Tag Archives: louis del monte

Is Climate Change Real?

February 19, 2017Categories, climate changeclimate change, is climate change real, louis del monteadmin

Although the reality of climate change has become a political issue, the scientific evidence argues it is real. Consider these points:

The change in the atmosphere – NASA data indicates that the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere are higher than they have been at any time in the past 400,000 years. In 2013, carbon dioxide levels surpassed 400 ppm (i.e., parts per million) for the first time in recorded history, and it continues to rise. At levels above 550 ppm, the carbon dioxide will become harmful to humans
Global temperature increase – NASA data shows an increase in global temperatures. Best scientific estimates suggest a rise of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880. Recent data indicates most of this warming has occurred since the 1970s
Sea level rise – EPA data, including satellite measurements, indicates a global sea level rise of 8 inches since 1880 due to melting ice at the polar caps and the thermal expansion of “warming oceans”
The warming oceans – NASA data indicates the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969
Shrinking ice sheets – NASA’s data shows Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006. Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005
Declining Arctic sea ice – NASA data indicates that the Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. In response, NASA has launched “Operation IceBridge” to image the Earth’s polar ice and understand processes that connect the polar regions with the global climate system
Glacial retreat – factually, glaciers are retreating around the world, including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa
Extreme events – According to the EPA the number of record high temperature events has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. Concurrently, intense rainfall events are increasing
Ocean acidification – According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution. This increase results from the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans, which is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year
Decreased snow cover – NASA satellites reveal that the spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier

The preponderance of scientific evidence suggests that the climate is trending toward catastrophic change. This leads to an important question, “Why?” I’ll address “Why?” in my next post.

What is nanotechnology?

February 13, 2017Categories, nanotechnology, Technologylouis del monte, nanotechnology, what is nanotechnologyadmin

According to the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative’s website, nano.gov, “Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.” This begs a question, What is a nanometer? In simple terms, a nanometer is approximately 1/100,000 of the diameter of a human hair. A nanometer is so small that it is impossible to see it with the naked eye or even with an optical microscope. In fact, the hydrogen atom is ten times larger than a nanometer. Given these dimensions, you may wonder, How is it possible for scientists to work at the nano-level? The simple answer is that until 1980s, it was not possible. This begs the question, What changed in 1980s?

Three critical events came together in 1981 through 1989. The were:

The invention of the “scanning tunneling microscope” (STM) in 1981 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory. The STM enabled scientists to actually see atoms for the first time in history. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for their invention.
K. Eric Drexler published his 1986 landmark book, Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, in which he suggested the control of atoms to build nanoscale machines.
Don Eigler, an IBM physicist, used the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip in 1989 to manipulate individual atoms to write the letters IBM. This was the first time atoms were manipulated at the atomic level.

Taken as a whole, the above events gave rise to the fields of nanotechnology. Notice, I used the plural, “fields.” This is intentional. For example, numerous diverse scientific fields engage in nanotechnology research and application, including the fields of surface science, organic chemistry, molecular biology, semiconductor physics, and microfabrication. The common element they share is that the final application has at least one element with a dimension in the nanoscale, 1-100 nanometers. From this standpoint, it is best to consider nanotechnology as a category of technologies, characterized by having at least one dimension in the nanoscale.

You may think that nanotechnology is a relatively new capability. That statement would be true for humanity. However, Mother Nature has been working at the nanoscale for billions of years. Almost all natural process start at the nanoscale. For example, consider an abalone shell. Mother nature builds it layer-by-layer at the nanoscale. Although the shell is 98% calcium carbonate, its nano structure makes it 3000 times stronger than rocks with the same chemical composition. This is just one example. The are countless others. Even human beings rely on nano processes taking place within our bodies. Our DNA (i.e., deoxyribonucleic acid), which is found in every cell of our bodies, is only 2 nanometers in diameter. Even though it is extremely small, it carries all the genetic instructions for the development, function, and reproduction of our human bodies.

The goal of this post is to address the question, What is nanotechnology? The answer is actually simple. Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers. It is not a single technology, but a category of technologies that result in applications with at least one dimension in the nanoscale (1-100 nanometers). I provided the short history and examples to afford those that read this post greater insight. What are your thoughts?

Are Nanoweapons Secret?

February 3, 2017Categories, nanotechnology, Nanoweapons, Nanoweapons Cold Warlouis del monte, nanotechnology, nanoweapons, nanoweapons cold waradmin

First, let us address, What are nanoweapons? Here is a simple definition: Nanoweapons are any military technology that exploits the power of nanotechnology. This begs another question, What is nanotechnology? According to the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative’s website, nano.gov, “Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.” To visualize a nanometer, it is approximately 1/100,000 the diameter of a typical human hair. Therefore, we are discussing weapons that have one or more features that are invisible to the naked eye.

The existence of nanoweapons is not a secret, but the United States and other governments are extremely tight lipped about their existence. Even though the United States and other countries are deploying nanoweapons, they garner little to no media coverage. Why is this?

The mission and goals of the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative intentionally omits any mention of nanoweapons, but allocates a significant portion of its budget to their development. In addition, work on nanoweapons is likely classified “Secret” or “Top Secret.” Let us understand these classifications. Top Secret applies to information that, in the wrong hand, could cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security. Secret applies to information that could cause serious damage to the national security. This means the scientists working on nanoweapons cannot publish their work in a scientific journal or present their work at a public conference. As a result, a Google search for “nanoweapons” yields .07% (search returns) relative to a similar Google search for “nuclear weapons.” Although there is a mountain of information on nanotechnology, only about one page in every 2,500 pages describes the use of nanotechnology for military applications.

What does all this mean? The existence of nanoweapons is not secret. You can actually do a Google search and find references to them. But, the specific nanoweapons are secret. Given this fact, you may ask, How did I write a book on nanoweapons (Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity)?

