Nanotechnology and Energy

What Nanotech is Capable of:

-Steam from sunlight: Sunlight, focused on nanoparticles can make steam with high efficiency. This has been labeled the “solar steam device” and is targeting developing countries where efficient electricity is needed for water disinfecting and other health procedures.

-High efficiency light bulbs: Nano-infused polymer matrix is being tested with new light bulbs: they make white light and their possible shapes are boundless. In addition, the bulbs are shatterproof and about twice as efficient as compact fluorescence light bulbs.

-Increasing output generated by windmills: An adhesive spread with carbon nanotubes is being used to produce better windmill blades. These blades are stronger, less heavy, and longer: therefore, each windmill can export larger amounts of energy.

-Producing electricity from waste heat: Developers are testing sheets of nanotubes making thermo units that would generate electricity if the sides of the units were different temperatures. These sheets could be wrapped around hot pipes, like the exhaust pipe in cars, to make electricity from the energy that normally leaves as wasted heat.

-Clothes making electricity: Scientists are developing piezoelectric nanofibers which are flexible enough to be woven into cloth. When you moved wearing these, they could turn your kinetic energy into electricity that could potentially charge your phone and iPod. (Crazy!)

-Causing the production of fuels from raw sources to be more efficient: Nanotech could be the next major solution to the shortage of fossil fuels through making low grade raw materials cost-effective for production. In addition, nanotechnology can increase the amount of miles cars get to the gallon, and make the production of normal raw material fossil fuels more efficient: this would be a plus to the environment because there would be less demand from nature for fuel products.