Question 2 of 21

First, let's see if you have a good handle on the nanoscale of things. How thick is a single strand of hair in nanometers?

... A human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide.

Question 3 of 21

Did nanomaterials exist before the 1930s?

... Nanomaterials occur naturally all around us, but it wasn't until the 1930s that scientists developed the tools to see and manipulate them.

Question 4 of 21

Carbon nanotubes (or carbon sealed up into cylindrical tubes) play a vital role in nanotechnology. Before the 20th century, you might find them in which of the following?

... Scientists have observed the formation of carbon nanotubes in flames when metal is present. Their presence also has been noted in the legendary blades forged more than three centuries ago.

Question 5 of 21

Nanomanufacturing will change the pharmaceutical industry in major ways. For example, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Nanomanufacturing Center are using nanoparticles to create a topical cream variant of which product?

... The researchers aim to create a topical Botox cream by attaching the tiny toxins to nanoparticles so they can to hitch a ride through the skin.

Question 6 of 21

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine are working on a "superdrug" that joins molecules of which two substances?

... Researchers plan to join morphine and THC with a linking molecule into a single, super painkiller.

Question 7 of 21

Nanomanufacturing will also change the way we administer medications. Researchers at Northwestern University are developing nanodrug devices that will gradually release a drug into the body. What are the devices made from?

... While all of these are carbon-based, the drug devices in question are made from nanodiamonds.

Question 8 of 21

Nanomanufacturing will also enable us to mass-produce lab-grown human organs, possible via metal nanoparticles suspended in what?

... Researchers have developed an organ sculpting technique that employs metal nanoparticles suspended in a magnetic field. This 3-D environment encourages the suspended cells to grow into organs more naturally.

Question 9 of 21

The mass production of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology will make which "Star Trek" device possible?

... Hooray for medical scanners because you can't bring a fully staffed and outfitted medical lab with you in to the fields -- not unless you miniaturize it. LOC technology will boast high-tech laboratory functions on a single, tiny chip capable of processing extremely small fluid volumes.

Question 10 of 21

The University of Leeds' NanoManufacturing Institute plans to build a prototype house capable of what?

... While nanotechnology may lead to self-building and self-cleaning homes, researchers at the University of Leeds plan to develop a home that repairs itself via proposed nanopolymer particles that liquefy under pressure and then solidify again.

Question 11 of 21

The mass production of carbon nanotubes will enable such structures as a physical tether between the Earth and an orbital satellite. What's this called?

... A space elevator would enable humans to transport large payloads into space without the aid of explosive rocketry and costly heavy-lift vehicles.

Question 12 of 21

Nanomanufacturing will also change the oil industry. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology plan to use which nanotechnology to clean up after oil spills?

... Each MIT-designed Seaswarm robot will use a conveyor belt lined with oil-absorbing nanowire fabric.

Question 13 of 21

True or false: Future nanobots will swim through solid rock to explore oil reservoirs.

... True! Scientists envision a day when oil companies will inject trillions of tiny, water-soluble carbon clusters into the porous rock itself.

Question 14 of 21

Nanomanufacturing will enable improved battery and solar cell performance by improving the electrode portion of a battery. How?

... Typical electrode materials can only transmit a limited electrical charge. Nanotechnology, however, gives scientists the ability to enlarge the surface area of the electrode material at the nanoscale without increasing the material's area.

Question 15 of 21

In order to design the complex structures necessary to increase the surface area of an electrode material, scientists have drawn inspiration from which organism?

... Scientists have drawn inspiration for nanotechnology-enhanced battery electrodes from marine sponges, which assemble their complex, crystalline structures at the molecular level.

Question 16 of 21

Nanomanufacturing comes down to the assembly of nanomaterials. There are two approaches to nanomanufacturing. Which of the two involves the use of instruments such as the atomic force microscope to manipulate matter at the nanoscale?

... This is the top-down approach, as opposed to the bottom-up approach, which entails construction at the molecular level.

Question 17 of 21

While self-assembing nanobots represent the ultimate advancement in nanomanufacturing, it also plays into our nightmares. What's the name of the end-of-the-world scenario involving such creations?

... Yes, imagine a world turned into gray goo as nanobots turn everything into copies of themselves. Engineer and futurist Kim Eric Drexler proposed the possibility in his book "Engines of Creation."

Question 18 of 21

Doctors have raised concerns that tiny nanoparticles might actually pass directly into which part of the human anatomy?

... Nanoparticles are so small they might just flow right through the blood-brain barrier, a membrane that protects the brain from harmful chemicals in the bloodstream.

Question 19 of 21

Nanotechnology also will change the face of human warfare. Which of the following "magical" feats does it already achieve?

... In 2011, researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas NanoTech Institute successfully heated sheets of carbon nanotubes until they bent light waves, effectively achieving invisibility.

Question 20 of 21

Of course, nanotechnology already finds its way into numerous products, such as our clothing. You'll find various garments on the market that feature special nanocoatings designed for what purpose?

... Yes, nanomaterials will revolutionize body armor and enable all sorts of technologically advanced clothing items. But for now, you'll find them sprayed onto shirts and pants with promises of odor, stain and moisture prevention.

Question 21 of 21

So-called "superlenses" made from nanomaterials may enable scientists to do which of the following?

... Superlenses could indeed make objects such as proteins, viruses and DNA visible to the eye -- as opposed to such nonoptical means as the electron microscope.

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