National Technology Day: Today 11th May is National Technology Day. Technology is such a vast subject that an article of just a few words cannot be digested here, so let’s talk about nano technology only. Nano technology is nano only in name and appearance, otherwise its powers are immense. With its use, revolutionary changes are expected in the lives of common people. It has started making positive interference in our lives, there are more possibilities ahead.
This is a scene from the film ‘Avengers-Infinity War’. Tony Stark, a character from the film, is standing with his companions in the destroyed city. Just then a mechanical character with a gigantic figure enters the scene in the manner of incarnating on earth. Tony, who looks like a normal man wearing numbered glasses, looks very insignificant in comparison to the giant. The giant character moves forward carrying a heavy axe-shaped weapon in his hand. Tony presses a button on his chest and the iron armor embraces his entire body and face. Tony tosses the giant mechanical vessel away like a toy, his work is done. Tony returns to his normal form. The friend asks when did you make this suit? With a wry smile Tony simply says – ‘Nanotechnology, right?’
Now this is a film scene and a film dialogue. Hollywood fiction that takes long flights of imagination, but the nanotechnology that Tony is talking about is not imaginary at all. Today 11th May is National Technology Day. Technology is such a vast subject that an article of just a few words cannot be digested here, so let’s talk about nano technology only. Although Nano certainly sounds small in name, but this is also a big topic, yet at least something can be black and white.
Nanotechnology is a completely new and applied technology, the use of which makes possible the development, production and study of objects, structures and devices of very small size. It is named ‘Nano’ because of its size, which is represented by nanometer (nm). One nano meter is equal to 10^-9 (ten to the power minus nine) meters.
Nanotechnology includes science subjects like Chemistry, Physics along with Electronics and Biotechnology. The use of nanotech allows easy access to technological advancements and the latest equipment. With its use, revolutionary changes are expected in the lives of common people. It has started making positive interference in our lives, there are more possibilities ahead. It is being used in manufacturing of electronics, solar energy, medical treatment, water conservation, biotransformation, food and food related products.
This is going to raise a lot of hopes in the medical field. Its small size and ability to provide treatment at specific places in the body is going to bring a revolution in the medical field. It is easy for it to find cancer cells among the many cells in the body. There are also possibilities that in the future, this technology will make heart operations as easy as child’s play. However, there is no definitive product yet that uses nanotechnology to treat heart diseases.
Due to its ability to reach the diseased parts of the body directly and accurately, one can get rid of the problem of side effects of medicines. Presently, side effects of medicines occur because the medicines dissolve in the blood or reach the diseased part of the body through other means and treat it. This creates a possibility of damage to organs that are not sick. Antibiotics especially cause more harm. In case of chemotherapy for cancer, this technique causes less harm to other parts of the body. This technology is going to prove very useful in the field of agricultural production also.
Every coin also has another side. Same is the case with this also. Some losses may also be possible. Nano materials used in the construction of nano technology products can have potential effects on health. This is called nanotoxicology. The materials and technical processes used to manufacture nanotechnology products can harm the environment. Too small a size may make it unstable. Let us tell you that its size is very small. Not only is it impossible to see with the naked eye, it cannot be seen even with a good microscope; a very powerful and state-of-the-art microscope is required for this. Due to instability, this technology could potentially prove useless in high-end space exploration and other such cases. These are all guesses, reality will emerge when it is used extensively.
This technique is being used extensively in Hollywood whereas Bollywood is a little behind in this matter. Yes, the South is definitely a little faster in this matter. Hrithik Roshan’s character in ‘Krrish 3’ is a superhero who wears a nano suit. This suit makes the character powerful. The animated robot in ‘Robot 2.0’ was made using nano technology.
The use of nanotechnology in Hollywood films is a favorite pastime of producer-directors. These people explore this new technology in films in a very interesting way and serve it to the film lovers. It is also true that in some Hollywood films, nanotechnology is used but is not clearly revealed, while in some it is directly communicated to the audience.
If we remember the technology of history and the technology of today, we are surprised and the expression ‘Hey, was it like this?’ When IBM created the first hard disk in 1956, it was the size of two refrigerators and weighed about one ton. Whereas its storage capacity was only 3.75 MB (Megabyte). Later small sized floppy disks came. Then through good disks and from here the technical world reached memory cards and pen drives. Motorola’s first cellular phone weighed one kilo and gave a short talk time after charging overnight. These do not have a direct relation with nanotechnology, but it has to be said that due to the desire to make electronic gadgets smaller, lighter and with more storage, such gadgets have been made which we are able to carry around in our pockets.
However, the nanotechnology that insists on filling the river with ocean may be small in size, but definitely not in intentions.
