Robotics, Nano Technology and Nobel Prize 2013 (Laymen Language)

* Prologue


* Definition and History of Robots


* Humanoid Robot its Capacities and Kirobo


* Basic Components of a Robot


* Applications of a Robot


* Nanotechnology (Darshan Chotey but Kaam Mothey)


* History of Nanotechnology


* Graphene and Carbon Nano Tubes(CNT)


* NanoMaterial and Applications of CNT


* Nobel Prize 2013 (Last but certainly not the least)






Robotics

* Branch of Science and technology which deals with application design and manufacturing of Robots using computer Applications. In a more crude language Robot is automated workable machine which may or may not resemble human.

* The term Robotics was introduced by a Science Fiction author named Isaac Asimou(1991)
Time Line of Robot Development


Name Year Work Done

Karel Chapek1921Introduced the Word Robot

Robot named Televox1926Worlds first Workable Robot named Televox(Developed by Westing House Co-operation of USA)

GAKUTENSOKU(Name of a Robot)1928Japans First Robot designed by Mokoto

George Charles1954Creation of Unimation(It is an industrial Robot Manufacturing company)

Marwin Minsky and John Mccarthy1956Artificial Intelligence term introduced (Artificial intelligence emulates the intelligence behavior in a machine)

Famulus(Name of a robot)1973German Industrial Robotic Manufacturing company named KUKA produced International Robot named Famulus

Machine defeats Man1997World Chess champion Gary Kasparov lost to Robot IBM Deep Blue Sea

ASIMA (Name of a Robot)2000Ist Humanoid Robot named ASIMA created by Honda Motor Company



Types of Robots

* Japan, USA and Germany are leading countries in research of Robotics. First emotional Robot KISMET


* Industrial Robots - An industrial robot is defined by as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in two or more axis


* Domestic Robot Used for House Hold chores (Both Indoor and Outdoor). The highest level Domestic Robot is Domobot autonomously connected to wifi home network and Smartphone


* Humanoid Robot A humanoid Robot is a Robot with its overall appearance based on that of a human body. It is an autonomous Robot (Pre-programmed Robot because it can adapt to change in its environment or in itself & continue to reach its goals)


* Capacities of Humanoid Robot


* Self Maintenance (Can recharge itself)
Autonomous learning (i.e. learn or gain new capabilities without outside assistance)To adapt to new situations & to avoid harmful situation to people, property and itself (E.g. Chiti robot (Rajnikanth Movie lolls)Safe Interaction with Human Being and environment
E.g. of Humanoid Robot ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) made be Honda Motor Company. Asimo resembles a small Astronaut wearing a back pack which can run at a speed of 6 km/hr
Classification of a Robot(Based on the type of Job they perform)

* Work which a Robot can perform better that Humans , Where Robots can increase speed, Productivity & Accuracy e.g. Industrial Robot

* Jobs which a human could do better than a robot, but Robots free us from dangerous dull and dirty work e.g. Domestic Robot and Military Robot










Kirobo

* First talking Humanoid Robot launched in International Space System(ISS)
Q) Arun Bhai what is International Space Station (Some of you might have this question in your mind/ So I will just write the questions and the answers, these where the questions which I asked myself)?
A) The first to dream of building the International Space Station (ISS) was the United States. In 1984, Ronald Reagan, the then president of the United States, announced his support to build a base in space where people could live and conduct research.
He believed that this project should be realized through international cooperation. Through an appeal by the United States, the European countries decided to join in 1985, followed by Canada and Japan. In 1993, Russia agreed to join. Now, with the participation of 15 countries, it has truly become a great global project
International space system is a Zero-Gravity area, so people float over there.

