An Introduction to Nanotechnology
Introduction: Nanotechnology is not a separate field of science, it is the
application of knowledge and process at a scale we arenʼt familiar
with - one that is very small. The illustration to the right is of a
buckyball - 60 atoms of carbon connected in a way that looks like a
soccer ball. A buckyball measures about 1 nm across. Scientists
know the properties of some materials are incredibly different at the
nanolevel than at the macrolevel. A buckyball has properties very
different from other forms of carbon like graphite and diamond.
math.ucr.edu
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to become familiar with nanotechnology and
how nanotechnology influences our lives.
Directions: Move through the stations in any order. Do each activity and answer the
questions.
Put out the How Big is Your Hand reference
"
sheet - www.nisenet.org/sites/.../
Station A: How big is your hand? nanoexhibit_studentworksheet_aug12.doc
1.Measure your hand in nanometers using the How Big is Your Hand? reference
sheet. Write the value here.
Check for reasonable answers for questions 1 and 2.
2.According to the ruler shown at the left side of the page, how big is your hand in
centimeters?
3.Watch the video, How Small is Nano? located at: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=bQzFpP4FSN4
Questions:
1.Scientists working at the atomic level work with units called nanometers. There
are 1 billion nanometers in one meter. The buckyball pictured at the top of the
page measures about 1nm across. If you laid 10 buckyballs end to end, how far
away would the last one be?
The last one would be 10nm away.
2.What if you laid 1,000,000 buckyballs end to end; how far away would the last
one be? Express your answer in centimeters.
1cm
3.How many buckyballs would have to be put end to end for the last one to be 1
meter away from the first?
1 billion (1,000,000,000) buckyballs
4.Describe how your ideas about “small” have changed since yesterday.
Students should describe a greater appreciation or understanding of the very small
- small is much smaller today then it was yesterday!
Station B: How can you model the size of a nanometer?
1.You are probably familiar with the metric prefixes kilo- (meaning 1000) and milli(meaning 0.001). The prefix nano- is appearing more often in newspaper and
magazine articles. Perhaps you “read” the prefix nano- as very small and thatʼs
OK. Your job today is to figure out just how small that really is.
2.There are one billion (1,000,000,000) nanometers in a meter. Look at the craft
stick. If its length represents one nanometer, where would the billionth one be?
(No answer required here, just think about it.)
3.If the length of a craft stick represents one nanometer, how far away (in meters)
would the billionth one be? Develop a procedure to figure it out. Write the steps of
your procedure in the space below. Express your answer in meters. Show all your
calculations (both numbers and units please) and circle your answer.
"One craft stick measures 11.4cm x 1,000,000,000 means or 11,400,000,000cm or
114,000,000 meters.
Put out some craft
"
sticks and a ruler.
"Questions:
1.The craft stick you used represents 1nm. One million craft sticks would represent
a centimeter. At this scale, if you put the first craft stick right outside the school
door predict where your “centimeter” would end. For example, would it still be in
your school? your town? your state?
Answers will vary.
2.Use outside resources to describe where the millionth craft stick would be. Show
all calculations in a neat and logical format.
Answers will vary with your location but it will be about 70 miles away.
Put out clear nail polish (not strengthening or quick
dry). CAUTION - try it first. You need a shallow bowl
of water and strips of black card stock paper.
Station C: Do materials look the same when they are really small?
1.Observe the bottle of nail polish. What color is the nail polish on the macro level?
Clear or colorless
2.Slide a strip of black paper into the bowl of water. Make sure itʼs completely
under surface. Use the brush to drip one drop of nail polish onto the surface of the
water. The polish will spread out into a film.
3.Grab one end of the paper and lift it up out of the water bringing the nail polish
film with it. Write your observations of the film below.
"Students should describe the rainbow appearance of the of the film.
Questions:
1.The nail polish has spread out into a thin film, just a few hundred nanometers
thick. A thin film reflects light differently depending on how thick it is. Does the nail
polish still look clear when it is a thin film?
No
2.Thin films can reflect light in special ways because their thickness is in the same
size range as the wavelength of visible light. So why doesnʼt light create colors
when it hits a thin piece of glass (like a microscope slide)?
The glass slide is thicker than the film and is not in the same size range as the
wavelength of visible light so rainbows are not produced.
3.Have you seen anything act similarly to the nail polish? Explain.
Yes, I have seen rainbows in oil slicks and in bubbles.
4.Materials can look very different when they are nanosized. What color is a gold
nugget? Do a bit of Internet research to find the color of nano sized particles of
gold.
Gold is gold/yellow in color, students should list several colors of nanogold particles
including red, orange, etc. depending on the size of the particle.
Station D: How can we study things too small to directly observe?
1.Feel the object that is hidden in the touch bag. Make three observations about
the object.
Answers will vary with the object but should be appropriate for the level of student.
the tip is scanned across a surface in atom-sized movements, differences in force
can be felt by the probe tip as it moves closer or farther away from the surface
atoms. Researchers use this method to image the pattern of atoms on the surface.
This activity is a macroscale model of this process.
"
Drag the thin probe strip along the dark unprinted side of the magnet in the two
perpendicular directions as shown below. List several observations for each
motion beside the appropriate drawing.
"
Observations from one direction should include a description of the probe slipping
and sticking across the surface. Students should describe the repelling and
attracting forces. In the other direction the probe will move smoothly across the
surface.
