As more and more scientists penetrate into the field of molecular engineering, the reality of nanotechnology in everyday life is approaching. A recent example is the development of a new type of lock. Keyboard lock. Made from a single molecule.
Organic chemist Abraham Shanzer and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel described their new safety device in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on December 19, 2006.
This type of lock can have any number of applications. It can possibly be used with a pool of similar molecules to protect important information. It can also be used in the body to detect minor chemical changes, which also provides medical applications.
The lock is similar to the concept of an ATM keyboard - except that unlocking is much more difficult. Using a password made from a specific sequence of chemicals and light, it can be virtually unprotected.
Shanzer and his colleges are already working on more complex sequences of chemicals and longer series. pulses of light for use as passwords.
Basically, what Shanzer did was to take a virus molecule called FISH (Flice inhibitor), which is acidic in nature and binds it to an alkaline compound and an ultraviolet-sensitive compound. These three elements are FISH The connection and the light are, in fact, the buttons that make up the keyboard. The lock does not open, as each button cannot work with its own complex password. After entering the first password, the other two must be entered for several minutes one after the other so that the keyboard is not reinstalled.
According to John Birch, chief writer Nanofuture2030 , nanotechnology will soon affect our lives in all respects - from safety and medicine to product production, food distribution and production.
Molecular engineering is an exciting field, and it is being researched by scientists around the world, including teams at the University of Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rice University.
