Mechanical Engineering and Nanotechnology

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The September 2004 nanotechnology special issue of Mechanical Engineering focuses on near-term nanoscale technology research, but seems comfortable with molecular manufacturing as well. Perhaps as a result, their advice about the role of mechanical engineering in nanoscale technology is also good preparation for developing integrated, multiscale nanofactories and their products.

The issue's editor, in a piece titled "Far Out, or Well Grounded?" writes that he's "obsessed with the idea of infinitesimal robots building objects from molecule-size parts." He reflects, "But is that really feasible? No one can honestly say." But he points out that "Work in the nanoscale is grounded in the real world and real problems" and concludes, "Who better to make the nanorobots of my dreams than the folks who already make industrial machines in the here and now?"

The second item of the "Nano Bits" compilation is introduced thus: "The holy grail of nanotechnology is the atomic-scale factory. Computer-controlled nanorobots would assemble molecule-size parts to make all manner of miniature products. A sugar cube-size manufacturing plant is not close to being built, but scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have demonstrated one piece of a futuristic factory." The topic is a technique for moving single atoms of metal from one cluster to another along a carbon nanotube.

The advice on connecting mechanical engineering to nanotechnology is found in "Engineering Without Limit".

"One of the most important issues related to nanotechnology is systems integration and packaging. ....how do we integrate these building blocks in a rational manner to make a functional device or a system? This step requires design based on the understanding of nanoscale science, and on new manufacturing techniques. .... Assembling large quantities of nanostructures in a rational and rapid manner requires tooling, imaging systems, instrumentation, sensors, and control systems. After nanostructures are assembled into functional devices, they need to be packaged so that they can interact with their environment and yet retain the nanoness that provides the unique function and performance. These concerns are similar to those found in conventional manufacturing, though there is a call for a level of precision that is not required by macroscale designers." (Emphasis added.)

I'd like to add a useful comment here, but that quote says it better than I could.

I found this paragraph particularly interesting: "[I]t is often difficult to isolate nanoscale phenomena as we do at customary scales. That is, thermal, electronic, mechanical, and chemical effects are often related to each other. By changing one, it is possible to influence the others. This, of course, emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary knowledge."

Thermal and mechanical effects, and conventional electronics and chemistry, are of course statistical. So one implication of this quote is that statistics will have to be replaced with an understanding of the individual behavior of individual components. A deeper implication is that the physics you learned in high school is not the right set of rules for the nanoscale. But that "physics" was essentially just a set of engineering rules. New engineering rules will have to be developed, perhaps forming new disciplines like chemoelectrics and thermomechanics. But there will be rules. And like all engineering rules, most of them will be irrelevant in many if not most cases.

Thermoelectrics, by the way, is already an engineering concept. The article says that mechanical engineers understand the transport of heat and charge better than other technologists, so "will almost certainly devise the solution" to thermoelectric solar cells.

Structures with mechanical motifs may be useful in medicine: "Nanoparticles and nanowires exist on a scale similar to biomolecules such as DNA and proteins. This suggests that the biological sciences can provide crucial insights to the behavior of such material and that nanoscale devices may be used for medical applications."

A bold and very important statement: "Mechanical engineering programs need to ensure that their students are given a solid grounding in the fundamentals of physics, chemistry, and biology." This goes beyond giving lip service to interdisciplinary approaches; the statement was not qualified, and appears to say that all mechanical engineers should be thus trained. It goes on to say that students must be trained to develop new intuitions, and that "Topics such as solid state physics, chemical thermodynamics, surface forces at the atomic and molecular scale, nanofluidics, and motion and behavior of nanoscale structures—most of which receive little if any attention in the traditional undergraduate ME curriculum—will need to be integrated into core courses such as thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluids, statics and dynamics, and manufacturing."

A well-trained software engineer will be prepared to deal with alien rule systems. The good ones can learn the structure of a new programming language in an hour, the rules in a weekend, and become reasonably fluent and even creative within a week or two. This kind of skill is part of why I have been thinking that engineering skill in limited highly-controlled nanoscale domains could develop quickly. As long as what happens is visible and repeatable, it's quite possible to learn whole landscapes of interactions between very intricate and complex system components, developing and redeveloping hypotheses and techniques on a minute-to-minute basis.

The level of training described here approaches the problem from the opposite direction. The author expects that students will be able to learn enough from theory to become proficient at nanoscale exploration and design--not just able to plug numbers into formulas, but able to intuit how things work. Once this curriculum is designed and students start graduating from it, we can expect to see predesign of nanoscale machines be both more accepted and more useful. This will accelerate the development of advanced nanomachinery.

The article notes that this is a significant advance from what's currently taught: "Requiring professors of mechanical engineering to take graduate-level refresher courses on these topics is not inconceivable." By contrast, many current "courses of study reflect the technological needs of the Sputnik era or perhaps an earlier time." I'll note that the mindsets of many current technologists--including nanotechnologists--also reflect this.

The article ends on a note that's encouraging to me: "What's more, there should be a strong ethical component to this new teaching paradigm." Both unintended consequences and intentional misuse are invoked.

"There are many questions that we engineers must openly discuss: How could nanostructures or manufacturing of nanostructures be harmful to human health? Are there any environmental effects? Could nanotechnology reveal information that infringes on privacy? If improved health diagnostics and therapeutics facilitated by nanotechnology increase lifespan, what effect would the result have on demographics and productivity? Would this technology be accessible to the whole population, or be available to only a certain segment of our society?"