* Coming back to Kirobo-Can talk in Japanese a Language. Send in ISS to help Japanese Scientist KOICHI WAKATA

* Aim of sending Kirobo to ISS - T o analyze how a non-human can provide emotional support for people isolated over long periods

* Kirobo developed by Tomotaka TakaHasi. Kirobo sent to ISS through a cargo carrying rocket named KOUNOTORI-4 on August 10th 2013
Kirobo can communicate with another robot(Mirata) back on earth.
Physical Features of Kirobo

1. 34 cm tall

2. 1 kg body weight




Special Features

1. Speech Recognition

2. Natural Language Processing

3. Facial Recognition camera & camera for reading

4. Specially designed to move in zero gravity environment
Basic Components of a Robot

* A typical robot has a movable physical structure, a motor of some sort, a sensor system, a power supply and a computer "brain" that controls all of these elements. Essentially, robots are man-made versions of animal life -- they are machines that replicate human and animal behavior.
5 main Components of a Robot


1) MANIPULATOR (Arm of a Robot) - Manipulator - which is the robots arm, consists of segments jointed together with axes capable of motion in various directions allowing the robot to perform work

2) THE END EFFECTOR (WHICH IS THE PART OF THE MANIPULATOR) - The end effectors which is a gripper tool, a special device, or fixture attached to the robots arm, actually performs the work

3) THE POWER SUPLLY - provides and regulates the energy that is converted to motion by the robot actuator, and it may be either electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic

4) THE CONTROLLER - initiates, terminates, and coordinates the motion of sequences of a robot. Also it accepts the necessary inputs to the robot and provides the outputs to interface with the outside world.



* MANIPULATOR - Is a mechanical unit that provides motion similar to that of a human arm. Its primary function is to provide the specific motions that will enable the tooling at the end of the arm to do the required work. A robot movement can be divided into two general categories: arm and body (shoulder and elbow) motions and wrist motions. The individual joint motions associated with these categories are referred to as degree of freedom. Each axis is equal to one degree of freedom. typically an Industrial robots are equipped with 4 - 6 degrees of freedom


* End Effector - Is the device that is mechanically opened and closed. Act as the tool- mounting plate depending on the type of operation. Conventional end effectors are equipped with various devices and tool attachments, as follows: grippers, hooks, scoops, electromagnets, vacuum cups, and adhesive fingers for material handling. spray gun for painting. Attachments for spot and arc welding and arc cutting. Power tools such as drills, nut drivers, and burrs. Special devices and fixtures for machining and assembly. measuring instruments, such as dial indicators, depth gauges


* Power Supply Function of Power Supply is to provide and regulate energy that is required for a robot to be operated


* Electric Motor Depends on the task the robot should perform. When high speed is required with low load application

* Hydraulic Pressure of fluid converted into Mechanical Application (suited for high load and slow speed)

* Pneumatic Used for Low speed and low or medium loads

* Self collision detection obstacle avoidance for this collection of data important

Types of sensor

* Tilt sensor To analyze degree of inclination performed by the robot

* Digital Compass Used to Move in right direction

* Pro-pri Ceptive Sensor Self collision detection, tilt sensor, digital compass, sensing heat in itself

* Extero captive Sensor Uses ultra sensor, sonic waves for sound navigation.

* Vision sensor CCD(Charged Couple Device) Camera, captures photons on light & convert it to digital sensor

* Sound Sensor Is Performed by Microphone helps in the speech interpretation and collection of voice sound
Applications of Robotics

* Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) go hand in hand.

* Artificial Intelligence - Science of creating computers that can perform task that we associate with human intelligence. It is emulation of intelligent behavior by a Machine. Performs complex solving task that requires thinking and reasoning which process vast amount of knowledge
Auto-Mobile Industry

* In this Industrial Robots are used because of its speed, accuracy and reliability. Directly used in manufacturing of Automobiles Work Performed by the Robot Wielding, Spray Painting, Material Handling
Electronics

* Used to fit chips in Motherboard of a machine. These chips are very small in size (Nano chips) and hence difficult for humans to fit it .




Military Applications

* Tele- Robots used as UAV(Unmanned Armed Vehicle) to perform at dangerous far at dangerous far away or inaccessible places.

* Work Performed Security & Surveillance in enemy territory. Robots such as iRobot PackBot & Foster Miller Tallon used by USA in Iraq and Afghanistan to diffuse road side bombs
Health and Medicine



* Robotic Surgery is done . It uses robots in performing surgery & one such robotic surgery widely used is DA VINCI surgerical system provided with a 3D- Vision system which can be used to perform minimally Invasive surgery with following advantages

* Minimize blood loss

* Smaller Incision(1.2cm) which reduces pain & shortens recovery time.

