Nanometer

 

(OpenLearn)

Whenever I get overly anxious about something, I think about how on the scale of the universe we are all just specks of dust and it does not really matter if I get an A or a B on a test. Its such an abstract thing to imagine our size compared to the universe and it reminds me of how hard it is to imagine something as small as nanotechnology. It is hard to picture 1/50,000 of a human hair as described in "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact and fiction in the construction of a new science"(Vesna and Gimzewski). 

(Johnson)

In the Ted Talk by Paul Rothemud, we learn about how significant even the smallest change can have on an organism as far as its DNA(Rothemund). I have always been interested in genes and how crazy it is that something so long and susceptible to change can make so many humans correctly down to every organ and eyelash. Similarly in Ray Kurzweil's Ted Talk we learn further about the exponential differences that we see in fast past technological advancements(Kurzweil). 

The Nanomandala was very interesting to me, I loved the concept of images projected onto sand. It is so beautiful but also speaks to how small a canvas can be and still be impactful(“Art in the Age of Nanotechnology on Art.Base”). In the clip from "Making Stuff: Smaller" the idea of a microrobot smaller than bacteria was introduced(“Making Stuff: Smaller”). It has amazed me in this weeks content how difficult it is to visualize the size of objects, it gives me further assurance that yes I care about school, but at the end of the day we are all at a nano-level scale in this universe. 

(Vesna)

Works Cited

“Art in the Age of Nanotechnology on Art.Base.” Art.Base, 2023, art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology#12. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Johnson, Jeff. “Nanorobots.” The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science, 2001.

Kurzweil, Ray. “A University for the Coming Singularity.” Ted.com, TED Talks, 2020, www.ted.com/talks/ray_kurzweil_a_university_for_the_coming_singularity?language=en. Accessed 24 May 2023.

“Making Stuff: Smaller.” Pbs.org, 2023, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/making-stuff-smaller/. Accessed 24 May 2023.

OpenLearn. “The Scale of the Universe from Atoms to Galaxies.” OpenLearn Free Learning from the Open University, 2023. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Rothemund, Paul. “DNA Folding, in Detail.” Ted.com, TED Talks, 2023, www.ted.com/talks/paul_rothemund_dna_folding_in_detail?language=en. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Vesna, Victoria. “Nanomandala.” Art.Base, 2010, art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology#12. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Vesna, Victoria, and Jim Gimzewski. “The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science.” Ucla.edu, 19 Mar. 2003, vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm. Accessed 24 May 2023.