Nanotechnology is the “next industrial revolution” and heralds a new era in which objects are manufactured at a molecular level, according to the Lloyd's Register Foundation, a charity devoted to engineering research.
The charity (LRF) revealed it was supporting TWI with a grant worth £15 million over ten years, which will help to create a new materials research centre in Cambridge. The organisation, which is supported by profits from Lloyd's Register Group, has already funded 20 research programmes in 13 countries to the tune of almost £17 million.
Its Foresight Review of Nanotechnology, launched this week, is the first major piece of research to be published by LRF since its formation two years ago. The charity focuses on engineering, risk and safety associated with infrastructure, including energy systems, renewables, nuclear and transport. The LRF is working on programmes connected with structural integrity, resilience engineering, human and social factors, and emergent technologies – of which nanotechnology is one. As well as these activities, the charity funds a course in sea survival for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at an atomic level. A tennis ball is 100,000,000 nanometres across. Objects less than 10,000 nanometres across cannot be seen by humans. A human hair is slightly bigger than 10,000 nanometres, while ten hydrogen atoms in a row are one nanometre across. A water molecule is 0.1 nanometres. Richard Clegg, LRF managing director, said manipulating matter at an atomic level through nanotechnology was “equivalent to examining the eye of a fly from 2,000 kilometres out in space”.
The report identified five areas where nanotechnology could have an impact. One of these is the miniaturisation of sensor technology, where embedded nano-sensors in structural materials such as concrete, or 'living' inside engines, provide feedback on corrosion or stresses, giving continuous read-outs in real time of structural and systems performance. The use of such systems would result in a massive increase in data, or 'big data', with “major implications concerning assurance about quality, security and traceability”, according to the report. Other areas that could benefit from nanotechnology include smart materials, energy storage technologies, and nanoparticles.
Philip Greenish, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said the foundation's work was “timely”. “It will be a major force for good in engineering,” he said. He added that there had been a “lot of ignorant talk about a post-industrial society” until the impact of the financial crisis, which had been like “looking down the barrel of a gun”. The success of companies such as Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover showed that engineering had a big part to play in the UK's economic revival, Greenish said. He added that the skills gap was the most pertinent issue facing industry.