, 2008). Early examples of unstructured materials were based on craftsman’s empirical understanding an manipulation of materials. Use of high heat was one common step in their process to produce these materials with novel properties.
In 4th Century, the Ulcerous Cup (Rome) is an example of diachronic glass; colloidal gold and silver in the glass al it to look opaque green when lit from outside but translucent red when light shih through the inside. In 1857, Michael Faraday discovered colloidal “ruby’ gold, mistreating that unstructured gold under certain lighting conditions produce different-colored solutions. 1936 saw Erwin M;leer, who was working at Siemens Research Laboratory, invent the field emission microscope, allowing near-atomic- resolution images of materials. 951, Erwin M;leer pioneered the field ion microscope, a means to image the arrangement of atoms at the surface of a sharp metal tip; he first imaged tungsten atoms. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore described in Electronics magazine several trends he foresaw in the field of electronics. One trend now known as “Moor’s Law,” described the density of rainstorm on an integrated chip (C) doubling every 12 months (later amended to every 2 years). Moore also saw chip sizes and costs shrinking with their growing functionality-??with a transformational effect on the ways people live and work.
That the basic trend Moore envisioned has continued for 50 years is to a large extent due to the semiconductor industry increasing reliance on nanotechnology as CICS and transistors have approached atomic dimensions. In 1974, Tokyo Science University Professor Nor Attaining coined the term nanotechnology to describe precision machining of materials to within atomic-scale dimensional tolerances. Early nanotechnology companies began to operate in the asses, e. G. Menopause Technologies in 1989, Helix Energy Solutions Group in 1990, Convex in 1997, Anna-Tex in 1998. In 1998, the Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (SIGN) was formed under the National Science and Technology Council to investigate the state of the art in nacelles science and technology and to forecast possible future developments. The ‘Wag’s study and report, Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for the Next Decade (1999) defined the vision for and led directly to formation of the U. S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2000.
And in 1999- early sass’s, consumer products making use of nanotechnology began appearing in the marketplace, including lightweight nanotechnology-enabled automobile bumpers that resist denting and scratching, golf balls that fly straighter, tennis rackets that are stiffer (therefore, the ball rebounds faster), baseball bats with better flex and “kick,” Anna-silver antibacterial socks, clear sunscreens, wrinkle- and stain-resistant clothing, deep-penetrating therapeutic cosmetics, scratch-resistant glass coatings, faster-recharging batteries for cordless electric tools, and improved displays for elevations, cell phones, and digital cameras (National Nanotechnology Initiative, 2014). In 2004, SUNY Albany launched the first college-level education program in nanotechnology in the United States, the College of Nacelles Science and Engineering. From 2009 to 2010, Indian Seaman and colleagues at New York University had created several DNA-like robotic nacelles assembly devices. In recent times, the focus on nanotechnology is channeled towards different fields such as medicine, construction, energy, textiles, and communications (National Nanotechnology Initiative, 2014). As a result, several ethical issues are being put into inconsideration, which more light will be thrown on, in subsequent parts of this paper.
Applications of Nanotechnology Medicine Terms such as biomedical nanotechnology or medication have been used to describe the use of nanotechnology in the medical field. It is thought that materialness will have a number of medical applications as they are of a similar size to most biological molecules. In imaging, inappropriate can be used as contrast agents or markers. Quantum dots have been used instead of conventional dyes to watch blood flow in the tissues of mice. The images produced were detailed enough o be able to show the walls of the blood vessels rippling with every heartbeat. By adding antibodies or other molecules to the dots, it is possible to target them very specifically and image the results to label and track cells or even identify cancerous tissues (Bankable et al, 2013).
Nonporous materials, inappropriate or an such as backlash or dendrites may be used to encapsulate drugs an them to a particular site within the body. This highly selective approach the drugs are only deposited in the required area, reducing overall cons potential side effects and cost. Tissue engineering uses artificial material purport or scaffold for new tissue to grow on. These scaffolds can be ma suitable materialness that are impregnated with cells that are artificial to grow. Many hospitals are already using tissue-engineered skin in bur eliminates the need for a graft that can in itself be very painful and lead Tissue engineering is one way of reducing the risks associated with con artificial body parts or organ transplantation, but it is not without its owe controversy.
