The next step in nanotechnology
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0:01 - 0:04Let's imagine a sculptor
building a statue, -
0:04 - 0:06just chipping away with his chisel.
-
0:06 - 0:09Michelangelo had this elegant way
of describing it when he said, -
0:09 - 0:12"Every block of stone
has a statue inside of it, -
0:12 - 0:15and it's the task
of the sculptor to discover it." -
0:15 - 0:18But what if he worked
in the opposite direction? -
0:18 - 0:20Not from a solid block of stone,
-
0:20 - 0:21but from a pile of dust,
-
0:21 - 0:26somehow gluing millions of these particles
together to form a statue. -
0:26 - 0:27I know that's an absurd notion.
-
0:27 - 0:29It's probably impossible.
-
0:29 - 0:32The only way you get
a statue from a pile of dust -
0:32 - 0:34is if the statue built itself --
-
0:34 - 0:38if somehow we could compel millions
of these particles to come together -
0:38 - 0:40to form the statue.
-
0:40 - 0:42Now, as odd as that sounds,
-
0:42 - 0:46that is almost exactly the problem
I work on in my lab. -
0:46 - 0:47I don't build with stone,
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0:47 - 0:49I build with nanomaterials.
-
0:49 - 0:53They're these just impossibly small,
fascinating little objects. -
0:53 - 0:57They're so small that if this controller
was a nanoparticle, -
0:57 - 1:00a human hair would be the size
of this entire room. -
1:00 - 1:02And they're at the heart of a field
we call nanotechnology, -
1:02 - 1:04which I'm sure we've all heard about,
-
1:04 - 1:08and we've all heard
how it is going to change everything. -
1:08 - 1:09When I was a graduate student,
-
1:09 - 1:13it was one of the most exciting times
to be working in nanotechnology. -
1:13 - 1:16There were scientific breakthroughs
happening all the time. -
1:16 - 1:17The conferences were buzzing,
-
1:17 - 1:20there was tons of money
pouring in from funding agencies. -
1:21 - 1:22And the reason is
-
1:22 - 1:24when objects get really small,
-
1:24 - 1:27they're governed by a different set
of physics that govern ordinary objects, -
1:28 - 1:29like the ones we interact with.
-
1:29 - 1:31We call this physics quantum mechanics.
-
1:31 - 1:34And what it tells you is
that you can precisely tune their behavior -
1:34 - 1:36just by making seemingly
small changes to them, -
1:37 - 1:39like adding or removing
a handful of atoms, -
1:39 - 1:41or twisting the material.
-
1:41 - 1:43It's like this ultimate toolkit.
-
1:43 - 1:46You really felt empowered;
you felt like you could make anything. -
1:46 - 1:47And we were doing it --
-
1:47 - 1:50and by we I mean my whole
generation of graduate students. -
1:50 - 1:54We were trying to make blazing fast
computers using nanomaterials. -
1:54 - 1:55We were constructing quantum dots
-
1:55 - 1:59that could one day go in your body
and find and fight disease. -
1:59 - 2:02There were even groups
trying to make an elevator to space -
2:02 - 2:03using carbon nanotubes.
-
2:04 - 2:06You can look that up, that's true.
-
2:07 - 2:09Anyways, we thought it was going to affect
-
2:09 - 2:12all parts of science and technology,
from computing to medicine. -
2:12 - 2:13And I have to admit,
-
2:13 - 2:15I drank all of the Kool-Aid.
-
2:15 - 2:18I mean, every last drop.
-
2:19 - 2:20But that was 15 years ago,
-
2:21 - 2:22and --
-
2:22 - 2:25fantastic science was done,
really important work. -
2:25 - 2:26We've learned a lot.
-
2:26 - 2:30We were never able to translate
that science into new technologies -- -
2:30 - 2:33into technologies
that could actually impact people. -
2:33 - 2:35And the reason is, these nanomaterials --
-
2:36 - 2:37they're like a double-edged sword.
-
2:37 - 2:39The same thing that makes
them so interesting -- -
2:39 - 2:41their small size --
-
2:41 - 2:43also makes them impossible to work with.
-
2:43 - 2:47It's literally like trying to build
a statue out of a pile of dust. -
2:47 - 2:51And we just don't have the tools
that are small enough to work with them. -
2:51 - 2:53But even if we did,
it wouldn't really matter, -
2:53 - 2:57because we couldn't one by one
place millions of particles together -
2:57 - 2:58to build a technology.
-
2:59 - 3:00So because of that,
-
3:00 - 3:02all of the promise
and all of the excitement -
3:02 - 3:05has remained just that:
promise and excitement. -
3:05 - 3:07We don't have any
disease-fighting nanobots, -
3:07 - 3:09there's no elevators to space,
-
3:09 - 3:13and the thing that I'm most interested in,
no new types of computing. -
3:13 - 3:16Now that last one,
that's a really important one. -
3:16 - 3:17We just have come to expect
-
3:17 - 3:21the pace of computing advancements
to go on indefinitely. -
3:21 - 3:23We've built entire economies on this idea.
