'Indian
craftsmen, artisans used nanotech 2000 yrs ago'
Visakhapatnam
(PTI): Indian craftsmen and artisans used nanotechnology extensively
about 2000 years ago to make weapons and long lasting cave paintings,
a Nobel laureate of Chemistry said here.
However, the craftsmen were completely unaware that they were
practising carbon nano-techniques that are the most sought after
in the current age.
Citing examples of the famous Damascus blades used in the famous
sword of Tipu Sultan and Ajanta Paintings, Nobel laureate Robert
Curl Jr. said studies have found existence of carbon nano particles
in both.
On the sword scientists found carbon nanotubes, cylindrical arrangements
of carbon atoms first discovered in 1991 and now made in laboratories
all over the world.
"Our ancestors have been unwittingly using the technology
for over 2,000 years and carbon nano for about 500 years. Carbon
nanotechnology is much older than carbon nanoscience," Curl
said at the ongoing 95th Indian Science Congress here.
The 74-year-old scientist from the US shared the 1996 Nobel Prize
for Chemistry with Richard Smalley and Harold Kroto for the discovery
of the carbon cage compounds, known as fullerenes.
Indian craftsmen used unique smelting techniques to manufacture
the Damascus blades which led to nanotisation giving them a unique
long-lasting edge.
They had the technology to make wootz steel, a 'high-grade' steel
that was highly prized and much sought after across several regions
of the world over nearly two millennia.
Wootz also had a high percentage of carbon, which was introduced
by incorporating wood and other organic matter during fabrication.
India, for ages, was a leading exporter of this steel which was
used to make Persian daggers which were quite popular in Europe
centuries ago.
The technique to manufacture wootz declined steadily and has not
been in use since the 17th century, Curl said.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200801061523.htm