It is closely linked with the debate over the ethics of stem c as one way of obtaining the tissues which are used with the artificial sac tem cells (Gaston, 2011). Outside the body, nanotechnology can be used diagnostics. When materialness are used as tags or labels in biological identify or measure the presence and activity level of a particular subset results can be obtained faster and they are more sensitive (Bankable et al Communications Nanotechnology have been used in the communications industry for with the materials being processed using top-down techniques. The gate transistors in central processing units (JPL’s) and dynamic random ace (C)-RAM) devices is already on the nacelles (50 NM or less).
Instruct en used to improve the data storage density of hard discs and to cream volatile main memory for computers. Optical or optoelectronic devices a increasingly replacing traditional analogue electronic devices. Photonic resemble semiconductors but use light or photons instead of electrons, dots are being used in the construction of lasers. Carbon annotates coo field emission displays that work in a similar way to cathode ray tubes b smaller scale and with much lower energy consumption.. (Gaston, 2011). Energy Nanotechnology can be used in the efficient production of ‘green’ energy educing our overall energy consumption by increasing efficiency.
Light- diodes (Leeds) based on materialness last much longer and are far moor than conventional light bulbs, which only convert 5% of the electrical en You may notice that many new sets of traffic lights use Leeds rather than bulbs: as well as offering a tremendous energy saving, they produce a v light and require far less maintenance. The best solar cells currently VA only 30% efficient and commercially available systems are even less office about 20%. Specially designed unstructured have the potential to inch efficiency of solar collectors dramatically and it may be possible to use c from materialness to turn every rooftop into a solar energy collector (B 2013). A hot topic in terms of energy production at the moment is the why cell. These could be used to generate electrical energy for use in the ho power vehicles or even hand-held electronic gadgets such as mobile phones.
One big drawback with these fuel cells is the storage of the hydrogen prior to its use and this is where nanotechnology could offer a practical solution. Nonporous materials such as annotates, toilets and alienates are possible candidates. In more-conventional engines, materialness can be used as filters or in catalytic converters to remove pollutants from exhaust gases, and inappropriate can be used as surface catalysts in combustion engines to increase efficiency (Gaston, 2011). Construction Gaston (201 1), points out that materialness such as carbon annotates offer tremendous strength for their size. The use of these in composites instead of carbon fibers could allow much larger, lighter structures to be built.
This could include less bulky suspension bridges that could span larger gaps (for example, Joining Europe and Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar). Risks Associated with Inappropriate in the Environment The potential widespread application of materialness in an area such as environmental remediation is made possible by the miniaturization of materials down to the nacelles. However, this same enabling characteristic also influences risk by changing the particles’ potential for mobility, exposure, absorption, reactivity, and toxicity. When a endometrial is used for environmental remediation, it is intentionally introduced into the environment to exploit its unique properties.
For example, Anna-sized colloidal iron inappropriate can act as catalysts in redo sections. Of particular concern is the potential mobility of inappropriate out of targeted sites or tissues, or whether intentional or unintentional releases of highly mobile Anna-particles into the environment could be controlled (CARS 2008). Nevertheless, Bankable et al (2013) opine that, materialness can have side effects, and a risk assessment requires knowledge of their distribution in the environment and food chain. Risk assessment is required for understanding the inappropriate’ behavior to evaluate potential risks associated with endometrial use for remediation.
Side effects associated with the use of nanotechnology, especially environmental risks associated with residual materialness’ fate and transport in the environment, are not yet fully explored and understood. Uncertainties of the nature and interaction of materialness in the following areas add to the complexity of risk concerns. These include: uncertainty in relationship between size, surface area, and surface reactivity; and uncertainty in relationship of radionuclide’s and materialness. A clear understanding of the relationship between these parameters is still evolving and is not yet clearly understood. Additionally, the relation between radionuclide’s and materialness is not yet determined. Is Nanotechnology real, or Just an illusion?
