Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Terminology for Nanotech Standard Now Available from ASTM

Abstract:
ASTM International Committee E56 on Nanotechnology has approved its first standard, E 2456, Terminology for Nanotechnology. The new standard is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee E56.01 on Terminology and Nomenclature. Because of the great need for a terminology document that is globally recognized and because of the cooperation of several organizations in making the document a reality, Terminology E 2456 will be available free of charge from the ASTM International Web site.

Terminology for Nanotech Standard Now Available from ASTM

West Conshohocken, PA | Posted on December 5th, 2006

Developing a globally relevant nanotechnology terminology standard driven by multiple stakeholder needs has been an early priority for ASTM Committee E56, which was formed in 2005. Research into the properties, synthesis, and applications of nanostructures has been growing at an exponential rate,
and has outpaced the development of a language to describe the chemical compositions and physical forms of these new materials.

Without a precise and widely accepted terminology, communications about nanotechnology's risks and benefits are riddled with overgeneralizations. For example, the term 'carbon nanoparticles' often is used to describe in one phrase a range of very diverse nanomaterials such as carbon-60, single-walled carbon nanotubes, and even diesel exhaust. Documents such as the E56 terminology document define more precisely the language for nanotechnology, and thus ensure effective technical communication within the myriad fields involved in nanotechnology, as well as outreach to the public at large as products containing nanomaterials enter the marketplace.

"This ASTM terminology standard will change how I communicate with policymakers, teachers and my neighbors," says Vicki Colvin, chair, Committee E56. "For the first time I can use critical terms such as 'nanoparticle,'confident my language is precise and shared with other nanotechnologists
across the globe. Even better is that the document is freely available. Now teachers and students interested in nanotechnology can access this dictionary and learn for themselves the nuances of our field."

In order to facilitate the development of a terminology standard, ASTM International initiated and signed partnership agreements with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, NSF International, Japan‚s National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science and Technology, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineering. These agreements contain several unique provisions that pertain specifically to Committee E56 and Terminology standard E 2456.

In addition to the terminology standard being available at no charge online, technical experts (named by the partner organizations) can participate in E56 without fee and will have all membership voting privileges. Finally, the partner organizations‚ cooperation in the development of the terminology document has been noted within the document with the partners‚ corporate logos affixed to the approved standard.

ASTM believes that the partnership agreements will eliminate redundant resource allocation among a variety of standards organizations, provide for the pooling of technical experts in a single standards development venue and, consequently, help create a truly global terminology document in terms of input as well as application. Some of the terms defined in the new standard include nanotechnology, nano-, nanoscale and nanostructured.

Nanotechnology has been described as the ability to build products (of any size) with atomic precision and the projected ability to make things from the bottom up, using techniques and tools that are being developed today to place every atom and molecule in a desired place. If this form of materials engineering is achieved it will result in a manufacturing revolution. It also has significant economic, social, environmental, and military implications.

Terminology standard E 2456 is available through the main page of ASTM International‚s Web site
http://www.astm.org , although at some point it will be moved to the homepage for Committee E 56.

ASTM International standards are available from Customer Service phone: 610/832-9585; or at http://www.astm.org .

For further technical information, contact Vicki Colvin, Rice University,
Houston, Texas phone: 713/348-5741; . Committee E56
meets May 21-23, 2007, at the May Committee Week in Norfolk, Va. For membership or
meeting information, contact Pat Picariello, director, Developmental Operations, ASTM International phone: 610/832-9720; .

####

About ASTM
Committee E56 is one of 139 ASTM technical standards-writing committees.
Established in 1898, ASTM International is one of the largest standards development and delivery systems in the world. ASTM standards are accepted and
used in R&D, product testing, quality systems, and commercial transactions around the globe.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Barbara Schindler
Release #7544
610/832-9603

Copyright © ASTM

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

Miscellaneous

Editorial: Choices for Congress September 9th, 2010

Stephen Hawking - 'Don't Talk to Aliens' April 26th, 2010

It’s about damn time: Medvedev bans nanodemocracy April 15th, 2010

Savor maple syrup time in Ohio: Travel in 3s February 20th, 2010

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project