nanotechnology

By Elizabeth Prata

Recently I wrote about pearls, and today I’m writing about gold. Many precious and semi-precious gems mentioned in the Bible, and I’m interested in all of them! Next in my Jewels series I’ll write about rubies.

But first, some science. I haven’t written a science essay in a while.

Quantum dots are the new big thing in science, particularly chemistry. Last month two guys just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of and manipulation of “quantum dots.”

“Quantum dots are tiny particles or nanocrystals of a semiconducting material with diameters in the range of 2-10 nanometers (10-50 atoms). They were first discovered in 1980. They display unique electronic properties” Source, Millipore Sigma

“The discovery of quantum dots, and the ability to synthesize such materials with high accuracy but relatively simple chemical methods, is an important step in the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology.” More on the Nobel Prize here.

The ability to construct machines at the sub-atomic level is Nanotechnology. It is engineering at the molecular scale. Molecule by molecule you can build something from the bottom up. Nano-technology is already being applied in medicine and environmental technologies. Nanotechnology is also known as molecular manufacturing.

A mechanical white blood cell attacks bacteria. The bacteria cannot develop immunity to mechanical devices as it would towards a drug

Renowned physics professor Richard Feynman proposed the capability of nanotechnology in 1959, and in every decade since then, advances have been made in the field. That brings us up to last month:

In September 2023, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to “Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for being pioneers of the nanoworld. The new laureates discovered and developed quantum dots, semiconductors made of particles squeezed so small that their electrons barely have room to breathe. Semiconductors are crystals that help power our electronics. But while traditional crystals may be quite large at the molecular level, a quantum dot consists of just a few thousand atoms squished into a space just a few nanometers across. The difference in size between a quantum dot and a soccer ball is about the same as the difference between a soccer ball and the Earth, the Nobel Foundation said.” Source NY Times.

Targeted drug delivery through nanotechnology

Nano-tech is is a hot topic. Within that field, nano-gold is even hotter. Scientists have discovered that as the gold particle size is decreased, there are many intriguing phenomena which occur.

On the nanoscale, gold becomes transparent! Remind you of any particular verses?

And now, scientists are discovering the uses of matching quantum dots with nano-gold and there are even further discoveries to be made that they say will benefit humankind.

This pdf explains nanogold in laymen’s terms: it’s really interesting and easy to read. Exploring Materials—Nano Gold

If you shrink gold down to a nanoparticle, its properties change dramatically. Its color changes, it becomes a very good conductor. It is no longer a metal – instead it turns into a semiconductor.

Even today, ultra-thin gold is being used on buildings and aircraft windows – thin film of gold display some unusual characteristics. When processed with ultra-thin sheets gold becomes transparent. Windows coated with gold admit light but reflects heat. Therefore, the cockpit windows of modern aircraft are coated with gold, as well as the windows of many new office buildings. (BBC).

Here are the biblical implications of nano-gold!

Have you ever been intrigued by the verse in Revelation 21:21,

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Or Revelation 21:18,

And the material of the wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass.

How can gold be transparent, you ask? Well, at the nano-level, gold becomes transparent! We didn’t know this until a new millennium, but God always knew this, since He is the author and architect of creation!

Perhaps the references to ‘gold pure as glass’ in those Revelation verses, the only places in the Bible where that combination is mentioned by the way, is meant symbolically. The older Commentary writers struggled with this and most explained the clear gold as the purity of the heavenly dwelling, using the pure gold as reference to New Jerusalem’s cleanness (absence of dirt or sin). And maybe it is.

Or maybe … now that we know of nano-gold’s properties, that it becomes transparent at the sub-molecular level, maybe the verse is meant literally.

Isn’t it interesting that God knows the properties of every single molecule on earth and in heaven. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars. He makes the Aurora Borealis. He makes gold, and He knows that gold can become transparent.

Will man go too far with nano-technology? Will the new advances in “quantum dots” give man the capability of creating a new and unique life forms? Will the nano-universe become man’s Tower of Babel? Time will tell. God will not allow man to intrude into His sphere. He shared Earth with man, putting man on the earth to work the garden and keep it. But it is His earth, His domain to give life and take it away. His domain to create beauty.

As for me, I can’t wait to have a sinless mind. When we ‘get there’ we will be cleansed of sin. I’ll think clearly- not just about difficult subjects like quantum physics or nano-technology, but able to think clearly and sinlessly about God. To SEE our Jesus, to live in His dwelling place, to experience the giant pearl gates and the street of gold, to be with His redeemed forever. What a day that will be!

Further Resources

Pearls in the New Testament

Does heaven literally have streets of gold?

Nano-technology is here? So what’s nano-technology?

