Speaking of batteries, a new lithium-ion battery developed by USC utilizes nano-sphere technology to store three times more energy while cutting charge time down to just 10 minutes.

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Altair Nanotechnologies is working with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and the University of Hawaii to supply a 2 megawatt energy storage system to maintain grid stability, all using its nano-scale processing technology that it says provides rapid charging.

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This, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the high-tech corridor to the west of Chicago, and Northwestern University in nearby Evanston, together attract scientists from all over the world and, it is hoped, will help make the city a centre for nano- and other kinds of technology.

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While there has always been a role for things mini - especially in technology where the concept is defined in terms of micro and nano - marketers and consumers alike have increasingly accelerated adoption of the trend.

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The electronic nose is an array of nano-scale gas sensors--the maximized surface area of the nano-particles allows the most gas to pass over them--along with pattern recognition technology that can create a digital fingerprint (or noseprint, as the case may be) of specific smells.

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While Nano-Tex's stain- and wrinkle-resistant technology, called NanoCare, has been the first out of the gate, its NanoFresh (wicks away odor from sports clothing) will not be far behind.

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Now, Prof Bert de With of the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and his colleagues have discovered a nano-structure solution to the problem.

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Consider the example of the Nano car developed by TATA motors which required multiple innovations in technology as well as cross-functional teams working on different engineering disciplines to come together to solve complex issues and provide solutions while at the same time meeting the targeted price point.

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It has a build somewhere in-between the plastic-ish Voodoo Envy 133 and the rock-solid ThinkPad X300, though probably closer to the latter, and the sheen of Silver Nano Technology on the technology saves us from bacteria but adds a slightly cheap flavor to the keyboard.

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