Certain schools of thought expect nanotechnology to produce tiny robots with artificial intelligence that devour cancer cells or ropes with Carbon annotate strands that are strong enough to build a space elevator from Earth to the orbiting stations. These ideas are nothing but hype in the world of nanotechnology, but this science does provide tangible and real opportunities to create faster electronics and advances in medicine (Ohio State University, 2013). Dry. Kavas Kayak, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, separated fact from fiction in his Science Cafe talk, Nanotechnology: Hype or Opportunity? , October 9, 2013 at Ohio University. “l am trying to convince you that this is not all hype. Nanotechnology is real and here.
Your cell phones and memory sticks and touchstones have it. There is potential for solutions to age-old problems,” he said. While nanotechnology is not likely to provide cell phones with DNA sequencing capabilities in a few years, it can likely provide the much longer eatery life that many individuals would desire to see. Silicon chips and existing batteries could eventually be replaced by novel materialness like grapheme, a material discovered at the nacelles level (Ohio State University, 2013). Advances in nanotechnology are already making our lives easier and better through many portable electronic products and communication systems today, but the best is yet to come.
Tested facts and outcomes of the application of nanotechnology have sprung. Gold Anna-sized balls can be injected into the body to kill cancer cells. Tiny gold capsules, a few manometers in diameter, are coated with antibodies. The capsules adhere to a tumor. As the capsules are irradiated with a laser, the gold heats up, destroying the tumor while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue unharmed. Also, there are clothes that do not stain due to nanotechnology. Juice Just rolls off when spilled on Anna-pants. Textile chemical engineers can treat fabric with a special process to alter the fabric’s properties at the nacelles. The fabric resists stains and repels spills. (Annotate 2014).
Wilson Double Core Tennis Balls last longer because a thin layer of imagination is applied to the rubber lining. Knoll is applied via a roll, IP, or spray coating process onto a rubber substrate. Once dry, a thin coating (10-30 microns) of Knoll forms on the substrate. A thin layer of Knoll on the inner rubber lining of these balls increases air retention compared to the uncoated rubber (leman, 2014). Self-cleaning toilets are now available. These toilets are made with nanotechnology that keeps the porcelain clean. Ceramic Fine Ion Technology, is a ceramic glaze that prevents waste particles, bacteria, or mold from attaching to a surface. This permanent stain-resistant surface lasts as long as the product is in use. (TOTO, 2014).
However, myths about nanotechnology have surfaced. NASA plans to build a space elevator that would use carbon annotates to move materials from Earth to outer space is one of the many fictions. Although Lifter, a space- infrastructure company, supports construction of a space elevator. The concept includes long thin cables made of carbon annotates anchored to a platform at sea that, with the help of robots, would move materials to outer space (Extent, 2012). Another factious statement proposes that through nanotechnology, steaks can be made atom-by-atom such that cows are no longer needed to produce the meat. Currently there is no way to make complex proteins like those found in steak.
Food chemists are looking at new food additives and ways to keep food from spoiling through nanotechnology Cones, 2007). Issues relating to Ethics in Nanotechnology For the best to be gotten from nanotechnology, close attention needs to be paid to its societal and ethical implications from the technology’s inception, rather than waiting until it is a mature technology with problems already embedded in society. For the past decade, nanotechnology have basked in the glow of positive public opinion. Scientists have wowed the public with the ability to manipulate matter at the atomic level and with grand visions of how this ability might be used.
All this “good news” has created a growing perception among business, government leaders, and the entire populace that nanotechnology is a powerful platform for twenty-first century technologies. While this good news has given nanotechnology its start, nanotechnology stands the risk of being a thorn in the flesh of the environment, and those who inhabit it. The small size and unique properties of materialness make them valuable in medicine, and Brown (2002) reasoned that these same features eight make some materialness active in unusual ways within the environment. “Nanotechnology has the power to make the environment cleaner, but the manufacture and use of materialness also offers up plenty of environmental unknowns.
