Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Introduction
Kathleen Sellers
ARCADISU.S.,Inc.
Contents
1.1
Potential.Rewards............................................................................................ 2
1.2. Possible.Risks.and.Public.Concerns................................................................ 3
1.3. About.This.Topic.............................................................................................. 8
References................................................................................................................... 9
In.early.2007,.the.United.Nations.reported.that.nanotechnology,.which.then.accounted.
for.approximately.0.1%.of.the.global.manufacturing.economy,.would.grow.to.14%.
of.the.market.by.2014.
This.market.share.would.correspond.to.$2.6.trillion.in.U.S..
dollars.[1].
What.accounts.for.this.explosive.growth?.And.what.does.it.mean.for.our.
environment?
This.topic.provides.perspective.on.those.questions.based.on.the.cur-
rent.state.of.the.science.
Nanotechnology.is.a.ield.of.applied.science.concerned.with.the.control.of.mat-
ter.at.dimensions.of.roughly.1.to.100.nanometers.(nm).[1]..(1.nm.is.one-billionth.of.
a.meter.).At.the.particle.size.of.1.to.100.nm,.nanoscale.materials.may.have.differ-
ent.molecular.organizations.and.properties.than.the.same.chemical.substances.in.a.
larger.size..Nano-sized.chemicals.can.have.different.properties.due.to.[2]:
•
Increased.relative.surface.area.per.unit.mass,.which.can.increase.physical.
strength.and.chemical.reactivity
In. some. cases,. the. dominance. of. quantum. effects. at. the. nanometer. size,.
which.changes.basic.material.properties
•
These. unique. properties. offer. revolutionary. means. to. optimize. a. variety. of. prod-
ucts,. including. electronics,. textiles,. paintings. and. coatings,. pharmaceuticals,. and.
personal.care.products.
And.these.unique.properties.mean.that.nanoscale.materials.
can.behave.differently.in.the.human.body.and.the.environment.than.the.correspond-
ing.macro-scale.materials.
Similarly,.revolutionary.developments.during.the.past.two.centuries.offer.caution-
ary.tales.
In.the.1800s,.gaslights.illuminated.the.Industrial.Revolution.
Engineers.had.
devised.ways.to.manufacture.gas.from.the.pyrolysis.of.coal.or.oil.
A.hundred.years.
later,.the.residuals.of.that.process.stained.soils.bright.blue.with.cyanide.compounds.
