Nanotechnology for Defence Applications PDF
Preview Nanotechnology for Defence Applications
Narendra Kumar Ambesh Dixit Nanotechnology for Defence Applications Nanotechnology for Defence Applications Narendra Kumar • Ambesh Dixit Nanotechnology for Defence Applications Narendra Kumar Ambesh Dixit Defence Laboratory Jodhpur (DRDO) Department of Physics & Center for Solar Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India Energy Department Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India ISBN 978-3-030-29879-1 ISBN 978-3-030-29880-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29880-7 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Foreword I am delighted to write foreword for the book entitled Nanotechnology for Defence Applications authored by Dr. Narandra Kumar and Dr. Ambesh Dixit. One of the authors Dr. Narendra Kumar is well known to me for more than a decade while we worked at Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in different capacities. He is well known for his work in the area of Advanced Materials, includ- ing Nanomaterials for Defence Technologies at DRDO laboratories. Dr. Ambesh Dixit, an associate professor, is a young faculty at IIT Jodhpur working on funda- mental and applied aspects of nanotechnology. At a glance, starting from its title, the book makes a very interesting reading. It is amazing that authors have correlated the materials of different ages, beginning from Stone Age to the modern age of advanced materials, to the contemporary development of defence technologies. They have beautifully introduced a chapter on the basic and applied aspect of nanotechnology which should help any reader to understand the emerging area of nanoscience considered to be one among the three most impacting technologies on society in the present and future. The other two technologies are information and biotechnologies. Furthermore, blending of these three technologies has a great impact on mankind starting from their healthcare, comfort, information, security and defence. In spite of the scarcity of open literature related to the potential of nanotechnol- ogy, particularly in defence sectors, the authors have made commendable efforts to bring together the potential of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, with relevant illustrations and citations, in diverse strategic areas of defence such as explosives and propellants, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear i.e. CBRN, camou- flage and stealth, and light weight military platforms together with empowerment of soldier. The last chapter provides the futuristic view of defence technologies with the blending of nano-, bio- and information technologies. It is interesting to note that authors have described the possible impact of nanotechnology in the respective areas of defence. v vi Foreword I believe that this book will be of great help not only to the researchers engaged in the development of defence technologies but also to the policy makers and users in bringing awareness about the emerging benefits of this wonderful and inescap- able technology and nurturing the same in their respective domain. Former Director, UR Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, P. S. Goel Chairman RAC (DRDO), Dr Raja Ramanna Chair, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Bengaluru, India Preface The development of mankind, right from the beginning for food, shelter, and com- fort, was very much dependent on the availability of natural materials in the begin- ning of the Stone Age and later materials innovated with time. The three big inventions made by Neolithic Stone Age mankind were fire, wheel, and agriculture. These inventions followed by the discovery of metals in Bronze and Iron Ages made a paradigm shift in the lives of human race in terms of their shelters, food, comfort, and tools for hunting for food and fighting for their dominance and survival. As a consequence, a new kind of weaponry was evolved. The weapons made out of natu- ral materials such as wood, bones, and stones were replaced by those made from metals such as bronze, iron, and steel. Their use continued until the end of medieval period, i.e. sixteenth century. The invention of gunpowder in the eleventh century was rediscovered in the eighteenth century as an exotic material leading to the fire- arm technologies. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, armament technologies based on gunpowder and other newly developed explosives and propellants added new strength to the modern weaponries ranging from handheld guns and rifles to cannons and finally to the present-day guided missiles. In fact, the twentieth century, particularly post–World War II period, has given birth to the variety of new materials including high strength and light weight metals and alloys, polymers, composites, and finally nanomaterials, making revolutionary impact in all sort of technologies relevant for the health, information and communi- cation, defence and security, transportation, etc. The realization that materials when broken down to the nanosize or a size very close to those of few time of atoms or molecules turns out to be materials of unusual physical and chemical properties. For example, at nanoscale, an opaque and brittle ceramic becomes transparent and flex- ible, a nonmagnetic material becomes magnetic, ferromagnetic material becomes super paramagnetic, non-reactive materials become highly reactive, etc. All these unique properties are the manifestation of high surface area presiding higher num- ber of molecules or atoms on the surfaces, quantum confinement, and localized and discrete energy levels, leading to their impact on variety of technologies governing the super-health, wealth, and defence of the present generation. vii viii Preface The likely impact of nanotechnology in defence sector covers a broad range of activities starting from the enhancement of lethality of weapons, secured commu- nication and surveillance, protection of targets including soldiers, strategic equip- ments and assets, light weight ground, and naval and aerial platforms. There are various titles on nanoscience and nanotechnology, emphasizing on the fundamen- tals and specific applications. However, the potential of nanotechnology, specifi- cally for defence applications, is not covered in any of these titles. In view of the evolving potentials of highly interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, the pres- ent book is designed to cover the most of strategic defence domains including its likely impact in next generation of defence. In the beginning, we have tried to give a historical perspective about the evolution of weapons, starting from the Stone Age millions of years ago to the present era, based on the materials in the contem- porary periods. In the follow-up, the uniqueness of nanomaterials due to small size is discussed together with the impact on the properties of such materials and their applications in broad areas of human concerns. The role of nanomaterials and their uses are discussed in the context of enhancing propellant and explosives charac- teristics in a controlled way vis-a-vis their bulk counterparts. The impact of nano- technology is also brought out for the management of deadly chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons in terms of detection, protection, and decontamination. Furthermore, the evolving role of nanotechnology is discussed towards the signature management of military targets (soldiers, platforms, instal- lations) through camouflage/stealth in the multispectral electromagnetic and non- electromagnetic spectral (acoustic) regions. Heavy weight of military platforms, mostly made from steel, is a big issue in terms of their excessive fuel consump- tions, speed, portability, as well as heavy armours to protect against ballistic and blast attacks. Nanomaterials being light in weight bearing a number of functional- ities are emerging as the material of choice to develop light weight military plat- forms and their armours. The recent advances in this area are discussed. Soldier is the most important asset of any military. In the present-day warfare scenario including the threat from non-state actors, i.e. terrorists, the role of soldier, even on routine patrol duties, is growing day by day. It is imperative to make soldiers smart by providing them the advanced technologies. In this regard, we have brought out several facets of nanotechnology such as body armours, intelligent textiles capable of generating power from the renewable sources to reduce the burden of power packs, communication systems, autonomous blending with the background, etc. Together, we have also attempted to bring out certain nanotech- nology based options likely to impact futuristic war scenarios. To facilitate the timely widespread utilization of emerging nanotechnology, it is essential to provide an overall comprehensive text on nanotechnology in defence in the open domain. We believe that our present work is a step forward in this direction and will help researchers as well as policy-makers and users to understand and exploit the potential of nanomaterials and nanotechnology in diverse areas of defence. In addition, the book will serve as a reference source in the academia Preface ix opting for courses on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology especially in Defence Sciences. We have made our best efforts to keep the text error-free along with giving appropriate citations, wherever needed. However, we welcome any shortcomings or suggestions making further improvements. Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India Narendra Kumar Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India Ambesh Dixit Acknowledgement We are thankful to our colleagues from Academic and Research Institutions for their suggestions and comments. We are especially grateful to our family members for their patience and silent support during the course of writing this book. Furthermore, we express our thanks to Springer, USA, for taking up this project with keen interest and timely execution to make this publication a reality. Dr. Narendra Kumar Dr. Ambesh Dixit xi
The list of books you might like
