Science Café: From atoms to innovations
The power of nanotechnology in daily life and the technology of tomorrow.
On December 29, 1959, American physicist Richard Feynman gave a lecture to the American Physical Society that would later become famous, titled “There is plenty of room at the bottom.”
In it, he shared thoughts on the purposeful manipulation of individual atoms to create materials far more efficiently than was possible with the chemistry of the time. He even touched upon the idea of creating nanoscale machines. Swallow a doctor, he suggested as an example—a microscopic machine that could solve a problem somewhere inside the body.
In 1966, science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote the script for a film called Fantastic Voyage. In the movie, a submarine with five specialists is shrunk to the size of a bacterium and injected into a scientist's bloodstream to dissolve a blood clot in their brain. Asimov also adapted the script into a book, which was published in 1967.
When microtechnology had advanced enough by the 1980s that creating structures with dimensions of billionths of a meter (nanometers) became feasible, Feynman’s lecture was rediscovered. Fantasies about nanorobots delivering medicine directly to specific sites in the body soon began to circulate, now with a more scientific foundation.
Forty years later, what is the real status of nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology plays an increasingly important role in our daily lives, often without us even noticing. Today, scientists and engineers can design materials and structures at the nanoscale and build them atom by atom. This allows them to create new materials with precisely chosen properties, making them suitable for faster electronics, more efficient energy storage, better medical treatments, and more sustainable materials.
Prof. Guus Rijnders of the MESA+ Institute at the University of Twente will review some of the most recent developments in nanotechnology during his lecture. Using compelling examples, he will demonstrate how these new materials can help solve problems in the fields of energy, health, and digitalization.
Live music will be provided by Dubio, and the moderator is Ilse Roelofsen.
