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Ridiculous nanotech video lifts spirits in a world of hurt
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War. Pandemic. Global warming. Celebrities dropping like flies. Let’s zone out with some silly videos to take our minds off of these sad and alarming things. Let’s see who won the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Nanotation Video Contest.
In case you’ve not heard, nanotechnology deals with the very small. A nanometer is 100,000,000th the length of a meter. Nanoscale materials can be found in cosmetics, fabrics, electronics and more. You’ll find nanotech in your sunscreen and nanotech in your stain-resistant pants.
Some people are worried about how nano-sized particles might impact health and the environment. That’s a legitimate concern; so some scientists are studying what happens to nanoparticles in the body and in the brain. Other scientists are trying to figure out ways to use technology to deliver drugs, to kill cancer cells, to obtain better images of organs, and many other helpful things.
Earlier this year, ACS Nanotation, the online community of the scientific journal ACS Nano, solicited videos for a nano video contest. They received 30 entries. (Is anyone surprised by this fact? Thirty groups actually entered videos. I think this is amazing!)
The videos were judged on creativity, scientific clarity, originality and quality. The panel of judges included Paul Alivisatos, a professor of nanotechnology from University of California, Berkeley; Angela Belcher, a professor of materials chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Paul Weiss, a distinguished professor of chemistry and physics from the University of Pennsylvania; and Aaron Rowe, an editor at Wired Magazine. The contest had two categories: Critic’s Choice and People’s Choice. I can imagine the competition was extremely fierce.
Just one video, “The Nano Song” from University of California, Berkeley, won the top honor in both categories. This video is well, simply ridiculous. Yes, it’s cute. Yes, it’s funny. Yes, the singer Gloria Liu is fantastic. Yes, the thing has gone viral on the web, at least among a certain crowd. But does it really tell you very much about nanotechnology? Yes, I think it does, despite the fact that they used puppets to get their message across. Let me know what you think in the comments.
“Introduction to Nanotechnology” from a company called Asemblon, Inc, was selected as the Critic’s Choice runner-up. As the title suggests, this video is more instructive and reminds me a bit of a high school science class filmstrip. But I think it explains nanotechnology very well to the uninitiated by using real-world examples.
“Nanotechnology Brings Us Delicious New Solar Cells” from the University of Notre Dame was chosen as the People’s Choice runner-up. I kind of like the weird MTV-esque camera angles and jittery filming style. This video looks a little like a film from JOVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) on speed. But [spoiler alert], what is titanium dioxide doing in a powdered donut? Also, I really didn’t take away a better understanding of nanotech. Sorry guys.
I am all in favor of anything that improves the public’s understanding of science, as well as an appreciation for what science and technology can do. These videos demonstrate that this can be accomplished in the most unlikely ways. If you haven’t had your fill of nano-videos, ACS Nanotation lists dozens of other videos on its website, in its NanoTube section.
The Nano Song from nanomonster on Vimeo.
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