IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017 - 46

Regulation
of the Use of
Nanotechnology
in Armed Conflict
Kobi Leins

efore any means or method of warfare is deployed in armed conflict,
the legality of its use should be confirmed by legal review, at the stage of
"study, development, acquisition or
adoption." This review should ensure
that new means and methods of warfare comply with international law. International law is
comprised of treaties, international custom, and general principles of law [1].
This legal review ensures that all new or modified
means or methods of warfare comply with general legal
principles, for example, the requirement that they are
not "of a nature to cause superfluous injury [2]." Examples of treaty-based obligations include prohibitions on
poisons [3], or biological [4] or chemical weapons [5],
just to name a few.
"Nano" is a prefix meaning "a billionth" (a factor of
u , mean10−9 of a meter) derived from the Greek yayqw
ing, "dwarf". By way of illustration, a nano-sized object is
to an apple, what an apple is to the size of the earth. Or
to give another example, one nanometer particle could
fit approximately 80 000 time across a human hair [6].
Nano-sized particles have always existed, and are not
new. Nanoparticles occur naturally in the environment,
such as in volcanic ash, sea spray, clay, and milk, and in
man-made substances, such as depleted uranium. It is at
the nanoscale where the human nervous system exists,
the pigment molecules in the eye allow sight, and the gap
that facilitates the flow of neurotransmitters within the
brain takes place. What is new is the ability to
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2017.2654287
Date of publication: 6 March 2017

RICHARD WATT/MOD

deliberately create, manipulate, or modify nanoparticles
to specific scientific ends, particularly within the human
body. Just to give one example, the same science that
will enhance the function of the human heart may be
used to stop it from functioning by nanoparticles invisible
to the human eye [7]. Another example is of the potential
applications of optogenetics, undertaken with the assistance of increasingly precise nanolasers, that are being
developed to help to restore sight [8]. The same technology could be relied upon to cause blindness.
There is enormous interest from governments and
industry in harnessing the benefits of nano-scale research
[9]. An extraordinary amount is being invested by both the
military and civilian sectors. The U.S. 2015 Federal budget
alone provided more than $1.5 billion [10] for a U.S Government research and development initiatives involving
nanotechnology-related activities of 20 departments and
independent agencies involving academia, government,
and industry laboratories across the United States.
Given that many biological functions occur at the
nanoscale (a DNA molecule is approximately 3 nm in

IEEE TEchnology and SocIETy MagazInE

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march 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017