Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

In this week's lecture we learned about just how important nanotechnology is.  Dr. Gimzewski, former IBM researcher and current UCLA professor, informed us that almost every aspect of science and technology is somehow affects or influenced by nanotechnology.

First of all, what is nanotechnology? By definition, it is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1-100 NANOmeters (there are 25,400,000 nanometers in an inch.  Basically, we are dealing with stuff that's really small, but can be used across many scientific fields like chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering.  Nanotechnology is a pretty recent phenomenon, with its technologies only being created 30 years ago.  Nonetheless, nanotechnology has proven incredibly useful for scientists working to create materials at the nanoscale.  Materials created this way come out with "higher strength, lighter weight, increased control of light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than their large-scale counterparts."

In my research, I discovered a Nanotech artist named Christian Orfescu, who's day job involves an analytical laboratory at Caleb Technology.  Orfescu is incredibly passionate about his craft, and about nanotechnology, but he hopes to expand the curiosity behind nanotechnology, considering over 70 percent in the U.S. use products incorporating nanotechnology.  Orfescu is very talented when it comes to color manipulation.  He is very good at using the nanotechnology to his advantage, creating beautiful images that are full of both color and wonder.


The next body of work I found was one belonging to Cambridge University, specifically the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy.  The piece to the left is entitled "Crystal Kaleidoscope" because that's exactly what this looks like.  This particular work is a "false colour convergent beam electron diffraction pattern."  There are a number of reflections in the center, including concentric circles of reflections similar to the energy levels of an electron. Additionally, odd numbered energy levels have only a single branch of intensity that corresponds to scattering from the oxygen atoms within the structure.


Another article I found, written by National Geographic, believes that art is the key to making nanotechnology for understandable and relatable.  The article actually talks about the exhibition "nano" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which of course was created by a team of UCLA minds.  The article is basically saying that nanotech art can catch people's attention, and make them think about nanotechnology and ask more questions.  Because of this, art is making this intimidating science more approachable.

And finally I came across an article entitled "When Nanotechnology Meets Art."  This article was basically another blog post comprised of Nanotechnology Images of incredibly beautiful things in nature.  The first was the underside of a single scale on a butterfly wing, and then the blog went on to compare the image of a type of butterfly that looks like an owl, to the actual face and eyes of an owl.  The similarity is pretty scary.  I really liked finishing with this article because for me, it is a culmination of everything about nanotech and art.  These images are beautiful parts of nature that we simply never get to see up close.  The future in this field looks incredibly bright, and it is already one of the most important industries in the modern day.  We are just at the tip of the iceberg here, and I cannot wait what lies in store for the future.













Works Cited:

"What is Nanotechnology?" Nano.gov. National Nanotechnology Initiative, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition>.

Feder, Barnaby J. "The Art of Nanotech." Bits The Art of Nanotech Comments. New York Times, 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/the-art-of-nanotech/?_r=0>.

"Nanotechnology Now." Nanotechnology Art Gallery. Nanotechnology Now, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.nanotech-now.com/nanotechnology-art-gallery.htm>.

Lovgren, Stefan. "Can Art Make Nanotechnology Easier to Understand?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 23 Dec. 2003. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1223_031223_nanotechnology.html>.

"When Nanotechnology Meets Art." ScienceAndReligion.com. N.p., 20 Apr. 2011. Web. 20 May 2015. <https://iaincarstairs.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/when-nanotechnology-meets-art/>.