The ability to construct machines at the sub-atomic level is Nanotechnology. It is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. Molecule by molecule you can build something from the bottom up. It is already being applied in medicine and environmental technologies. This theoretical capability was envisioned as early as 1959 by the aforementioned renowned physicist Richard Feynman. He wrote: “I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . . The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.” — Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics. Nanotechnology is also known as molecular manufacturing.

Here is a 1-minute news spot from June 2009 of tech students experimenting with nanobots.

Above, a nanotech robot

There are four generations of nano-technology development.

–In 2000, the first generation was successfully passed: passive nanostructures, materials designed to perform one task at the simple level. We are now routinely using nanotechnology to make colloids (gold), aerosols, coatings, polymers, and ceramics.
–The second phase, which we entered in 2005, introduces active nanostructures for multitasking; for example, bio-devices, drug delivery devices, 3-D transistors, and amplifiers and sensors.
–The third generation is expected to begin emerging around 2010 and will feature nanosystems with thousands of interacting components such as robotics or 3D networking (like a 3D internet-grid, and more advanced virtual reality like Wii…).
–A few years after that, perhaps by 2015-2020 the first integrated nanosystems, functioning (according to Roco) much like a mammalian cell with hierarchical systems within systems, are expected to be developed. Meaning, by then, man would be able to create another biological being. Like God. That is the path, and that is how close they are. It is not cloning, that is a simple replication. It is creating.

Shortly after this envisioned molecular machinery is created, and it will be, and the assembly issue is resolved, it will result in a manufacturing revolution, probably causing severe societal disruption. It also has serious economic, social, environmental, and military implications. This tipping point is known as The Singularity, or Techno-rapture.

You see the implications! Once man can create from the atom, up, we become gods. Humankind will settle for the notion on a grand scale that we do not need God because we have solved all our biological, social, environmental, and military issues. The Techno-rapture is the moment when humankind, in my opinion, ceases to be the beings God intended and the final result of evolution-thought begins.

I think we are at a precipitous moment!! We are on the cusp of purposefully evolving away from human creation in the pure biological sense, toward a techno, transhumanism, in other words, enhanced beings merged with technology in one body, including neural implants to change brain function.

Here are the biblical implications: first, the gold! This was cool.

In my research, I found that nano-gold is THE hottest topic since amazing discoveries were made 18 months ago. Scientists have discovered that as the gold particle size is decreased, there are many intriguing phenomena.

I see in one discovery if you shrink gold down to a nanoparticle, its properties change dramatically. Its color changes, it becomes a very good catalyst, and is no longer a metal – instead it turns into a semiconductor.

Even today, ultra-thin gold is being used on buildings and air craft windows – thin film of gold display some unusual characteristics. When processed with ultra-thin sheets, gold becomes transparent. It allows green light waves to pass through but reflects infrared lights. Windows coated with gold admit light but reflects heat. Therefore, the cockpit windows of modern aircraft are coated with gold, as well as the windows of many new office buildings. On the nanoscale, gold becomes a potent catalyst, exhibiting new and surprising, chemical, mechanical, electrical and magnetic behavior, which could not have been extrapolated or predicted on the basis of our knowledge about this substance in the bulk form. WE didn’t know, but GOD knew! He knows what He is doing with gold!! In general, bulk gold is not transparent in visible region, but the nano-gold may reflect efficiently near-infrared rays and can maintain the transparency.

–The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
–The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. (Rev 21:21)

LOL, I guess we will need those special properties of gold to help reflect GOD’S GLORY!! 🙂

Rev 21:18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
Rev 21:21 And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

WOW!!

Next biblical connection: The Techno-Rapture:

Although technological progress has been accelerating, (no, it’s not your imagination!) progress is limited by the basic intelligence of the human brain, which has not changed much for millennia.

However, people are able to work on discrete problems independently and in parallel at speeds that modern global communication permits. They can also work with the increasing power of computers and other technologies, it may be possible to build a machine at some point that is more intelligent than humanity. Wikipedia: “Theoretically, if a machine built by humans could bring to bear greater problem-solving and inventive skills than humans, then it could design a yet more capable machine. If built, this more capable machine then could design a machine of even greater capability. These iterations could accelerate, leading to recursive self improvement.” I. J. Good described this as an “intelligence explosion”. So the knowledge increase at a certain tipping point would be exponential. It is quite different from normal technological progress because the underlying driving force is increasing quickly, causing exponential growth. The term Technological Singularity or Techno-Rapture reflects the idea that the change may happen suddenly, and that it is very difficult to predict how such a new world would operate. Toffler wrote about the societal imbalances of sudden knowledge explosion in his seminal book Future Shock.

See graphs. It is happening now. Already within the past sixty years, life in the industrialized world has changed almost beyond recognition except for living memories from the first half of the 20th century.

DANIEL 12:4- “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

You see how close we are?

Category: nanotechnology

Jewel Series #2: When gold becomes transparent

When gold becomes transparent