Tuesday, September 28

Mr. Clean

SAMSUNG | SOUTH KOREA

To find Kim Hyung Gyoon's office in Samsung's R.-and-D. complex, just follow the baskets of dirty clothes. No, Kim is not running the company Laundromat. As chief of Samsung's washing and cleaning technology group, he is the man behind a new washing machine that deposits tiny silver particles - about 11/410,000 the thickness of a human hair - onto clothes to make them bacteria-and odor-free without the use of hot water. The device represents the first mass-produced application of this type of nanotechnology - the science of very small structures - to home appliances. "In the summer of 2002, I asked everyone in the office to take off their socks," says Kim, 48. "I took one sock from each person and placed it in a regular washing machine; the others were washed in a machine with the Ag+ Nano System. The next day I asked everyone to check the odor of their socks after a day's wear. One began to stink, and the other was odorless."

Here's how it works: a grapefruit-size device near the tub uses electric currents to nano-shave two silver plates the size of chewing-gum sticks. The resulting silver particles are sprayed into the tub during the wash cycle. The silver ion inhibits bacterial growth. According to the Korea Testing & Research Institute for the Chemical Industry, Samsung's device kills 99.9% of bacteria and fungi. Kim says garments stay germ-free for up to a month after being laundered. The Ag+ Nano device went on sale in March 2003 (just ahead of other silver-nanotech appliances from competitors LG and Daewoo) and costs around $1,150. The revolutionary technology is also being used in Samsung's refrigerators and air conditioners.

No wonder: consumers seem to like a little silver in their spin cycles. Since Samsung's nano-armed products were first launched, they have brought in an estimated $779 million in revenue. Overall, nanotechnology has been one of science's fastest-growing fields in recent years, with potential applications in fields as diverse as energy production and toothpaste manufacture. The nanotech market is projected to be worth $1 trillion by 2015.

Because this is such a hotly competitive field - Daewoo has introduced air conditioners that spray vitamin C into the environment - Kim isn't about to divulge what other nanotech projects he's working on. But one thing is for sure ‹ from now on, even his dirtiest clothes will have a silver lining.

--By Mingi Hyun/Seoul

Sunday, September 12

Free Nanotechnology Now!


Since Freetopia is now nanokiwi.com
and there's plenty of room at the bottom
i thought i'd better make some nanoposts
why not visit as i do the well equipped
smalltimes or nanotech-now
or get the whole kaboodle with a
free nanotech course

my favourite nanothing?
carbon nanotubes since they
seem good for just about anything

and how about a downunder rant!

Nanokiwi Best of 2004 :: Comedy



Ali G

Universal Truths
Angry Rants Teenstyle
Bill Hicks - Genius lives on

Thursday, September 9

Ducks just let you be

Terrorism blows you up
Nastiness grinds you down
Stupidity wears you out
The media sucks you in, drags you under
Politics does you over
Up, down, in, out, under, over!
But ducks ...
Ducks just let you be.

- Michael Leunig

Friday, September 3

riddle me terror

riddle me this
how many western non
israel/palestine
russia/chechnya
peeps have been
killed by terrorist acts
in the last decade?

6000? or
one in a million
about that i'd say

if you were worried about terrorism
based on previous levels of activity
youd be plain crazy to be concerned for
more than a moment

terrorists just arent that busy

but if you want to worry
think dirty bomb or some other techy thing
since if a crazed ex priest can catch marathon man
its shows its pretty easy to sneek through security

the media feeds us a diet of fear
terrorism is the most distilled form of this
because what can you do about it?

i for one would give palestine and chechnya back
i mean if someone wants something so much you
should probably just give it to them, no?

not likely!

those fighting for a piece of nationhood
used to be called "freedom fighters"
but to merit that name they must stop targeting civilians
otherwise the public will naturally sympathise with the victims