Chris and James Summary Post

             In total, the transmuter device is not only feasible and usable, but also ethical. If we were to create such a device, the growth of our economy, wealth, and well being would all skyrocket. Although if held by the wrong hands, the wealth generated could be put to misuse, in the right hands it's benefits would be limitless. The money from the gold made could be used to end world hunger and poverty, invested in business, or used to provide education and support for future generations. The research shows that atomically processes are possible in turning certain elements into others, although presumably very expensive. With the transmuter, the process could be made cheap, quick, and yield impressive quantities; a machine that could maintain the American tradition, while pushing us forward as a society.

Period 7 Group 2: Nanotechnology Post 3 (Brandon, Kristina, Tristan, Zach)

Nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology is the ability to manipulate atoms and molecules for science, engineering, or technological purposes. Because of its wide array of uses, nanotechonolgy is considered a general purpose technology. It is conducted at the nanoscale, which is the scale of 1-100 nanometers. This scale is incredibly hard to imagine due to its unbelievable small size. Essentially, if an apple were the size of a nanoparticle, then we would be the size of the Earth. One can see how hard it is to build at this prodigiously small scale.

The concept of nanotechnology was started by Richard Feynam in 1959. Later, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology. Finally, in 1981, scanning tunneling microscopes and the atomic force microscopes were invented. Both of these allowed us to view actual atoms and kick started modern nanotechnology.

Manufacturing nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems is called nanomanufacturing. This field is growing every day. But why should we build anything at the nanoscale? Building things at the nanoscale can make them stronger, lighter weight, and more durable. Imagine a type of steel created at the nanoscale that takes full advantage of the material’s molecular potential. This new steel would be both lighter and stronger. The implications of this enhanced building material would mean taller skyscrapers, longer bridges, and lighter cars. Nanomanufacturing can also lead to much faster computers, more efficient energy sources, and new medical techniques. Some experts believe once nanomanufacturing becomes a viable method of production, it will start a new industrial revolution.

Nanomanufacturing may however prove hazardous to the human race. If nanomaterials were to be released into the environment, it could vastly change and harm local ecosystems and climates. Nanomanufacturing will also almost certainly be used to create more powerful weapons as well. In the wrong hands, this technology is certainly not a good thing.

Because of the many concerns about the effects of nanotechnology, scientists have posed some thought provoking questions. These questions ask who will own the technology, how available will it be, and what social and economic effects will it have. Although nanotechnology is a good 30 years away, these questions need to be answered sooner rather than later. If we are not prepared for this new technology, we could enter another “unstable arms race” (http://crnano.org).

The Process and Our Collaborative Effort:       

        Zach picked the topic of nanotechnology and seemed interested in the subject. The first two posts were done by Tristan, Zach, and Kristina. Because Brandon had contributed nothing to the first two posts, he made sure that he did the third post. We communicated well and worked together in a google doc, but for some reason no one else was willing to post or couldn't post to the blog, so Kristina did all the posting, after finding out that no one posted the other posts...

Works Cited:

Bonsor, Kevin, and Jonathan Strickland. "How Nanotechnology Works."HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks, Inc, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

"What Is Nanotechnology?" Nano. National Nanotechnology Initiative, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

"What Is Nanotechnology?" What Is Nanotechnology? CRN, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

Nanotechnology is present today, and we are making big advances in the field. Already we can create tiny molecular motors, and make tiny transmissions for those motors (as pictured in the GIF). We can also move atoms incredibly precisely. IBM made a short animation using this technique, and it is the future of atomic level manipulation. However, one of the biggest goals of nanotechnology--robots that create more robots--is still unreachable. They would need to be incredibly compact, and the biggest challenge in making such nanorobots is programming them with all the information necessary. So far all of our creations rely on outside forces or are completely mechanical, and building computers at that scale is the next big challenge. In addition, nanoparticles can have unintended consequences on both health and the environment. Some groups think that nanotechnology should be regulated by the government, while others think that this regulation would stifle research and development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCX78-8-q0

http://crnano.org/srg-iii-pov-animation2.gif

Post #3 Vlad Emelyanov on Invisibility

          It is quite probable that an invisibility or light bending “cloak” will be developed in the near future, but how will the world receive something like this invention? It is obvious that the military would snag this up very quickly because of its strategic potential, however would there be a civilian recreation version? The answer is not immediately, but yes. Often times, inventions that are developed and used by the military eventually leak out or are released to the public, a prime example of this is the internet that we are now using for this blog. This invisibility suit would not be readily available at first to civilians for two prime reasons: it will be incredibly expensive like new technologies often are, nd the second is that people are afraid of change and new things. At first, this light bending suit will be terrifying because people will often jump to the worst conclusions about it, such as its potential for committing crime. But after a while, perhaps after a new generation comes in, the will be released to the public, and for people who are worried about the negative uses of technology like this will be able to have upgraded security systems, that for example heat sensors, because a light bending suit would not stop heat from leaking out, and would probably generate a lot of its own, because there is a lot of power involved in making it work. So get ready people, soon you will be able to take incognito to the extreme! Mind you, it will still be extremely expensive.