-
3:23 - 3:25And this pace exists
-
3:25 - 3:28because of our ability
to pack more and more devices -
3:28 - 3:29onto a computer chip.
-
3:29 - 3:31And as those devices get smaller,
-
3:31 - 3:33they get faster, they consume less power
-
3:34 - 3:35and they get cheaper.
-
3:35 - 3:40And it's this convergence
that gives us this incredible pace. -
3:40 - 3:41As an example:
-
3:41 - 3:46if I took the room-sized computer
that sent three men to the moon and back -
3:46 - 3:48and somehow compressed it --
-
3:48 - 3:52compressed the world's
greatest computer of its day, -
3:52 - 3:54so it was the same size
as your smartphone -- -
3:54 - 3:56your actual smartphone,
-
3:56 - 3:59that thing you spent 300 bucks on
and just toss out every two years, -
3:59 - 4:01would blow this thing away.
-
4:01 - 4:03You would not be impressed.
-
4:03 - 4:05It couldn't do anything
that your smartphone does. -
4:05 - 4:07It would be slow,
-
4:07 - 4:09you couldn't put any of your stuff on it,
-
4:09 - 4:11you could possibly
get through the first two minutes -
4:12 - 4:14of a "Walking Dead" episode
if you're lucky -- -
4:14 - 4:15(Laughter)
-
4:15 - 4:17The point is the progress --
it's not gradual. -
4:17 - 4:19The progress is relentless.
-
4:19 - 4:20It's exponential.
-
4:20 - 4:22It compounds on itself year after year,
-
4:22 - 4:24to the point where
if you compare a technology -
4:25 - 4:26from one generation to the next,
-
4:26 - 4:28they're almost unrecognizable.
-
4:28 - 4:31And we owe it to ourselves
to keep this progress going. -
4:31 - 4:34We want to say the same thing
10, 20, 30 years from now: -
4:35 - 4:37look what we've done
over the last 30 years. -
4:37 - 4:40Yet we know this progress
may not last forever. -
4:40 - 4:42In fact, the party's kind of winding down.
-
4:42 - 4:44It's like "last call for alcohol," right?
-
4:44 - 4:46If you look under the covers,
-
4:46 - 4:49by many metrics
like speed and performance, -
4:49 - 4:51the progress has already slowed to a halt.
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4:52 - 4:54So if we want to keep this party going,
-
4:54 - 4:56we have to do what we've
always been able to do, -
4:56 - 4:58and that is to innovate.
-
4:58 - 5:00So our group's role
and our group's mission -
5:00 - 5:03is to innovate
by employing carbon nanotubes, -
5:03 - 5:07because we think that they can
provide a path to continue this pace. -
5:07 - 5:08They are just like they sound.
-
5:08 - 5:11They're tiny, hollow tubes
of carbon atoms, -
5:11 - 5:14and their nanoscale size,
that small size, -
5:14 - 5:17gives rise to these
just outstanding electronic properties. -
5:17 - 5:21And the science tells us
if we could employ them in computing, -
5:21 - 5:24we could see up to a ten times
improvement in performance. -
5:24 - 5:28It's like skipping through several
technology generations in just one step. -
5:29 - 5:30So there we have it.
-
5:30 - 5:32We have this really important problem
-
5:32 - 5:35and we have what is basically
the ideal solution. -
5:35 - 5:36The science is screaming at us,
-
5:36 - 5:39"This is what you should be doing
to solve your problem." -
5:41 - 5:43So, all right, let's get started,
-
5:43 - 5:44let's do this.
-
5:44 - 5:47But you just run right back
into that double-edged sword. -
5:47 - 5:51This "ideal solution" contains a material
that's impossible to work with. -
5:51 - 5:55I'd have to arrange billions of them
just to make one single computer chip. -
5:55 - 5:59It's that same conundrum,
it's like this undying problem. -
5:59 - 6:01At this point, we said, "Let's just stop.
-
6:01 - 6:03Let's not go down that same road.
-
6:03 - 6:06Let's just figure out what's missing.
-
6:06 - 6:07What are we not dealing with?
-
6:07 - 6:09What are we not doing
that needs to be done?" -
6:09 - 6:11It's like in "The Godfather," right?
-
6:11 - 6:14When Fredo betrays his brother Michael,
-
6:14 - 6:15we all know what needs to be done.
-
6:15 - 6:17Fredo's got to go.
-
6:17 - 6:18(Laughter)
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6:18 - 6:20But Michael -- he puts it off.
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6:20 - 6:21Fine, I get it.
-
6:21 - 6:23Their mother's still alive,
it would make her upset. -
6:23 - 6:25We just said,
-
6:25 - 6:27"What's the Fredo in our problem?"
