Notion De Progres

In class we have already discovered the notion of progress through the perfect society Utopia. To illustrate this notion again we have been working on an other aspect : nanotechnology.

First of all I'd like to remind the definition of progress. It implies changes, it's the fact that you improve things, to evolve towards a better future.

To understand this notion of progress through nanotechnology, we worked on 5 documents but I have chosen 3 of them.

Nanotechnology, which is widely considered one of the most exiting technologies of the 21st century utilizes materials at an atomic or molecular level. In Greek nano means “extremely small”. In fact one nanometer is one billionth of a meter. In daily life we are surrounded by nanotechnology. We can considered that is a big progress in several domains.

First nanotechnology could be use for the soldiers. In fact a documentary describes the soldiers of the future. It's an interesting illustration of progress because it shows a new type of weapons and suits conceived with nanomaterial. Soldiers would have an important protection. They could became invisible when the suit changes colors according to the environment. Furthermore, soldiers are protected against bullets and poison. The soldier's brain could be connected to a weapon, they won't need to put the trigger. I think the most attractive is the exoskeleton. It permits to improve the soldier's speed, mobility, agility but above all today some disabled can walk thanks to it.

In a second time, I'm going to treat nanofoods. It's composed of artificial nanoparticles. Hermann Stamm, an expert in the field of nanotechnology, mentions the pros and cons of nanofoods. Nanotechnology can be use to enhance the flavour, the texture. It permit for the consumers to keep their food fresher longer. Furthermore, nanofoods could be richer thanks to nutrients and vitamins added to the food. However, the doctor Stamm emphasizes that nanoparticles could create disease or hearts attacks if it overcomes into the body and the blood stream.

To finish, we can use nanotechnology in the medical domain. When watched the video “Journey into Nanotechnology” we understand that more and more scientists use this technique for their diagnoss and stop the disease before it develops. In fact nanotechnology could illustrate the idea of progress in the cancer research. This technique is endowed with several advantages. It's more sensitive, rapidly, quicker, cheaper, accurate and it use tiny dences.

The notion of progress, illustrated with nanotechnology, can be positive or not. To sum up the main ideas, it can be a hope for the disabled to walk again, a hope for the scientists to stop some diseases. However, it can be harmful. In fact we don't know the hazards of nanotechnology into the body, into the blood stream and on the environment. To conclude, the notion of progress is interesting, it permits to evolve towards a better future even if it could have pitfalls and limits. But after this sequence I think that nanotechnology have more good aspects than bad.

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