Could the local water works be harnessed to fuel your car? Scientists think they just may. Researchers at Sandia National Labs intend to complete development of a prototype solar cell that will convert plain water into combustible fuel! They have already demonstrated concept feasibility. Such cells, along with water, could replace oil as an automotive fuel of choice. Is this for real? How is it possible?

Water is number one fighting fires. But what if we break it down into its component parts? You remember science class, right? That's where they taught us water is made up of 2 atoms of hydrogen combined with a single atom of oxygen. Hydrogen, the most abundant element on earth, is highly explosive. Oxygen is necessary for any type of combustion. In their singular states the components of water are a burning recipe for fuel.

Sandia scientists have also developed a robot that can move, pick up, and drop a payload. Not a big deal you say? What if I told you that 20 of these androids can stand side-by-side across the width (not length) of a human hair; impressed now? Called motor proteins' these soldiers can be designed to seek each other out and self-assemble in predictable patterns. Nature self-assembles everything in predictable patterns, both flora and fauna. We are just now beginning to learn mother's secrets.

The Science of the Small
Hail the world of Nano-technology, the science of the small. You'll be hearing this word "nano" a lot. From the Greek word for dwarf, you just can't get any smaller. How small? Well, it would take 80,000 nano-meters to equal the width of that human hair we just discussed. Now that's small.

This science allows us to manipulate at the atomic level for the first time.
Re-arrange the atoms of water, dirt and air, and we can create rice, or corn. If we re-arrange the atoms of coal, we can create diamonds. Or should I say, this is being done, now! Boston based Apollo Diamonds creates what it calls cultured diamonds' that are virtually "indistinguishable" from mined diamonds. They are real. Jewelers can't tell the difference!

Diamonds are a $60 billion industry annually. This technology promises to lower the price of diamonds by at least a third. What implications does this have for the tightly held global diamond trade? Can gold be far behind? And will this have implications for international currency exchange?

Amazingly a survey of U.S. adults found more than half confessing no knowledge of nanotechnology at

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