Accidents have led to many innovative inventions. Jamie Link was in the process of creating a computer chip when it broke (McDonald, 2003). She observed that the pieces of porous silicon with a crystalline substrate on which she had imprinted a thin film retained the characteristics of the original chip. These particles (called Smart Dust) have uses in many fields, including the detection of toxins.
Realizing the value of the insights gained after the accident, Link and her graduate advisor began the process of documenting the discovery and its uses (Link & Sailor, 2003). The lab in which Link was working was focused on sensors. One application of smart dust was to detect pollutants in water. The idea was to add the dust to water. Once the dust detects a substance, it orientates itself in such a way that the combined elements become visible. For example, if the smart dust detected a particular substance the individual elements would align such that a red pattern could be seen.
Smart dust has evolved to network-connected sensors (Hanson, 2016). The idea is that a mote (the individual sensors that make up the collection of items referred to as dust) could communicate with a gateway or other devices. Each mote might have a solar cell, or a small battery, to power it. Depending on the situation the mote might detect light, temperature, vibration, or magnetic fields.
Because of the size and number of motes involved, design an appropriate network architecture is challenging (Hanson, 2016). Smart dust networks are a variation of a disturbed sensor network. The limited power available to the mote brings many challenges. Smart dust networks are self-organizing (and self-reorganizing) in nature. Often the motes connect to each other. Once connected, they organize themselves, and forward information so that it eventually reaches a gateway device.
Smart dust may be placed into space, serving as tiny spacecraft (Xu & McInnes, 2017). It is possible motes will be able to control their movement by changing their orientation to solar radiation pressure. This implies that smart dust may not only self-organize their communications but may also self-organize their configuration and location. Smart dust has amazing potential for miniaturization of devices, as does the creation of nanowires.
Horizontal, or “crawling” nanowires were produced in an unexpected way (Alba, 2016). This discovery may impact other sensors, such as photodetectors. The team was expecting nanowires to grow vertically on a graphene film. Instead, the wires grew horizontally, seemingly “crawling” along the surface. The Nanocrawlers could prove to be better at producing electricity from light than the vertical nanowires the team was attempting to create. The team learned that if they manipulated temperature and the timing of various production steps they could control the percentage of horizontal and vertical nanowires (Mataev et al., 2016).
Conclusion
Innovative inventions are no accident. While they may come from an unexpected outcome or situation, the inventor has the vision to recognize the potential impact and adjusts their research accordingly. The accidental discoveries presented here were better described as unexpected outcomes. The researchers were attempting to create one thing, and something unforeseen occurred. Rather than persisting with their original goal, they realized they have encountered something of high value and pursued it. These discoveries are both impacted by and driving the forces of miniaturization and ubiquitous computing. Not only are computers everywhere, but they are also getting very small.
References
Alba, M. (2016). Accidental nanotechnology discovery could lead to improved photodetectors. Retrieved from http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/13213/Accidental-Nanotechnology-Discovery-Could-Lead-to-Improved-Photodetectors.aspx
Hanson, M. (2016). Study on Smart Dust Networks.
Link, J. R., & Sailor, M. J. (2003). Smart dust: self-assembling, self-orienting photonic crystals of porous Si. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(19), 10607-10610.
Mataev, E., Rastogi, S. K., Madhusudan, A., Bone, J., Lamprinakos, N., Picard, Y., & Cohen-Karni, T. (2016). Synthesis of Group IV Nanowires on Graphene: The Case of Ge Nanocrawlers. Nano Letters, 16(8), 5267-5272.
McDonald, K. (2003). UCSD Student Wins $50,000 Collegiate Inventors Grand Prize [Press release]. Retrieved from http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/archive/newsrel/science/mclink.htm
Xu, M., & McInnes, C. R. (2017). Closed-Loop Control of the Orbit Evolution of “Smart Dust” Swarms. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics.
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