* Less pain- so minimum medication needed

Environment


* Nano robots can be used to clear oil spills & disassemble pollutants specially non-Biodegradable ones reducing their polluting impact

* Robots can be used in Nuclear plants for handling & disposal of nuclear waste material, which saves the workers in the plant from potential exposure to hazardous radiations

* TEPCO = (Tokyo Electro Power Cooperation) deployed iRobot Packed Bot to the Fukushima Nuclear plant in Japan, as it is designed to cope with hazardous conditions, so packed bot entered the facility with an attached video camera allowing TEPCO to receive live interior images and temperature reading of the troubled reactor building

Robotics In India



* DRDO has developed Daksh Robot. It is a counter terrorist remotely operated designed to handle hazardous material and suspect object in public places. It is provided with multiple camera used for surveillance

* DRDO has initiated a project to make Robotics Soldiers Deployed in the LOC (Line of Control) but the challenge is to integrate cognitive skills under AI to differentiate between a threat and a friend

* Centre for Artificial Intelligence & robotics (CAIR) Bangalore has developed a CHATUR Robot with vision sensor to pick up objects in the visual field

* AIIMS(Delhi) has successfully performed Robotic Surgery in a patient suffering from Auto- Immune Disease Myasthenia where they successfully removed the thymus gland in the patient.




Nano Technology

* Imagine if you climbed out of the shower only to discover you'd shrunk in the wash by about 1500 million times! If you stepped into your living room, what you'd see around you would not be chairs, tables, computers, and your family but atoms, molecules, proteins, and cells.

* Shrunk down to the "nanoscale," you'd not only see the atoms that everything is made fromyou'd actually be able to move them around! Now suppose you started sticking those atoms together in interesting new ways, like tiny LEGO bricks of nature.

* You could build all kinds of fantastic materials, everything from brand new medicines to ultra-fast computer chips. Making new things on this incredibly small scale is called nanotechnology

* Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technologyconductedat the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.



Physicist Richard Feynman, the father of nanotechnology.


* Nano science and nanotechnology are the study and application of extremely small things and can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering.
How it Started
The ideas and concepts behind nanoscience and nanotechnology started with a talk entitled Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at the California Institute of Technology on December 29, 1959, long before the term nanotechnology was used.

* In his talk, Feynman described a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules.

* Over a decade later, in his explorations of ultra precision machining, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology. It wasn't until 1981, with the development of the scanning tunneling microscope that could "see" individual atoms that modern nanotechnology began.




Fundamental Concepts in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology






* Its hard to imagine just how small nanotechnology is. One nanometer is a billionth of a meter, or 10-9 of a meter. Here are a few illustrative examples:

* There are 25,400,000 nanometers in an inch

* A sheet of newspaper is about 100,000 nanometers thick

* On a comparative scale, if a marble were a nanometer, then one meter would be the size of the Earth

* Nano science and nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms and molecules. Everything on Earth is made up of atomsthe food we eat, the clothes we wear, the buildings and houses we live in, and our own bodies.

* But something as small as an atom is impossible to see with the naked eye. In fact, its impossible to see with the microscopes typically used in a high school science classes. The microscopes needed to see things at the nanoscale were invented relatively recentlyabout 30 years ago.

* Once scientists had the right tools, such as thescanning tunneling microscope (STM)and the atomic force microscope (AFM), the age of nanotechnology was born.
Whats so good about Nanoscale

* It turns out there are some very interesting things about the nanoscale. Lots of substances behave very differently in the world of atoms and molecules.

* For example, the metal copper is transparent on the nanoscale while gold, which is normally unreactive, becomes chemically very active.

* Carbon, which is quite soft in its normally occurring form (graphite), becomes incredibly hard when it's tightly packed into a nanoscopic arrangement called a nanotube.

* In other words, materials can have different physical properties on the nanoscale even though they're still the same materials!

* On the nanoscale, it's easier for atoms and molecules to move around and between one another, so the chemical properties of materials can also be different.