Although, the development of nanoweapons continues under a cloak of secrecy by every nation involved in their development, by researching the publicly available information, it is possible to make educated judgments regarding the specific types of nanoweapons in development, as well as when they will be deployed. That is exactly what I did to write my latest book, Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity. However, a word of caution is in order. Any information about nanoweapons currently found in the public domain is likely one or two generations behind current developments and deployments. This makes nanoweapons currently under development or being deployed difficult to predict, but as my book demonstrates not impossible.

One critical finding from my research is that China, Russia and the United States are competing in a multi-billion-dollar nanoweapons arms race. Why? Nanoweapons promise to become more devastating than nuclear weapons. This means the superpowers of the future will be those nations with the most capable nanoweapons.

The Nanoweapons Cold War

January 18, 2017Categories, nanotechnology, Nanoweapons, Nanoweapons Cold War, Technology, Warcold war, louis del monte, nanotechnology, nanoweapons, nanoweapons cold waradmin

Many believe the collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of the Cold War. If we confine ourselves to only consider military might based on conventional and nuclear weapons, they are correct. The United States is widely considered the only superpower.

Before you take a long sigh of relief, understand a new type of Cold War emerged from the rubble. Knowing well they they cannot match the United States’ military across the board, the Russian Federation and now China are spending their military budgets to gain asymmetrical military advantages over the United States. One key area of focus is nanoweapons. Nanowek.com, the leading nanotechnology portal, reports, “All major powers are making efforts to research and develop nanotechnology-based materials and systems for military use.”

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), launched by President Bill Clinton in 2000, coordinates, collaborates, and funds the nanotechnology research and development activities of 25 Federal agencies . To date, the United States government has channeled over $20,000,000,000 through NNI. In addition, each branch of the United States military performs its own nanotechnology research and development. As a result, a new class of weapons, nanoweapons, are already being deployed, from advanced laser weapons to insect size drones.

The actual amount that is spent on nanoweapons remains Top Secret, but based on publicly published budget allocations, it is reasonable to estimate its in the many $Bs annually. For example, about 15% of the NNI budget alone is focused on DOD projects. This excludes federal agencies like DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Project Agency), which focuses on advanced military weapons. In addition, about 10% of the total defense budget of the United States (estimated at $534.3 billion in 2016) is classified, typically termed the “black budget.” Given the secrecy that surrounds nanoweapons funding, it is next to impossible to discern the exact nanoweapons budget of the United States. But, it’s relatively easy to estimate that many $Bs are being spent annually on nanoweapons development and deployment.

What fuels this new Nanoweapons Cold War? One simple paradigm, the superpowers of the future will be those nations with the most capable nanoweapons. If you have not read my earlier posts, let me digress and define nanoweapons. Nanoweapons are any military technology that exploits the power of nanotechnology. This begs another question, What is nanotechnology? According to the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative’s website, nano.gov, “Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.” To understand this in simple terms, the diameter of a typical human hair equals 80,000- 100,000 nanometers. Ironically, the next big thing in military weapons technology will be small, essentially invisible to the naked eye.

The power of nanoweapons has not escaped the attention of the Russian Federation or China, as well as other countries like Germany and France. China in particular is doing everything it can to “hack” United States nanoweapons technology, as well as develop their own. Russia has even set up a “public” company, Rusnano, to pursue nanotechnology and nanoweapons. I put the word “public” in quotes because the Russian Federation currently owns all the stock of Rusnano.

The main take away from this post is that we are in a new cold war, a Nanoweapons Cold War. China and Russia are squaring off with the United States to gain an asymmetrical nanoweapons advantage. To date, the United States has the clear lead. However, recall that during the first Cold War, Russia was able to maintain near military parity with the United States via espionage and asymmetrical funding. I expect similar behavior from China and the Russian Federation during the Nanoweapons Cold War.

Image courtesy of Jonas Staub and Dreamstime Stock Photos

Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity

January 9, 2017Categories, nanotechnology, Nanoweapons, Physics, Technology, Threats to Humankind, Warlouis del monte, nanotechnology, nanoweapons, Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity, new weapons of war, threats to humanity, threats to humankindadmin

In 2008, experts surveyed at the Global Catastrophic Risk Conference at the University of Oxford judged nanoweapons to be the #1 threat to humanity’s survival in the 21^st century. The majority of people, worldwide, have never even heard of nanoweapons. Yet, a new nanoweapons arms race is raging between the United States, China, and Russia. Each side is spending billions of dollars to gain dominance in nanoweapons. Nanoweapons are based on nanotechnology. This naturally begs the question, What is nanotechnology? According to the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative’s website, nano.gov, “Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.” A nanometer is about 1/1000 the diameter of a human hair. Ironically, the next big thing in military weapons will be small and invisible to the naked eye. But make no mistake, nanoweapons promise to be potentially more destructive and harder to control than nuclear weapons. They may the last weapons humanity invents, paving our way to extinction.

In this short post, my goal is to introduce nanoweapons and their potential to lead to human extinction. My new book (available for pre-order on Amazon), Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity, describes this new class of military weapons in layperson prose. It discusses the nanoweapons in development and deployment. It projects the nanoweapons likely to dominate the future battlefield in the second half of this century. It addresses a critical question, Will it be possible to develop, deploy and use nanoweapons in warfare, without rendering humanity extinct? Nanoweapons: A Growing Threat to Humanity is the first book to broach the subject. My goal in writing the book is summed up in a quote by Thomas Jefferson, “An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.” I invite you to become “informed,” thus forewarned. Our future is in the balance.

Louis A. Del Monte

Award Winning Physicist, Author, Featured Speaker, and CEO