This list is inevitably incomplete. I would add: "How rapidly can new weapons and countermeasures be designed? Which will be more powerful, offense or defense?" This is not to impose responsibility for all military uses on the technologists; my concern is more practical: no one except the technologists can supply this information. And without this information, a sudden increase in our ability to design weapons could take political planners by surprise, leading to geopolitical instability.

Molecular manufacturing implies cheap exponential manufacturing. (Astonishingly cheap per feature; depending on the chemistry, ultimately even cheap per pound.) This implies economic shakeups--first to industries, ultimately to infrastructures and entire economies. Again, the technologists will have to think about these possibilities so they can tell the economists what to expect.

Usually, when nanoscale technology and molecular manufacturing appear onstage together, I worry about confusion and miscommunication. This publication is different. Perhaps because it accepts molecular manufacturing as a straightforward potential consequence of nanotechnology, it has given advice that is equally relevant to both branches. I hope we see a lot more of this in the future.

Chris

UPDATE: See our entry on "Mechanical Engineering & CRN".

Comments

[Daniel Berhe]

I am 4th year Mechanical engineering student.
I am highly interested to know much about nano technology.If possible send me the new dicoveries in this technology

[Mike Treder, CRN]

Daniel,

Check out the discussions on this blog re new discoveries in molecular building blocks, regular nanotube arrays, and a very promising diamond-building proposal from Robert Freitas.

You'll also find researchers and observers exchanging views on new developments at the Wise-Nano site.

[gopi]

not bad

[siti noor jamadil akhiroh bt yusof]

about nanotechnology

[vyjayanthi]

Respected sir,
Iam a student of 2nd year mechanical engineering.I read all your presentation.I would like to know the latest developments in nanotechnology and how it is useful for mechanical engineers.If possible please send me the topics related to nanotechnology and how it is useful for mechanical engineers.
Thanking you Sir,
vyjayanthi

[Jeya Sekaran]

would like to know abt the nanotechnology in the field of automobile parts. plz do message me.

[Amrutha]

Sir,
i have not anything about nanotechnology till now. I am in final year mechanical engineering now. I want to send a technical paper on nano technology. I would like to know the recent developments in nanotechnology.
Thanking you Sir,
Amrutha

[ZIA]

DEAR SIR
Iam a 46years old graduated in mechanical engineering.
I am interested to continue my study in nanotechnology.
would you please consult me if it is possible to continue study in iran or other places for me?
with best regard
zia tonkaboni

[Chris Phoenix, CRN]

Please read our post "Mechanical Engineering and CRN" before posting here asking for help or advice.

You may also want to contact the authors of the magazine articles. They will probably be able to answer these questions far better than we can.

Chris

[Manohar Krishna Asthana]

Respected Sir,

I am a Power Plant (thermal - coal & gas based) professional, and I would like to know about the latest research work going on in nanotechnology and its future prospects in power plants.

Any improvement in thermal efficiency of power plant is having great impact in two ways -
1. Fossil fuel saving, as less fuel is burned to generate same power
2.Less harm to environment, because of less CO2 emission.

Can Nanotechnology play any role in improvement in boiler, turbine efficiency?

Thanking You,

Manohar Krishna Asthana
Sr. Manager (Quality Assurance)
NTPC, Engineering Office Complex, Sector - 24, NOIDA
INDIA

[Chris Phoenix, CRN]

If you're talking boilers and turbines, look for coatings that let you run at higher temperatures.

Broader than that, look at other thermal/electric conversion technologies. There's a company called Cool Chips that's been making noise in the area for the past few years. I don't know anything about them other than their marketing statements, but I think they've talked about power generation.

Chris

[Aniruddha Kumar Mishra]

Sir

Iam third year student of Mechanical Engineering Department at IIT Kharagpur.Please send me the recent developments in the field of application of nanotechnology and smart materials in mechanical dynamic systems.
Thanking you........

[ali]

Sir

I'm a student of telecommunication engineering,and I want to've a full informational review of nanotechnology in different fields of engineering .Please do mail it to me.

Peace

[rajarh]

to hell with ur bloody knowledge ..u all are bloody bullshits.If u dare .have my number 0300-2467762

i'm in karachi pakistan
u bloodies

[Mike Treder, CRN]

Ali,

Please see our comments about engineering here.

[amir rahmani]

I would soon be in 4th year mech engg.my teacher and my fellow students are to undergo a project on nanotechnology.so i require all the basic and prerequisite information before starting this project.so pplease help me regarding this.

[Mike Treder, CRN]

Amir, please see our answer to Ali just above.

[ravi ranjan]

sir
i am in 3rd year mechanical engg. i want to know more abt use of nanotechnology in automobile.

[Thejas Shenoy]

I am studying B.E final year in mechanical engg. pleas send me applications of nanotechnlogy in mechanial field

[Mike Treder, CRN]

Thejas, read this -- http://tinyurl.com/bbgnb -- and then if you have very specific questions, please ask.

Best of luck with your studies and work!

[vyom]

i want know the career prospects for mechanical engineer in nanotechnology in india

[Mike Treder, CRN]

vyom, I'm sorry, that is outside the area of our expertise. See http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2005/02/nanotechnology__1.html

[vishal aggarwal]

sir, i hv just passed my 12 class from medical stream.but i want to do higher studies in nanotechnology.so sir plz let me wat subjects should i chose for my graduation

[Mike Treder, CRN]

Vishal, please see the information in these entries --
http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2005/02/nanotechnology__1.html
http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2005/05/education_choic.html

[Chandrasekar]

Sir,
I am an final year mechanical engineering student, i am intersted to know about nanotechnology in manufacturing field (nanomachines esp.) in mechanical engg. Please help me as i am also more intersted to do my project in it.