* Nanoparticles have much more surface area exposed to other nanoparticles, so they are very good as catalysts (substances that speed up chemical reactions).
Reasons for this

* One reason for these differences is that different factors become important on the nanoscale. In our everyday world, gravity is the most important force we encounter: it dominates everything around us, from the way our hair hangs down around our head to the way Earth has different seasons at different times of year.

* But on the nanoscale, gravity is much less important than the electromagnetic forces between atoms and molecules. Factors like thermal vibrations (the way atoms and molecules store heat by jiggling about) also become extremely significant. In short, the game of science has different rules when you play it on the nanoscale.
The Nanoscale

Ordinary objects are absolutely huge measured on what scientists call the nanoscale:
* Atom: ~0.1 nanometers.

* Atoms in a molecule: ~0.15 nanometers apart.

* DNA double-helix: ~2 nanometers in diameter.

* Typical protein: ~10 nanometers long.

* Computer transistor (switch): ~100-200 nanometers wide.

* Typical bacteria: ~200 nanometers long.

* Human hair: 50,000100,000 nanometers in diameter.

* One piece of paper: ~100,000 nanometers thick.

* Girl 1.2 m (4ft) tall: ~1200 million nanometers tall.

* Man 2m (6.5 ft) tall ~ 2000 million nanometers tall.

* Empire State Building: 381m (1250 ft) tall: ~381,000 million nanometers tall.

Graphene

* Graphene is the strongest material known to science at the present time. It is 200 times stronger than steel. It is the strongest, thinnest, and lightest material in the world. Graphene is single layer of pure carbons arranged in a hexagonal lattice pattern. It is so thin it is considered to be a 2 D(Dimensional) object.

* It is also very malleable but at the same time it is very strong. This means it can be used for many different things such as high capacity batteries, flat screens televisions, and for very small computer chips.

* But how is graphene made? Its made by taking special adhesive tape to collect residue from graphite, the same material used in everyday pencils. This easy and simple yet groundbreaking experiment was conducted by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov

3 million sheets of Graphene on top of each other would be 1 mm thick graphite

Properties of Graphene

* Optical Transparency -Amazing thing about Graphene is that you can see it. You can lay a sheet on a white piece of paper and actually see it. It is amazingly transparent, absorbing just 2.3 percent of light that lands on it

* Strength 100 times stronger than steel

* Thermal Conductivity It can conduct heat 10 times better that copper so can act as a heat sink to conduct heat or transfer heat.

* Electrical Properties Due to the presence of belocalized or free electron there is Balistic conduction or free flow of electron across the grapheme layer.
Carbon Nano Tube (CNT)

* It's a tube made out of graphite molecules. A sheet of graphite molecules looks like a layer of hexagons. If you were to roll that sheet into a tube, you'd end up with a carbon nanotube. Nanotubes exhibit different qualities depending upon the direction you choose to roll the tube.

* Scientists say that if you roll it correctly, you'd end up with a material several times stronger and lighter than steel. Other uses for nanotubes include everything from building semiconductors to developing a suit that theoretically would allow you to climb up the side of a building like Spider-Man.
Types of CNT

1. Single walled Carbon Nano Tube Are individual Graphene cylinder with 1 nm to 2 nm diameter

2. Multi Walled Carbon Nano Tube They are collection of several concentric grapheme cylinders with 5 nm to 50 nm (Nm = nano metre)
Applications of Nano-Technology

Field of IT and Electronics

* Objective To make huge data storage in small disks. In Nano-Technology silicon chips are replaced with Graphene chips or CNT.

* The "micro" part of that word suggests computer chips work on the microscopic scaleand they do.

* But since terms like "microchip" were coined in the 1970s, electronic engineers have found ways of packing even more transistor switches into integrated circuits to make computers that are smaller, faster, and cheaper than ever before.

* Micro-circuit = 1000 chips (In case of silicon chips)

* Miniaturization of disks = 10,000 chips (In case of Graphene Chips) Hence data storage capacity is enhanced.

* And it's not just the chips inside computers that use nanotechnology. The displays on everything from iPods and cell phones to laptops and flat screen TVs are shifting to organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), made from plastic films built on the nanoscale.

