Nanotech products a bit disappointing
The products expected from nanotechnology are still very much in the future according to the first comprehensive inventory of nanoproducts out Friday.
Instead of robots the size of blood cells, molecular-scale engineering has given us odor-eating shoe inserts, livelier golf balls and age-defying nutritional supplements, the Washington Post said.
The list, compiled by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, indicates there are more than 200 nanotech-based products on store shelves today.
Nanomaterials range in size from one to 100 nanometers -- a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, or about 1/80,000th the thickness of a human hair.
Nanoproducts of various kinds are being incorporated in industrial and consumer products. One example is silver, which in nanoform is especially deadly to bacteria. It can now be found in refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, shoe sole inserts and other products in need of antimicrobial attention or odor reduction.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
