NANOTECHNOLOGIES (5 WORD ENGLISH)

NANOTECHNOLOGIES (5 WORD ENGLISH)

Nanotechnologies (5 word English), to learn or improve your English effectively

In which fields are they (being) used?

What are the advantages and disadvantages/the pros and the cons of these technologies?

Follow up: the whole article

Let’s discover firstly how they are used and some related vocabulary:

1. HEALTH
2. ENERGY
3. RESSOURCES
4. TECHNOLOGIES OF INFORMATION
5. TECHNOLOGIES OF COMMUNICATION

ADVANTAGES/PROS

What are the main advantages of nanotechnologies in the different fields/areas of use?

1. HEALTH: first point, you can benefit from focused/targeted treatments of diseases (like cancer and bone, tissue and nervous degeneration) with no collateral damage to neighbouring tissues; second point, you get a system of instantaneous blood test to detect possible viruses; third point, they improve the biocompatibility of prosthesis or heart valves.
2. ENERGY: very small solar cells make solar energy more profitable. So, firstly, certain materials and forms of the energy (that) we are using/consuming can be replaced. More concretely, you can optimize the use of the bulb energy because the 100% of the nanoparticles are used to provide light, allowing to prevent the production of useless heat; secondly, nanotubes of carbone could replace certain materials like steel.
3. RESSOURCES: nanotechnologies are a good means for eliminating pollutants from the water.
4. TECHNOLOGIES OF INFORMATION: a. The making of smaller microprocessors, endowed with new performances, is made possible; computers are quicker, more powerful and equipped with a larger memory. b. We can easily create nanoscale labels providing the consumer with comprehensive information on products.
5. TECHNOLOGIES OF COMMUNICATION: we see the miniaturisation of communication equipment.

DISADVANTAGES/CONS/DRAWBACKS

What are the main disadvantages/drawbacks?

The 3 following points must be raised:

– Is the waste coming from nanoparticules, and more generally from nanotechnologies, hazardous to human beings and/or the environment?

This concern comes from the fact that we don’t know currently how the nanoparticles behave in the long term and to what extent this can cause bad consequences.

Nanoparticles are already (being) used in cosmetics and toothpaste to improve product texture/consistency (it makes it smoother, more creamy or unctuous), but the particles are tiny (100 to 10’000 times smaller than human cells) and we don’t know their bahaviour, thus their effect on the human being with time, nor whether, as waste, they can be hazardous to the environment or not.

– Are the nanotechnologies accessible to everybody, to any country?

This technologies require a significant investment in equipment and high-tech training, and not all the countries can afford it or are able to do it in terms of competence.

– What about the new laws which are necessary to regulate these new technologies?

New laws are necessary to regulate the way we use them, but how can one protect people against any misuse when one don’t even currently have all the data necessary to predict what might happen?

5 words (or word clusters)

1. Introduction + 1.: fields/areas of use (domaine) – the pros and the cons (pour et contre)/drawbacks (inconvénients)
2. to benefit from focused/targeted treatments (ciblé) – no collateral damage to neighbouring tissues (avoisinant)
   
3. = 3. et 4.  a good means for eliminating pollutants from water – endowed with/equipped with (doté de) – nanoscale labels providing the consumer with comprehensive information on products (très complet)
   
4. Disadvantages/cons/drawbacks: to raise a point (soulever) – the waste (déchets) – hazardous to (dangereux pour)
   
5. Disadvantages/cons/drawbacks: to what extent (dans quelle mesure) – tiny (minuscule) – misuse (abus)