Auto-mobile Industry



* If an engine component is made up of Carbon Nano Tube, the efficiency of oil utilization is more

* E.g. In Layman Language = When we cut onion into more small pieces & put it into a TAWA with very little oil, as the pieces are small the oil is used efficiently.

* In the same way the smaller the smaller the engine components, the more efficiently oil is utilized

* One of the most exciting areas of nanotechnology is the possibility of building incredibly small machinesthings like gears, switches, pumps, or enginesfrom individual atoms. Nanomachines could be made into nanorobots (sometimes called nanobots) that could be injected into our bodies to carry out repairs or sent into hazardous or dangerous environments, perhaps to clean up disused nuclear power plants



Health & Medicine (Nano medicine)



1. Nano Technology in field of Drug Delivery If your drug use consists of an occasional aspirin, you may not see the need for serious work on drug delivery. But if you were a diabetic, having to inject insulin several times a day or a cancer patient experiencing debilitating (making someone weak) side effects. The benefits of improved drug delivery can change your life.

e.g. i) Use of nanoparticles to deliver drugs to cancer cells
ii) Particles are engineered so that they are attracted to diseased cells which allow direct treatment of those cells. This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body

This has been patented by Indian Scientist in U.S name Dr. Rao Papineni


2. Cancer Diagnostic and treatment Use of Nano technology(NT) in cancer treatment offers possibility of destroying cancer tumors with minimal damage to healthy tissue & organs as well as the detection and elimination of cancer cells before they form tumors.

* NT can locate and then eliminate cancer cells using Gold Nano Shells.
Gold Nano Shells are targeted to bind to cancerous cells by targeting or attaching Anti-Bodies to Nano Shell surface.

* By irradiating the area of tumor with an infra red laser, which passes through the body flesh without heating it, but the gold is heated significantly to cause death to cancer cells

* Ask any cancer patient how to make chemotherapy more endurable, and the number one answer would likely be relieve the side effects.

* New chemotherapy techniques involving the use of drug-coated nanoparticles promise to do just that. Medical researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have coated nanometer-sized oil droplets and coated them with powerful, proven effective anti-cancer drugs.

* Once injected, the nanoparticles conglomerate at locations in cancerous tumors where blood vessel growth occurs. Deprived of nutrition, the tumors shrink and die and the results were achieved with drug concentrations 1,000 times lower than normally used, thus mitigating toxic and otherwise unpleasant side effects.


3. Tissue Engineering NT can help to repair damage tissue through tissue engineering making healing faster, it includes the use of bio-degradable polymer such as Polycaprolactone coated with collagen to promote cell to cell attachment or wound healing process

4. Medical Nano Robots To create robots close to Microscopic scale of nanometer These robots can navigate through the human body, transport important molecules, manipulate with microscopic objects & also communicate with physician by way of miniature sensors. These are computer controlled small robots used in cancer detection and treatment. These Robots can also distinguish between cancerous cells & normal cells, by checking their surface antigen.
Medical robots acting as artificial Red Blood Cells(RBC) which can deliver even 1000 times more oxygen than natural RBC and this is called Respirocyte.
Medical Robots acting as artificial White Blood Cells (WBC) to perform the process of phagocytosis just like natural WBC, these are called Microbivore.
Many more applications are there I have covered the important one do surf on the net to find more applications of Nanotechnology
Some Implications of Nanotechnology

1. Nanotechnology sounds like a world of great promise, but there are controversial issues too that must be considered and resolved. People have raised concerns that nanoscale organisms or machines could harm human life or the environment. One problem is that tiny particles can be extremely toxic to the human body. No-one really knows what harmful effect new nanomaterials or substances could have


2. The ultimate nano-nightmare, the problem of "gray goo," was first highlighted by Eric Drexler. What happens if well-meaning humans create nanobots that run riot through the biosphere, gobbling up all living things and leaving behind nothing but a chewed-up mass of "gray goo"


3. Environment Risk NT may lead to Nano- pollution which includes all the waste generated by manufacturing of Nano Materials & the nano-devices. Due to their extremely small size Nano-waste can float in the air and might easily penetrate into animal and plant cells causing undesirable effects.