2.Based on what you observed, which of the four diagrams best represents how the
magnetic field is arranged? The North pole is colored white and the South pole is
colored grey. Does it feel like choice A – a completely uniform arrangement, does
it feel like choice B or C – alternating stripes, or does it feel more like D –
alternating poles in both directions like a checkerboard? Explain why you made
your choice.
2.In the space below, draw a picture of what you felt. Yes, you may make more
observations - but no peeking!
Drawings will vary with the object but should be appropriate for the level of student.
Put a toy in a brown paper bag or box
and close the top.
Questions:
1.Take the object out of the bag and compare it to your picture. List two things you
were not able to observe about the object.
will vary (but you know they will include color).
2.When you feel the hidden object and draw an image of what it looks like, you are
modeling the way a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) works. Your hand acts like
the sensor or probe and your brain acts like the computer program that creates the
image of what the probe “feels.” Were your fingers able to detect all the
information about the object in the touch bag? "
No!
Cut a 1/4 inch strip off a refrigerator
magnet and put both at the station.
Station E: How can these special microscopes be modeled?
1.One way to “see” at the nanoscale level is to use a Scanning Probe Microscope
(SPM). These instruments use a probe tip that terminates in a single atom. When
A
"
B
C
D
Students should indicate B or C depending on the magnet used. Reasons could
include: Both A and D would produce the same observation while moving the probe
horizontally and vertically. B or C must be the answer or the attraction and
repulsion was the same no matter if the probe was moved horizontally or vertically
across the magnet.
Questions:
1.How did what you felt help you determine the arrangement of the magnetic field?
Like poles attract and unlike poles repel. The effect of these forces could be felt. That
helped me decide when the arrangement of the magnetic field changed.
2. How does this activity show you what a SPM does?
This activity shows us how we can learn about something by how it reacts or
interacts with another object just like an SPM does.
3.There are one billion nanometers in one meter. Cell membranes are about 9nm
thick. Why do scientists need to develop new tools to work at the nanolevel?
Light microscopes cannot help us “see” anything this small. The new microscopes
developed do!
Station F: How has nanotechnology impacted our lives?
Manipulating matter at very small levels can bring about changes in properties at
the macro level. These changes can be used to make products that benefit
individuals. Research a product that has been enhanced by nanotechnology. How
does nanotechnology allow it to have properties better than a similar non-nano
product? Work cooperatively to answer the following questions about the product:
Questions:
1.What is the product and what is it used for?
Answers will vary with the product.
2.What problem does the nano product attempt to solve?
Answers will vary.
3.How has nanotechnology been used to solve this problem?
Answers will vary.
Students will need Internet access.
Rubbermaidʼs Clean & Dry plunger is fun
to look at!
Summing Up:
1.At Station B you used a craft stick to represent a nanometer. You figured out
“how long” this scaled up centimeter would be. How long (in miles) would a scaled
up meter be if one craft stick were to represent a nanometer?
70,836.6 or about 2.8 times around the Earth!
2. How do we study things we cannot see? No, the answer is not “We use our
other senses!” Please think about what you did in this activity before you answer
the question.
Answers should include that we sometimes learn about things we cannot see by how
they interact with other things. Vocabulary may include the words observation and
inference.
3.Use the drop down menu under the Education tab at www.nano.gov and give the
name and location of a program close to you where you could further your study of
nanotechnology.
Answers will vary.
4.Do a search to find another product that has been enhanced by nanotechnology.
Give the name and a brief description of the product.
Answers will vary.
The set up: Students will need access to the Internet for some activities.
Lab Station A: How big is your hand?
Set out the How Big is Your Hand? reference sheet.
Lab Station B: How can you model the size of a nanometer?
Set out craft sticks and a ruler.
Lab Station C: Do materials look the same when they are really small?
Set out the clear nail polish, black paper strips, and a dish of water. (Try it
first, not all clear nail polish works. Do not use quick dry or strengthening.)
Lab Station D: How can we study things too small to directly observe?
Put a toy into a brown paper bag, close the top, and set it out.
Lab Station E: How can these special microscopes be modeled?
Set out a magnet and probe. The probe is a narrow strip cut off the magnet.
Lab Station F: How has nanotechnology impacted our lives?
Internet access, set out a product if you have one.
Students will be exposed to a variety of standards as they do this activity, including:
9.1.1.1.1 Explain the implications of the assumption
Materials do not look the
that the rules of the universe are the same
same or behave the same as
everywhere and these rules can be discovered by
their macrocounter parts.
careful and systematic investigation.
This will certainly challenge
9.1.1.1.7 Explain how scientific and technological
students and their thinking!
innovations - as well as new evidence - can challenge
portions of, or entire accepted theories and models
By looking for a program of
including, but not limited to: cell theory, atomic theory,
study, students can begin to
theory of evolution, plate tectonic theory, germ theory
think about a technical career.
of disease, and the big bang theory.
9.1.3.2.2 Analyze possible careers in science and
Nanotechnology is
engineering in terms of education requirements,
multidisciplinary. This activity
working practices and rewards.
involves a little biology,
9.1.3.3.3 Describe how scientific investigations and
chemistry and physics.
engineering processes require multi-disciplinary
contributions and efforts.
As scientists and engineers
9.1.3.4.1 Describe how technological problems and
create new products to solve
advances often create a demand for new scientific
problems, they needed to see
knowledge, improved mathematics and new
smaller and smaller things technologies.
new scopes were developed.
Ann Markegard
[email protected]