Let's Get Small
Hi everyone! Welcome to It’s a Nano World After All, my May Term nanoscience blog, where I will share observations about the importance of nanoscale particles. I invite you to join my blog to ride through the nanoscience world! My name is Kiera Draffen. I am a native of Wilmington, NC, and a junior at Transylvania University. I am double majoring in Physics and Biochemistry and minoring in Spanish. I plan to attend medical school to become a cardiologist or a dermatologist. I love reading, hiking, kayaking, dancing, and playing piano in my free time. Some fun facts about me are that I can juggle and have danced competitively for 16 years!
Cardiology Intern Kayaking the Intracoastal Waterway Classical Ballet
In the May Term of my first year, I enrolled in Introduction to Nanoscience, presented primarily from a physics perspective. The course was fascinating, and I developed a curiosity about nanoparticle applications in healthcare. For my final project, I researched and presented cardiology and dermatology applications. In cardiology, I was especially intrigued by studies that claimed conductive nanomaterials might repair damaged cardiac tissue. In this course, I intend to pair my foundational physics understanding of nanotechnology with a biological perspective! Exploring nanoscience's role in these disciplines may help identify research opportunities and create a foundational knowledge of applications in medical school.
In the first three days of Nanoscience, Dr. Johnson summarized the history of physics before the 20th century. He explained that Copernicus was the first to suggest that Earth orbits the Sun in a Heliocentric model in 1543. In the early 17th century, Galileo contributed to astronomy by developing a refracting telescope, the scientific method, and laws of motion that paved the way for Newton. Johannes Kepler determined the laws of planetary motion that revolutionized astronomy. First, he established that planets have elliptical orbits with the Sun at one of the foci. Then, he stated that planets orbit proportionately faster when they are closer to the Sun. In the mid-17th century, Isaac Newton invented calculus and classical mechanics' three foundational laws of motion. More modern physics was introduced with two seemingly irreconcilable concepts contributing to the wave-particle duality of light. Thomas Young's double-slit experiment suggested that light behaves like a wave, while the photoelectric effect suggested light behaves like a particle. Finally, the uncertainty principle was introduced, which limits precision in position and momentum or energy and time of matter.
Techniques and critical thinking play a significant role in the development of nanoscience. I discovered that with just a few fundamental constants, a ruler, and a balance, it is possible to determine the radius of an atom! This exercise demonstrated how important it is to think critically about basic knowledge and determine new ways to put it to use.
In Chapter 1 of Size Really Does Matter: The Nanotechnology Revolution, author Colm Durkan explains that nanotechnology involves studying and manipulating materials on the nanoscale, which is the scale of atoms and molecules. He notes that this field can potentially revolutionize many industries, including electronics, medicine, and energy. Then, in Chapter 2, Durkan explores the history of nanotechnology and its evolution over time. He discusses the work of Richard Feynman and the development of microscopy, which allowed the imaging and manipulation of individual molecules. Durkan covers some critical developments in nanotechnology, such as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. Finally, he discusses the current state of nanotechnology and the potential future directions of the field.
When Feynman spoke at Caltech in 1959, he presented intriguing ideas about the implications of manipulating matter at the atomic level. He focused on compact computer circuits, powerful microscopes, and machines that could perform chemical synthesis through mechanical manipulation. Many of these ideas became a reality, and Feynman's speech is now considered a pivotal moment in the history of nanotechnology. It inspired generations of scientists and engineers to pursue research in this area and highlighted the importance of fundamental research in driving technological advancements and the need for creative thinking in solving scientific problems.
Love "It's a Nano World After All" so far Kiera! I definitely relate to the importance of understanding nanotechnology applications for the medical field. I specifically like that you mentioned how you're intertwining your physics background with a biological lens for the course (go women in STEM). The astronomy history from lecture and the book were also particularly interesting to me. The astronomers you mention are foundational to what we know now in physics. Sad that we lost these observations for a while and had to rediscover them. Up until reading the book, I was not aware that there were arguments on objects acting like either waves OR particles. I always operated on the idea that objects can be both. Of course, we cannot forget about Feynman. He was a truly unique and impressive figure. He did so much for the field of nanoscience and was able to inspire many when the field was barely burgeoning.
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