4. Health Issues Nanoparticle being slowly degradable may accumulate inside the body & because of their large surface area to volume ratio they might get absorbed into surface of tissue and fuilds which may affect the regulatory meachanism of enzymes & other proteins.


5. Over exposure to silver nano particles causes Algyria (Bluish Colour of skin)

Nano Technology In India



* Prof C.N.R Rao (Scientific advisor to P.M), under his guidance the Jawaharlal nehru centre for advanced scientific research is engaged in world class research in Nano-Science in India.

* In 2007 a national mission on nanoscience & NT approved by Government of India(GOI) which aims at making India a world class centre for NanoTechnology. GOI sanctioned Rs 1000 Crore for a period of 5 years and Department of Science and technology its nodal agency

* Major Utility areas of the Mission

1. Training & creation of large skilled man power base.

2. Development of NanoMaterial useful for drug delivery, safe drinking water using Nano Silver coating on ceramic filters to eliminate Bacteria & Virus

3. Promoting foreign collaboration in Nano-Technology Programme.

Nobel Prize 2013 (No Indians This year Toooo)

Nobel Prize for Physics (An Indian connection is there here.)



Solving the process of mass formation


* Francois Englert & Peter W Higgs = Awarded Nobel Prize 2013 for their theory of how particles acquired mass

* In 1964 they proposed the theory independent of each other. In 2012 their ideas were confirmed by the discovery if Higgs Particle at CERN(The European Organization for Nuclear Research) lab outside Geneva in Switzerland

Big Bang Theory

* Most astronomers believe the Universe began in a Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. At that time, the entire Universe was inside a bubble that was thousands of times smaller than a pinhead. It was hotter and denser than anything we can imagine

* Then it suddenly exploded. The Universe that we know was born. Time, space and matter all began with the Big Bang. In a fraction of a second, the Universe grew from smaller than a single atom to bigger than a galaxy. And it kept on growing at a fantastic rate. It is still expanding today.

* As the Universe expanded and cooled, energy changed into particles of matter and antimatter. These two opposite types of particles largely destroyed each other. But some matter survived. More stable particles called protons and neutrons started to form when the Universe was one second old.

* Over the next three minutes, the temperature dropped below 1 billion degrees Celsius. It was now cool enough for the protons and neutrons to come together, forming hydrogen and helium nuclei.

* After 300 000 years, the Universe had cooled to about 3000 degrees. Atomic nuclei could finally capture electrons to form atoms. The Universe filled with clouds of hydrogen and helium gas.

Matter



* Matter is everything and everywhere. There are three physical properties of matter volume, mass, and weight. The properties of matter, mass, volume, and weight include: the states of matter, the changing states of matter, and density. The states of matter are solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and Bose-Einstein Condensate.



* Properties of Matter - Matter is made of atoms and molecules. It also is everything and everywhere. Atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons









Bose-Einstein Basics

* The Bose-Einstein state of matter was created in 1995,by two scientists, Cornell and Weiman, they finally created the condensate.

* When you hear the word condensate, think about condensation and the way gas molecules come together and condense and to a liquid.

* The molecules get denser or packed closer together

* Two other scientists, Satyendra Bose(Indian Connection) and Albert Einstein, had predicted it in the 1920s, but they didn't have the equipment and facilities to make it happen at that time.

* Now we do. If plasmas are super hot and super excited atoms, the atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) are total opposites. They are super unexcited and super cold atoms.


Q) Arun Bhai but what is condensation ?
A) Condensation happens when several gas molecules come together and form a liquid. It all happens because of a loss of energy. Gases are really excited atoms. When they lose energy, they slow down and begin to collect. They can collect into one drop. Water (H2O) vapor in the form of steam condenses on the lid of your pot when you boil water. It cools on the metal and becomes a liquid again. You would then have a condensate. The BEC happens at super low temperatures. We have talked about temperature scales and Kelvin(So water boils at 373 K). At zero Kelvin (absolute zero) all molecular motion stops. Scientists have figured out a way to get a temperature only a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero.
When temperatures get that low, you can create a BEC with a few special elements. Cornell and Weiman did it with rubidium (Rb).

