7 Amazing Ways Nanotechnology Is Changing The World
Gold Nanoparticles Wellcome ImagesTiny nanoparticles are a huge part of our lives, for better or for worse. "Everything, when miniaturized to the sub-100-nanometer scale, has new properties, regardless of what it is," says Chad Mirkin, professor of chemistry (and materials science, engineering, medicine, biomedical engineering and chemical and biological engineering) at Northwestern University. This is what makes nanoparticles the materials of the future. They have strange chemical and physical properties compared to their larger-particle kin. The thing that matters about nanoparticles is their scale. Click to launch the photo gallery Nanoscale materials are used in everything from sunscreen to chemical catalysts to antibacterial agents--from the mundane to the lifesaving. "I spilled wine at a Christmas party once, and I was terrified. Red wine on a white carpet. And it wipes right up," Mirkin recalled. "The reason is the nano-particulate used to coat the carpet keeps that material from absorbing...