The convergence of nano, bio and information technologies will lead to new generation aerospace devices and products, President A P J Abdul Kalam said on Thursday.
In aerospace, emerging trends in areas like MEMS, nano, information technology, biotechnology, space research, hypersonic systems, high power lasers and microwaves will dominate the future in every field and applications, he said.
Advancements in material science and technology will give a major thrust to the realisation of advanced aerospace systems, he said.
Molecular nano-technology has enormous potential for future aeospace systems, he said. Research, Kalam said, has shown that a newly discovered class of molecules, particularly
carbon nano tubes built from graphite sheets curved into a wide variety of close shapes, may lead to tougher, high temperature materials that can survive in vacuums and harsh environments.
Carbon nano tubes are normal form of carbon with remarkable electrical and mechanical properties. It is hoped that such materials will revolutionise electronic design and open the frontiers of space by radically lowering cost from launch to orbit, he said after laying the foundation stone for medical research centre at IIT-Kharagpur.
Carbon nano tubes reinforced with polymer matrix will result in composites that are super-strong, lightweight, small and intelligent structures. "This has tremendous aerospace applications," he said.