I guess thats enough to clear atleast 50 percent of your doubts. Now lets go back to Nobel Prize 2013

Explanation for why they were given Nobel Prize

* Awarded theory is a central part of the standard model of particle physics that how the world is constructed.

* According to standard model - Everything from flowers & people to stars & planets consist of just a few building blocks = Matter Particles( These particles are held together by strong electrical forces)
Standard Model

* The entire standard model also rests on the existence of a special kind of particle The Higgs Particle.

* The particle originates from an invisible field that fills up all space. Even when the universe seems empty this field is there, without it we would not exist, because it is from contact with the field that particles acquire mass. The theory that was proposed by Englert & Higgs describes this process.

* On July 2012 at CERN lab for Particle physics the theory was confirmed by the discovery if Higgs particle

* CERNs particle collider LHC(Large Hadron Collider) is probably the largest & the most complex machine ever constructed by Humans. 2 Groups of some 3,000 scientist each ATLAS & CMS managed to extract the Higgs from billions of collisions in the LHC

But Job Not Done

* Yes its a great achievement to have found Higgs Particle, - the missing piece in the standard Model Puzzle. But the standard Model is not the final piece in the cosmic puzzle.

Reasons

1. Is that the standard Model treats certain particles, for e.g. neutrinos = as being virtually mass less, but recent study shows that they actually do have mass

2. This model only describes visible matter which only accounts for 1/5th (of all the matter in the cosmos)



Main Objective To find Mysterious dark matter & Scientists continue the chase of unknown particles at CERN.





















Nobel Prize for chemistry 2013 (Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, Arieh Warshel)

Letting the computer unveil the chemical processes



* Chemists all over the world devise & carry out experiments on their computer in daily basis. And this is all because of the above 3 gentlemen who have been awarded the Nobel Prize 2013 for chemistry

* A Picture says more than a thousand words but not everything

* Imagine if you are a chemist working on some project. Find any 3-D image of the proteins that govern the photosynthesis such images are freely accessible in large databases on the internet.

* In your laptop/computer you can twist & turn the image as you like, it will unveil gigantic protein molecules consisting of the tens of thousands. Somewhere in the middle there is a little region called the reaction centre. This is where water molecules are split(However only few atoms are directly involved in the reaction)



Among other things you will also see

1. 4 Manganese ions

2. 1 calcium ion

3. Several oxygen atoms



* Image shows clearly how atoms & ions are positioned in relation to each other but it says nothing about what these atoms and ions do. This is what more chemists were interested to find out, but was not possible before, the software developed by the three Nobel laureates.

* The details of this process are virtually impossible to map using traditional methods. Because many things happen in a fraction of a millisecond -> a rate that rules out most kinds of test tube experiments.

* And image that you have in your computer for that image, it is difficult to guess the reaction process, because it was taken when the proteins where in a state of rest.

* And in nature when sunlight hits the green leaves, however the proteins are filled with energy the entire atomic structure is changed. In laymen language it is difficult to create a software that will stimulate the real world environment in which the chemists work into their home machines and this job done by 3 Nobel prize winners 2013.

Earlier Software

* The previous software at scientist disposal was based upon either classical Newtonian physical theories or quantum physics, both with weakness and strengths. Classical programs gave chemists a good representation of how the atoms were positioned in the molecules but only displayed molecules in a state of rest.

* During reactions molecules are filled with energy, they become excited. Classical physics simply have no understanding for such states a severe limitation


So when scientists wanted to stimulate chemical reactions they turned to quantum physics.

* Quantam physics Is a theory where electrons can be both particles and waves simultaneously. It is unbiased and excludes any of the scientists preconceptions, making simulations more realistic.

* So Classical and Quantum were two fundamentally different rivaling worlds. But the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2013 have opened a gate between these worlds. Quantum Chemistry collaborating with classical physics

* All the hard work started in 1970s and in 1976 they reached their goal and published the first computerized model of an enzymatic reaction.

