McCabe Week 8: Nanotech + Art

This week combined the arts and nanotechnology. The lectures and readings dive very deep into the understanding of how although nanotech was discovered and researched fairly recently, it is our future. By virtue of research after predefined term nanotechnology, scientists now believe that it is not just technology, but a new branch of science. In his lecture, Dr. Gimzeski explains how nanotechnology is already found in nature and other parts of life but has the potential to be in all electronics, agriculture, energy, medicine, pretty much any aspect of science and/or technology. 







To me, this is kind of alarming given how little time scientists have been actually studying and working with nanotechnology. In Dr. Gimzewki and Professor Vesna's article, "The Nano Syndrome: Blurring of fact & fiction in the construction of a new science", they explain how small a nanometer is; they do this by "comparing the nanometer to the thickness of a human hair: the average thickness of a human hair is ~5 x 10-5m, which is (50,000) nm." It is already crazy enough how small-scale nanoscience and technology are. It gets even more concerning when people have dark visions with this technology. Gimzeski mentions how militaries would potentially use nanotech, making war a whole new battle requiring very different methods, designs, and tactics. If in the wrong hands, it seems that nanotech could do a lot of harm to this world.


However, nanotechnology is not always bad and can actually be used to create some cool art. Nanoparticles are very popular and have been incorporated in art and sold for many years. 400 years after Christ, the Romans used nano-sized gold particles in their pottery. This made the Lycurgus Cup illuminate different colors when lit from inside. It sparked my interest because it is a good example of how nanotech is utilized artistically, but also demonstrates that humans have been using this science for years, but it has only recently been researched and become more popular. 




Works Cited

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science, vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm.

Patowary, Kaushik. “Lycurgus Cup: A Piece of Ancient Roman Nanotechnology.” Amusing Planet, Blogger, 19 Aug. 2020, www.amusingplanet.com/2016/12/lycurgus-cup-piece-of-ancient-roman.html.

Soutter, Will. “Nanotechnology in the Military.” AZoNano.com, 7 Aug. 2019, www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=3028.

Unmesha, Ray. “The Health Impact of Nanotechnology.” AZoNano.com, 4 Jan. 2019, www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5113.

Vlachogianni, Thomais & Fiotakis, Konstantinos & Loridas, Spyridon & Perdikaris, Stamatios & Valavanidis, Athanasios. Potential Toxicity and Safety Evaluation of Nanomaterials for the Respiratory System and Lung Cancer. Lung Cancer: Targets and Therapy, 2013. 4. 71-82. 10.2147/LCTT.S23216. 

Comments

  1. Nicole HernandezMay 20, 2021 at 11:45 PM

    Hello Lauren! I really enjoyed reading your blog. I have to agree with you that it is concerning how there have already been talks about using nanotechnology when it comes to war in order to have new methods out there. I thought this was interesting, yet really scary! I love the pictures you incorporated into your blog, especially the one with the pottery.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

McCabe EC Event: Noise Aquarium

Image
For my fourth and extra credit event, I attended the Noise Aquarium. This event was very insightful as well as relaxing. I learned that 80% of our oxygen is produced by plankton, and right now many countries are facing a crisis regarding lack of oxygen. The presenters explained how everyone's breath is connected to one another and that breathing is essential for life. After the background information was given, we were invited to all take a few minutes to breathe, meditate, and practice mindfulness. In these moments, there was a satisfying video playing of the ocean and sea life. The video was a demonstration of how art, or a visual display, can represent the earth and the beings within. The video was very relaxing to watch. Along with visual images, the produces created a soundtrack to the video of calming ocean noises along with breaths. This was interesting because it proved the combination of technology and art to create such noises for meditation. Overall, this event was very ...
Read more

McCabe Week 9: Space + Art

Image
This week's lectures, guest speaker, and readings were all about space and its relation to art. I already find space very fascinating so this week was a lot of fun to learn more about the subject and how art is involved. Space is a very complicated topic since everything that we study in it is so far away. I found the "Powers of Ten" video very engrossing because it demonstrates how far away things like planets and stars actually are to us humans on Earth. It is hard to wrap my head around how most of the things we know are from assumptions or calculations based off of assumptions, but many of our theories cannot be proved until we further explore outer space.  I also love the idea behind space being portrayed in science fiction movies and books. The lectures mention that many ideas that have potential are often brought about in stories, and later on other scientists adopt these ideas. One example of this is the space elevator that Arthur C. Clark writes about in his nove...
Read more

McCabe Week 1: The Two Cultures

Image
This week’s articles’ focus is the idea behind two cultures: intellectuals and scientists. Moreover, the scientists are described as being mainly physical scientists who are more practical, versus the creative intellectual artists. Snow believes that the two are polar opposites and that because of their differences there is a “practical and intellectual and creative loss,” to our society (Snow 12). Snow later states how it would not be fair to only make two categorized cultures, and mentions a third consisting of more contemporary scientists in the middle ground.   From my own experience, I have noticed this divide between the sciences and arts. From a young age as early as elementary school, my classmates and I declared whether we preferred a language arts or math class. From there on I have noticed people around me getting deeper into educational specialization which Snow discusses where some students lose their creativity in the science path, but the other students may never ful...
Read more