Week 8 Nanotech and Art

Shrinking molecules to the size of nano-particles gives rise to new properties
In this picture, quantum dots have different colors at different sizes under UV light

This week’s reading brings up the use of nanotechnology, which then begins to parallel biotechnology in the issues that may arise in society. Awareness of nanotechnology in everyday products raise the same ethical questions that genetic modification in organisms do. The uncertainty of the possible dangers of nanotechnology indisputably possess some level of threat, yet the possibilities provide so much hope and opportunity for humankind. By manipulating the size of different materials, physical properties can be changed, which creates endless avenues to explore what the different outcomes may be.

Roman use of nano-particles to  create the different perceptions of gold

Once again, technological advances seem to give new medium for artists, with the possibility of manipulating the self-assembly of DNA and other nanoparticles. This is also not new, as in history, objects such as the Lycurgus cup and stained glass are both examples of the physical appeal of nanoparticles. However, it remains to be seen what possible uses nanoparticles may have in art, and what ethical concerns may arise alongside new practices.

Beautiful patterns in nature arise as a result of nanoparticles as seen in this butterfly wing

 Regarding the use of nanotechnology in art, it seems amazing that natural processes have created such beautiful structures that also have practical uses for life. In a sense, it raises the chicken and the egg question: have humans evolved to recognize beauty in products of self-assembly and organization, or have the natural products just evolved over time, with physical appeal playing a role in selection? Similar questions arise, not just with patterns in structures from nanoparticles, but also from other subjects that we have studied such as the golden ratio.  It is an interesting question how “coincidences” in nature appear so often, and I wonder if art and the structure of human pattern development help us to recognize and appreciate these “coincidences” much more often.

Sources:

Burg, Stephanie L, and Andrew J Parnell. “Self-Assembling Structural Colour in Nature.” Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, vol. 30, no. 41, 2018, p. 413001., doi:10.1088/1361-648x/aadc95.

Moran, Barbara. “Nanotechnology.” Research What Are Quantum Dots Comments, www.bu.edu/research/articles/quantum-dots-breast-cancer-tumors/.

Online, UC. “Nanotech Jim pt4.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHCuZetAIhk.

Online, UC. “Nanotech Jim pt5.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OWc8nmHJmY.

“This 1,600-Year-Old Goblet Shows That the Romans Were Nanotechnology Pioneers.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Sept. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1600-year-old-goblet-shows-that-the-romans-were-nanotechnology-pioneers-787224/.