It’s important that scientists now begin to explore possible negatives because prevention is a lot better than clean-up,” said Vicki Calvin, a professor and co-director of the Centre for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University in Texas. Questions like “What happens when (some materialness) get into the environment? ” Are these things degradable? Are we creating monopolistic bags and monopolistic chips that are littering the Anna environment? How persistent are these things? ” (Brown, 2002). Understanding how materialness and the environment interact is a huge, complex, interdisciplinary problem that requires collaboration between chemists, environmental engineers, chemical engineers and biologists. Calvin (2006) stated that little work has been done to examine materialness in the environment, even as the science has propelled technologies out of labs and into factories.
Annotates and fullness, for example, are entirely ewe types of matter that are now being produced, yet little is known about how they interact with the environment. In addition, materialness can insinuate themselves into cells, which Brown (2002) argued that it is unusual for most inorganic materials. Although uncertain about what materialness could do at the cellular level, it’s certain that materialness will interact with biology in ways that larger materials cannot. In environmental science, the way contaminants concentrate in parts of the food chain is called fasciculation. For fasciculation to occur, substances must e long-lived, mobile, soluble in fats and biologically active.
Many materialness have the first three properties. The degree to which they affect the biological process is unknown, but being researched (Calvin, 2006). In Nigeria, where the concept of nanotechnology is at a stage of infancy, this paper predicts a high rate of uncertainty will arise due to religious, ethnic, social, and political views regarding some of the talked-about abilities or manifestations of nanotechnology. With nanotechnology being at preliminary stages in Nigeria, significant government commitment is yet to exist, although there is a strong presence of individual investigators who are concerned with areas such as medication and nonagricultural (Nanotechnology Now, 2009).
In addition to nanotechnology possibly promoting a technical fix’ approach, there is a concern that high entry prices for new procedures and skills are very likely to exacerbate existing divisions between rich and poor (All, University of Lagos). The Nigerian senate passed a law which sees gays who are convicted on accounts of homosexuality, Jailed for fourteen years. This bill was passed amidst threats from Britain to withhold aids to Nigeria (CNN, 2011). This illustrates the degree to which Nigerian are keen on culture and values passed down from hundreds of years ago. Nanotechnology possesses a handful of processes, and methodologies which are likely to fall within the “Black Book of Nigerian ethics”.
The act of disintegrating and trying to reproduce, or manipulate human, animal, or plant cells, systems, or anything that relates to life can be interpreted by some Nigerian schools of thought as playing “God”. In a developing country such as Nigeria, production of commodities serves as a backbone for the economy. Concerns about nanotechnology altering commodity markets, affecting trade, and taking away Jobs which ordinarily a human would have carried out, comes to light (All, University of Lagos). All also argues that development of nanotechnology poses a higher threat to humanity in Nigeria due to inefficiency in waste management and waste disposal. With a high rate of polluted areas, it is highly uncertain that environmental agencies can detect or better still, curtail nanotechnology environmental damages if there be any.
Africa, and Nigeria specifically, has been on the receiving end of any global innovation, hardly taking part in its research, growth, or development, but being a dumping ground for such an innovations’ waste as in the case of computers and electronic gadgets. As nanotechnology is globally a new concept, will Nigeria Join the train or be an onlooker and wait to receive the crumbs in years to come? Conclusion For countries in the developing world, nanotechnology is still mostly a science of the future. Due to the rapidly growing nature of annotate, it is important that Nigeria actively Joins the train of countries who are heavily investing in the development of nanotechnology, such as India and South Africa. Nanotechnology, as seen in this paper, has tremendous advantages if properly harnessed. The science addresses a host of problems facing the Nigerian populace such as health, and agriculture.