30
Fuels & Lubes International Quarter Three 2015
of magnitude smaller than the current threshold of
nanometers.
Futurists refer to the alteration of an individual atom’s
chemical properties through changes made to the
energy states of electrons. This level of accuracy has
numerous, exciting applications, both within and outside
of the lubricant industry.
Driven forward by the impetus of improved fuel
economy, pico technology has gained a foothold
within the fuels and lubricants industry. Amongst
other applications, pico technology can be used to
significantly decrease surface friction. According to a
paper published by Zhmud and Bogdan Pasalskiy, there
are four major classes of material to be considered:
fullerenes, nanodiamonds, ultradispersed boric acid
and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Although they each
have their pros and cons, these materials achieve their
goals in a similar fashion by filling in the pores of metal
surfaces through contact with lubricants. If particles
suspended in lubricants are small enough to fill porous
metals such as those within engines, they can create
a phenomenon similar to hydroplaning. As the metal
surfaces move across each other faster, the fluid creates
a film between them that greatly reduces friction by
allowing the surfaces to roll back and forth smoothly.
SIGNIFICANT HURDLES
Despite the potential, pico technology has some
significant hurdles to overcome, in light of
nanotechnology’s shortcomings. According to Rudenko,
“There exists a certain gap, both in attitude and
competence, between university researchers and lube
industry professionals as their willingness to venture
out for new products is concerned. One practical issue
is that lubricant formulations must be balanced with
respect to a number of properties. This hinders market
entry of nanoadditives.”
Rudenko further explained by drawing parallels
between the adoption of nanoadditives and the adoption
of the Internet in the early 2000s. Essentially, the part
of the disparity between nanotechnology’s potential
and its application boils down to the perception that
future applications far exceed development of the
technology. Furthermore, just as nobody in 2001 foresaw
the explosion of social networks and shared economies
online, there are many possible applications for
nanoadditives that have not yet been predicted. Rudenko
explained that in those years, the perception of what
could be created was faster than the development of
technology. “What we dreamed of back then is what we
enjoy now,” he said.
EXPENSIVE NICHE TECHNOLOGIES
As with most new technologies, nano and pico materials
have started out as prohibitively expensive. But each
的梦想，就是我们今天的现实，”他说。
昂贵的利基技术
就如许多新技术，纳米技术和微微技术在初期的成本也是非常昂贵的。
但每一次的发展都使之更容易为大众市场所接受。纳米添加剂有可能也
会像计算机一样，一开始是一种极为昂贵的利基技术，但很快就变成无
处不在的消费产品。
微微技术也有可能在其他行业具有潜力，如生物技术。在一篇生物医
药科学的论文中，Northeastern University的教授和化学工程师主席
Thomas K. Webster解释了如何利用纳米分子和微微分子来实现药品
的革命，特别是在“更好地预防、诊断和治疗无数的疾病方面。”
时至今日，纳米材料已用于“减少细胞相互作用、抑制感染、促进组织
生长，”这都有助于使组织更健康地生长。微微技术将带来更大的创新，
因为它可以让科学家改变原子周围的电子分布，提高表面能，促进组织
生长，减少炎症，降低感染风险。延长寿命的两种最常见的治疗方案是
医疗器械置入和器管移植。但是这些方案的成本高昂，并缺乏捐献者。
而且，目前的技术尚不足以达到仿真天然组织所必须的精度。纳米材
料向着克服这些缺点迈进了一步，但也有其自身的限制。其中最主要的
是在人体内的毒性。
根据论文《控制电子分布有可以在很大程度上改变表面能，从影响
而蛋白质在材料上吸附的方式》，这种技术可以更好的控制材料所需的
性质。
莫尔定律
莫尔定律是在计算机发展过程中被多次证明的定律，即电路中晶体管的
数量每两年增加一倍。虽然许多理论学家，包括提出这条定律的莫尔，
也怀疑我们正在快速地接近无法再以这种速度增长的极限。莫尔在一
次访谈中说，这种预测“不可能一直持续下去。指数的性质是你如果不
断地强求，就会出现灾难。”莫尔还解释了微型化的极限有可能是原子，
换言之，微微技术是在尺度上的极限。
Pavlov Rudenko
