Ascending a 25-foot sheet of glass using nothing more than a pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles might not appear the most impressive use of nanotechnology but this real-world advance aptly demonstrates how quickly the field of nanotechnology is climbing into our lives. Below are ten additional examples of how nanotechnology is already transforming the world around us, followed by 10 ways it may help society scale even greater heights in the near future.
#1: Nanotechnology Cleans Up Its Act.
Nissan recently developed a self-cleaning car that repels water, oil, dust, dirt, mud and grit and frees it’s owner from ever having to visit a car-wash again. The real potential of self-cleaning materials, however, lies in their ability to render a variety of urban pollutants harmless. The Jubilee Church in Rome, for example, has been using titanium dioxide nanoparticles to catalyze nitrogen oxide—a byproduct from auto emissions—to become known as “the smog eating Church of Rome.'
As thousands of additional buildings employ similar coatings, heavily polluted cities such as Beijing may soon be breathing easier thanks to nanotechnology.
#2: Product Heal Thyself.
In late 2013, Samsung unveiled its G Flex smartphone which utilizes advanced nanomaterial to imbue the phone’s casing with the ability to self-heal if scratched., In the near future, a number of other products may also be able to self heal, including self-healing concrete—an advance that would be a boon to transportation officials and taxpayers alike as the number of road and bridge repairs are reduced.
#3: 30-Seconds to Splashdown. Discovered only ten years ago, graphene is already being investigated for its potential to reduce the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle from 4 hours to less than 30 seconds. Perhaps even more revolutionary is the work of MIT researchers who are investigating how to exploit graphene’s strength to make desalination technology a practical and affordable option for generating vast amounts of clean water for drought-stricken areas around the world.
GLOBAL FUTURIST
10 Surprising Ways Nanotechnology is Climbing into Your Life
JACK ULDRICH
Jack Uldrich is an acclaimed global futurist, compelling keynote speaker and best-selling author. His past works include, The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business; Jump the Curve: 50 Strategies to Help You Company Stay Ahead of Emerging Technology; Unlearning 101:101 Lessons in Thinking Inside-Out the Box, and, most recently, Higher Unlearning: 39 Post-Requisite Lessons for Achieving a Successful Future. He is the founder and “Chief Unlearning Officer” of The School of Unlearning— an international consultancy designed to help organizations succeed tomorrow by unlearning today.
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