We witness the uses of Nanotechnology every time we get dressed, step outside, or drive to work. Nanotechnology is the process of applying extremely small things, sometimes as small as atoms or molecules, to improve different fields of science.

Scientists have found many ways to improve the way we live, how we interact with our environment, the clothes we wear, and even the way we use sporting equipment.

Here are 5 applications of nanotechnology we take advantage of in our everyday lives.

Medicine

The use of nanotechnology in medicine has improved the medications that are administered for infections or viruses within our bodies. Currently, there are trials in the works that are testing the use of nanoparticles in chemotherapy. Scientists have also developed nanosponges that are used to absorb toxins in the bloodstream.

The nanosponges are coated with a red blood cell membrane, so they can move past the blood cells with no issue, allowing them to attract and absorb the toxins. More ways to use nanotechnology in medicine are being discovered all the time, including uses in destroying tumors with lasers inside Nanotubes,

Improving Air Quality

Nanotechnology has helped improve our air quality drastically over the past few decades. This is mostly due to new ways of reducing emissions from cars or power plants. Nanotechnology can also improve the performance and cost of catalysts used to transform vapors escaping from cars or industrial plants into harmless gasses.

Companies have also developed a way for catalytic converters to use less metal by incorporating nanoparticles, tiny versions of the metal that is usually used in the converters, instead of the amount of metal more commonly used.

By using the nanoparticles, the converter is still creating the same chemical reaction, but uses less metal, and therefor cutting down emissions released into the air.

Clothing

If you’ve ever worn a stain resistant shirt or insulated shoes, you’ve experienced the use of nanotechnology in clothing. Tiny strands of cellulose, also known as nanowhiskers, are used in the manufacturing process of clothing to create garments that are stain resistant.

Nanopores, holes that are so small you can’t even see them without a microscope, are also used in some shoes to make them more insulated. These nanopores help the shoes abstain from trapping in bad odors. Researchers are also developing a way to protect us from hazardous chemicals by using a honeycomb of polyurethane nanofibers in clothing.

Sporting Goods

If you have ever watched a tennis match, you may wonder how someone could have so much power behind them when they hit the ball with their racket. Some tennis racket manufacturers, like Wilson, use nanotechnology by placing nanotubes in the racket’s woven wiring.

This reinforces the racket’s power when it hits the ball, as well as strengthens the wires so they last longer. The rubber lining inside a tennis ball helps it bounce, but also needs to be porous enough to lower its resistance to air. Nanopores are used in tennis balls to help them keep their bounce longer.

Space Exploration

There is a current study happening using carbon nanotubes to make cables needed to create a system that can one day take us to space much faster than we can today. This system is also known as a space elevator.

Carbon nanotubes can also be used to make solar sails, which have been theorized to be needed for another form of faster space travel using less fuel and fewer materials to build the spacecraft. The nanotubes would be cheaper, lightweight, and more efficient than any other material.

Technology has always been thought to mean ‘big and bulky,’ but with the uses of nanotechnology, we learn that there is an entire nano-world out there. We are still discovering new ways to use these minuscule materials to improve our daily lives, as well as further explore more things on Earth and even beyond.