-
6:27 - 6:29What are we not dealing with?
-
6:29 - 6:30What are we not doing,
-
6:30 - 6:33but needs to be done
to make this a success?" -
6:33 - 6:37And the answer is
that the statue has to build itself. -
6:37 - 6:39We have to find a way, somehow,
-
6:39 - 6:43to compel, to convince
billions of these particles -
6:43 - 6:46to assemble themselves
into the technology. -
6:46 - 6:50We can't do it for them.
They have to do it for themselves. -
6:50 - 6:53And it's the hard way,
and this is not trivial, -
6:53 - 6:56but in this case, it's the only way.
-
6:56 - 6:59Now, as it turns out,
this is not that alien of a problem. -
7:00 - 7:01We just don't build anything this way.
-
7:01 - 7:03People don't build anything this way.
-
7:03 - 7:07But if you look around --
and there's examples everywhere -- -
7:07 - 7:10Mother Nature builds everything this way.
-
7:10 - 7:12Everything is built from the bottom up.
-
7:12 - 7:13You can go to the beach,
-
7:14 - 7:17you'll find these simple organisms
that use proteins -- -
7:17 - 7:18basically molecules --
-
7:18 - 7:20to template what is essentially sand,
-
7:20 - 7:21just plucking it from the sea
-
7:22 - 7:25and building these extraordinary
architectures with extreme diversity. -
7:25 - 7:28And nature's not crude like us,
just hacking away. -
7:28 - 7:29She's elegant and smart,
-
7:29 - 7:32building with what's available,
molecule by molecule, -
7:32 - 7:34making structures with a complexity
-
7:34 - 7:36and a diversity
that we can't even approach. -
7:37 - 7:39And she's already at the nano.
-
7:39 - 7:42She's been there
for hundreds of millions of years. -
7:42 - 7:44We're the ones that are late to the party.
-
7:44 - 7:48So we decided that we're going
to use the same tool that nature uses, -
7:48 - 7:50and that's chemistry.
-
7:50 - 7:51Chemistry is the missing tool.
-
7:51 - 7:54And chemistry works in this case
-
7:54 - 7:57because these nanoscale objects
are about the same size as molecules, -
7:57 - 8:00so we can use them
to steer these objects around, -
8:00 - 8:01much like a tool.
-
8:02 - 8:04That's exactly what we've done in our lab.
-
8:04 - 8:07We've developed chemistry
that goes into the pile of dust, -
8:07 - 8:09into the pile of nanoparticles,
-
8:09 - 8:11and pulls out exactly the ones we need.
-
8:11 - 8:15Then we can use chemistry to arrange
literally billions of these particles -
8:15 - 8:17into the pattern
we need to build circuits. -
8:17 - 8:19And because we can do that,
-
8:19 - 8:21we can build circuits
that are many times faster -
8:21 - 8:24than what anyone's been able
to make using nanomaterials before. -
8:24 - 8:26Chemistry's the missing tool,
-
8:26 - 8:30and every day our tool gets sharper
and gets more precise. -
8:30 - 8:31And eventually --
-
8:31 - 8:33and we hope this is
within a handful of years -- -
8:33 - 8:37we can deliver on one
of those original promises. -
8:37 - 8:39Now, computing is just one example.
-
8:39 - 8:42It's the one that I'm interested in,
that my group is really invested in, -
8:42 - 8:46but there are others
in renewable energy, in medicine, -
8:46 - 8:48in structural materials,
-
8:48 - 8:51where the science is going to tell you
to move towards the nano. -
8:51 - 8:53That's where the biggest benefit is.
-
8:54 - 8:55But if we're going to do that,
-
8:55 - 8:59the scientists of today and tomorrow
are going to need new tools -- -
8:59 - 9:01tools just like the ones I described.
-
9:01 - 9:05And they will need chemistry.
That's the point. -
9:05 - 9:08The beauty of science is that
once you develop these new tools, -
9:08 - 9:10they're out there.
-
9:10 - 9:11They're out there forever,
-
9:11 - 9:14and anyone anywhere
can pick them up and use them, -
9:14 - 9:17and help to deliver
on the promise of nanotechnology. -
9:17 - 9:20Thank you so much for your time.
I appreciate it. -
9:20 - 9:22(Applause)
- Title:
- The next step in nanotechnology
- Speaker:
- George Tulevski
- Description:
-
Every year the silicon computer chip shrinks in size by half and doubles in power, enabling our devices to become more mobile and accessible. But what happens when our chips can't get any smaller? George Tulevski researches the unseen and untapped world of nanomaterials. His current work: developing chemical processes to compel billions of carbon nanotubes to assemble themselves into the patterns needed to build circuits, much the same way natural organisms build intricate, diverse and elegant structures. Could they hold the secret to the next generation of computing?
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 09:35
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The next step in nanotechnology |