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Chapter 3. The New Battlespace > The Tip of the Iceberg
The Tip of the Iceberg
The applications we have discussed in this chapter represent only the beginning of the possible applications of nanotechnology for defense. Nanotechnology will greatly increase the survivability of soldiers and equipment, especially for peace-keepers in the period after the hottest fighting is over and when a full combat rig is impractical. It will provide stealthier, tougher, and faster combat vehicles and increase battlespace information and awareness. It will improve communication within units and allow a soldier’s kit to become an efficient, integrated system. It will combat the threats of chemical and biological weapons. It will be a crucial tool for weapons inspectors and those looking for weapons of mass destruction. It will provide lighter, more efficient portable power. It already helps our troops to see at night and provides some of the few chemical and biological defenses that we have so far developed. For these reasons, nanotechnology is key to the military’s new mission.
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Debra Rolison The importance of nanoscale architecture on multifunctional materials for energy storage and power generation The equation of state that governs the ability of the Intelligence Community or the Departments of Defense or Homeland Security to counter terrorism, succinctly states:
And while power requirements are mission-specific and may range from microwatts to megawatts, many missions require portable power as supplied by electrochemical power sources such as batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors, or photovoltaics. The critical component in all of these devices is the electrified interface that mediates the ion, molecular, and electrochemistry necessary to create the current that runs sensors, robotics, laptops, and communication devices. Increasing the surface area that can be electrified, while retaining free access of ions and molecules to the electrode, yields higher capacitance in supercapacitors, fuller utilization of fuel in fuel cells, higher discharge rates in batteries. Nanoarchitectures constructed by combining electrically conductive nanoscopic solids with nanoscale pores and channels amplify incredibly the nature of the surface, while ensuring molecular transport paths. The exploration of such multifunctional composites of “being and nothingness” is increasing our ability to rethink the design of materials and structures for a new generation of electrochemical power sources with higher performance. |
