Nanotechnology for security, defense event held in Madrid

The second international conference on nanotechnology for security and defense opened here at the ICAI School of Engineering on Tuesday.

After the 2014 event, which was held in the city of Avila to the north of the capital, NanoSD 2015 aims to provide an opportunity for a range of experts and companies to look into and discuss the issues and effects of nanotechnology in defense strategies.

Nanotechnology will bring many innovations to the world of defense and it is thought its development will also stimulate innovation in small-sized power sources which are needed to power them.

NanoSD 2015 aims to look at the current research and developments in the field, focusing on nanostructures, nanosensors, nanoenergy sources, and nanoelectonics.

All of these would not only have a bearing on defense and security in the future, but would also be likely to lead to developments which could affect our daily lives.

Such examples include the field of medicine and even in items such as sunscreen and toothpaste, Raquel Gonzalez-Arrabal from the Institute of Nuclear Fusion at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid told Xinhua.

The event lasts for three days and is expected to attract around 200 visitors there to listen to keynote speakers who are expects in the field of nanotechnology, such as Glenn A. Fox from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States and Patricia Lopez of the European Defense Agency.

Fox explained to Xinhua that one possible application for nanotechnology was in investigating ways to desalinate sea water, meaning less energy use and less damage to the environment. However, he warned that it was one thing to test something in a laboratory and another altogether to do it in practice. Endit