Some Important Contributions

1. Program could be used for any kind of molecule. Size was no longer an issue.

2. Scientists can perform demanding quantum physical calculations on electrons and atomic nuclei that directly impact the chemical process. The other parts of the molecules are modeled using classical equations.

3. It is possible to merge several atoms during calculations.

4. In modern calculations, scientists add a third layer to the simulation. They bundle atoms and molecules into a single homogenous mass called dielectric medium. This also can be done using this software.



























Nobel Prize for medicine or Psysiology 2013 (Thomas Sudhof, W Scheckman, James Rothman)

Note Will try to explain this in a nutshell. Not a expert in Biology so do forgive and correct me for the mistake I make.

Why = For discoveries of machine regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells

* Nano Technology(explained above) is a hot topic in science. Not a day goes by without news of some clever device forged using components measuring billionths of meter.(Nano meter)

* But always before any scientist or great thinker unveils something, Mother Nature always reaches there first. (So compare everything with nature and you will get solution to everything in this world)

* Living cells are nano-tecnhological factories of stunning complexity, containing the assembly lines, power stations, conveyor belts & control rooms necessary to keep life going.

* 3 Scientists explained how one of these nano technological systems work. The scientists also explained how cellular bodies called vesicles(Little bubbles encased in fat) are used to ship hormones, enzymes & other various manufactured goods around a cell and export them to outside world

Q) What are vesicles?

A) Vesicles are small enclosed (self-contained) compartments inside a cell that are separated from the Cytosol(the internal fluid of a cell) by atleast one bi-layer membrane. This biomembrane enclosing the vesicle is same as that of the outer celluloid membrane.

* Vesicles- are basic tool of the cell to organize its metabolism.

* Vesciles are used for digestive purposes as transport vessels and as enzymes storage. Are also used chemical reaction chambers.

Contribution by Dr W Scheckman -

* In the late 1970s he explored the genetic mechanism which controls vesicle transport. He used genetic screening a new technology at that time to spot yeast cells whose transport system were failing, causing jams in some parts of the cell & supply shortage in others.

Q) What are yeast cells?

A) Yeast cells are a very common kind of eukaryote cell. They vary in size, but are usually about 4 thousandths of a millimeter (4 microns) in diameter, too small to see without a microscope. Yeast are one-celled creatures that eat starches and sugars. Enzymes inside the mitochondria in the yeast cells use oxygen to break up the food molecules into smaller molecules and let out some energy for the cell to power itself. This process also makes some carbon dioxide molecules, and the yeast cell considers the carbon dioxide molecules to be garbage, puts them in vacuoles, and gets rid of them through the cell membrane.
* So, Dr Scheckman compared defective cells with properly ones. He was able to isolate three different classes of genes, mutations in which he felt might be the reason for such chaos

* Dr Scheckman just applied the fundamental principle to know how an machine can break down it is important in understanding it. But so is knowing how it is meant to work.
Work by James Rothman

* Discovered the molecular mechanism by which individual vesicles transport their cargoes to where they are needed.

* He discovered a pair of protein complexes, one on the vesicles & one set on their specific targets that bind to each other like 2 halves of a zip.

* Its like a password. If the protein matches, the vesicles opens & discharges its cargo, if they do not it remains shut.
Work by Dr Thomas Sudhof

* Applied these insights to the specific question of how brain cells communicate. Nerve cells talk to each other with a mixture of electrical & chemical signals. When a neuron fires, an electrical impulse travels down its length until it reaches the synapse (It is the point which one neuron joins with another)

* Then, the electric signal stimulates the release of neuro transmitters, specialized molecules that cross the synaptic gap & stimulate the second neuron in turn

* Sudhof described exactly how an arriving electrical impulse stimulates a rush of calcium ions into a cell, which subsequently causes vesicles loaded with neuro-transmitters to bind to the cell wall disgorging their contents across the gap.

Nobel Prize for Piece 2013 OPCW (Organisation of Prohibition of chemical weapons). But I feel Malala Yousafzai should have won this prize.

Nobel Prize for Economics 2013 - Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller - for Trendspotting in asset markets.



References - The Hindu
www.google.com
www.nobelprize.org
Name Arun Chettiar