Eustaquio, Joe, Nick:The Neuralyzer

The Neuralyzer is one of the standard issued tools used by Jay (Will Smith) and Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) in the franchise Men in Black. Jay and Kay use the Neuralyzer to hypnotize a person who has seen something they were not supposed to; like an alien or a spaceship landing. While hypnotized, Jay and/or Kay tell the person a more realistic story of what had just happened. The Neuralyzer could be used if you want to erase someone's memory and change it to anything you want. The Neuralyzer works by setting the amount of hours/minutes you want the person to forget and pressing the button which activated a camera type flash. After the person is flashed, they immediately enter a hypnosis state. During the hypnosis state, you can tell the person what ever you want them to believe is true. Although the Neuralyzer could be a fun tool to use; like every other tool/weapon, it could also be dangerous if put in the wrong hands.  

Nick Joe Estaquio post #2

The Nerulyzer The Nerulyzer could be a useful tool. You could baiscilly do anything you wanted and just erase all memory of it of the people around you. My opinion of the device hasn't changed much. Its a good device to have just in case you need to get out of a jam that could have some bad consequences. Also you could use it if someone found out a secret that you dont want people finding out. It could be a dangerous device if it got into the wrong hands. Someone could use it on important political figure to make them forget a strategy.

Tickle Belt post 3 Zach and Kody

The tickle belt is an extraordinary contraption. According to Spongebob, the tickle belt is locked to the waist of someone and with the push of a button the person gets thrown to the ground in a fit of laughter. Many things in Spongebob are not feasible such as a squirrel living under water, and a talking sponge. However, the tickle belt is in fact, very feasible. Based on Kody and I's research, we have concluded that a simple vibration device on the inside of a lightweight metal belt that can be remote activated. There's really not much to a tickle belt, which is why we focused the majority of our research on the effects of the tickle belt and how the tickle belt would be used in everyday life. If the tickle belt were to be created, it could revolutionize parenting styles, teaching obedience, and correctional practices. Parents could use the tickle belt on their children as a new form of punishment. It would get a message across, without causing physical pain or hatred toward their parents. The tickle belt could be made into a device for a dog. It would be easy enough to adjust the size of the belt and could be used to teach dogs obedience. If your dog starts to bark, you could give him a tickling sensation which would stop the barking almost instantly and would not make your dog want to bark anymore. The tickle belt could also be used in correctional institutions to keep prisoners in line. If the tickle belt was implemented, Prisoners could be controlled much easier because they would be a button push away from being forced to laugh while having minimal movement over their bodies. Those are some of the uses of the tickle belt in every day life. There is no doubt that the tickle belt would be effective, the question is whether or not the belt should be used in everyday life due to the physical and psychological effects of it. As Kody and I have already proved in our previous post, Tickling does not bring joy, it actually causes pain and laughter is just a defense mechanism to the tickling. A lot of tickling can also lead to serious nerve damage and death. If the tickle belt were to be used in everyday life, it would be used in cases as minor as a dog barking, but could lead to consequences far more severe. It reminds us of the saying "the punishment must fit the crime" and with the tickle belt, the punishment might be too much for an innocent misbehavior. The tickle belt could also cause severe psychological effects. Before having the tickle belt used on you, you wouldn't mind being tickled, but if the tickle belt was used too much, it could cause you to develop a fear of it very easily. If a fear developed, every time someone would come near you, you would back up in fear of being tickled again. This fear would also make the tickle belt to serious of a punishment, so it could again, cause far too serious consequences. Based on all of these factors, Kody and I have decided that the tickle belt should not be implemented into society because it could cause serious physical and psychological pain, and it is not ethical to cause all this pain for some minor crimes or even misbehaving.

Group collaboration: Kody and I worked tremendously together. We have both spent the past three weeks researching topics such as the pain tickling causes and how nerve damage works. Kody did not have access to a computer, so he was unable to write any of these posts but he more than made up for it in the amount of research he did for this project. We were able to divide the work evenly making this a great learning experience for the both of us.

bibliography:
Clark, Josh. "Why Do people laugh when they get tickled" HowStuffWorks. N.P., n.d. Web. 12 Oct 2013.
Anderson, Sylvia. "Dying from Laughter . . . Literally." InsidersHealth.com. Insiders Health, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.
Wipfler, Patty. "Tickling Kids Can Do More Harm Than Good." Hand in Hand Parenting. Hand in Hand, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Karriem-Norwood, Varnada. "Nerve Pain and Nerve Damage - WebMD: Neurological Symptoms." WebMD. WebMD, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.
Nye, James. "Why Being Tickled Is NOT Funny: Sensation Activates Part of the Brain That Copes with Pain." Mail Online. N.p., 27 May 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.