Showing posts with label carbon nanotube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carbon nanotube. Show all posts
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EU's "incrimental approach" in regulating nanomaterials

Thursday, June 28, 2007

We've had discussions on the Berkeley's regulation and I have posted some articles on EU's REACH. Here's an article explaining existing EU's regulatory infrastructure applicable to nanomaterials/nanoparticles and its weaknesses:
The European Commission has adopted a so-called ‘‘incremental approach’’, which focuses on adapting existing laws to regulate nanotechnologies, and therefore this paper aims to test the effectiveness of the ‘‘incremental approach’’. Three commercially available products containing fullerenes (C60 and carbon nanotubes) were analysed in a life cycle perspective in order to (1) map current applicable regulations, (2) analyse their applicability to nanomaterials, (3) identify their gaps, and (4) suggest proper solutions.
Read the full paper here.

My general observation: the paper still based itself on "emission" paradigm. Thus, the playing field is in the lowering of permissible emission. An important point here is that the paper suggested "free nanoparticles" to be exclusively categorized under the REACH and that it should be specifically registered. Interestingly, the paper recommends bottom-up nanoparticle to be regarded as "new substance".

 

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Let's propose for a dot nano (.nano) TLD

Monday, December 18, 2006

There are too many domain names that begins with the word "nano" already. nanoabc.com is for sale (2.000 euro) and nanodeals.com is also for sale for 9900 pounds. With the rising nano business and rising marketshare, there will be a huge demand for nano-related trademarks and for certain, the demand for domain name that contains the word nano will increase. I don't think that domain name creator engines would still be able to suggest alternatives for the word nano. Moreover, as has been explained in my previous post, within a decade, every materials might contain nanoparticle. So, everything will be nano.

The nano domain name is going to be more crowded within 5 years and that can make problem. A solution would be creating a dot nano (.nano) top level domain (TLD). ICANN/Internic/IANA really should start considering this.

(I know what you are going to do next, I can read your mind... :p )

 

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Carbon Nanotube, Nanocrystal, Nanowires

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

This you tube video explains the functions of Carbon Nanotubes in a very simple way:







A Google Tech Talk video elaborating the latest usage of nanotech: nanowire to detect cancer marker antigen (biosensors) and nanocrystal polymers (photovoltaic cells):






 

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Nanotech the IP issues

Monday, November 20, 2006

I just realized that wikipedia just renewed its entry on nanotech, especially in its Intellectual Property part:
On the structural level, critics of nanotechnology point to a new world of ownership and corporate control opened up by nanotechnology. The claim is that, just as biotechnology's ability to manipulate genes went hand in hand with the patenting of life, so too nanotechnology's ability to manipulate molecules has led to the patenting of matter. The last few years has seen a gold rush to claim patents at the nanoscale. Over 800 nano-related patents were granted in 2003, and the numbers are increasing year to year. Corporations are already taking out broad-ranging patents on nanoscale discoveries and inventions. For example, two corporations, NEC and IBM, hold the basic patents on carbon nanotubes, one of the current cornerstones of nanotechnology. Carbon nanotubes have a wide range of uses, and look set to become crucial to several industries from electronics and computers, to strengthened materials to drug delivery and diagnostics. Carbon nanotubes are poised to become a major traded commodity with the potential to replace major conventional raw materials.
We have had discussions on these matters on the past (which you can view by clicking the labels below). There are also some explanations on these matters on the net. For example, a paper from Lawrence Letham which highlights general legal issues relating to nanotech, a general IP trend on nanotech from Chemical and Engineering magazine, Nanotech patent application in Japan from D. Kanama, Nanotech patent trends by Kallinger, Patent Trend survey from Foley Lardner and US Patent Reform for Nanotech from WLF.

 

Defining Carbon Nanotubes on Contracts

Sunday, March 12, 2006

That is Carbon Nanotubes? Why not call it Nano Carbon Tubes?

I wonder how people (lawyers, bureaucrats) define carbon nanotubes in contracts. I have came come out with several definitions on the web:
  1. A carbon nanotube is an ordered molecule of pure carbon. The diameter of a carbon nanotube is on the order of 10 nanometers (1x10 -8 meters, 4x10 -7 inches). Per kilogram of mass, a carbon nanotube theoretically will be over 30 times as strong as Kevlar and 250 times as strong as steel.
    www.isr.us/Downloads/niac_pdf/definitions.html
  2. cylinders as small as 1 nm in diameter grown from fullerenes to resemble a rolled-up sheet of graphite; exhibits desirable semiconductor characteristic such as ballistic electron transport, plus is structurally 100 times stronger than steel of the same weight
    www.eet.com/reshaping/nanotech/OEG20020912S0030
  3. a fullerene molecule having a cylindrical or toroidal shape
    wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
  4. Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical carbon molecules with properties that make them potentially useful in extremely small scale electronic and mechanical applications. They exhibit unusual strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat. Inorganic nanotubes have also been synthesized.
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube

As most of the definitions above contained "fullerene", lets have a look on its definition:

"The fullerenes are recently-discovered allotropes of carbon. They are molecules composed entirely of carbon, in form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. Spherical fullerenes are sometimes called buckyballs, and cylindrical fullerenes are called buckytubes or nanotubes."

Why is the "legal" definition for Carbon Nanotubes that "important"? Here's why:

  1. According to a new report from NanoMarkets LC , the unique electrical, thermal and physical properties of carbon nanotubes will create $3.6 billion in new business for the electronics and semiconductor sectors by 2009.
  2. Carbon nanotube technology will replace silicon transistors in the near future. With carbon nanotubes, devices could be twice as fast, more powerful and more compact.

Those definitions listed above are technical ones and contained words that still needs to be defined. I will try to formulate an ubiquotous definition, but before that, can anyone tell me why we can't call it Nano Carbontubes?

Mohamad Mova Al 'Afghani

(Images: Wikipedia)

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