As my many loyal readers know, I spent quite a bit of time researching the magical and mystical properties of gemstones for my fantasy adventure series The Gemstone Chronicles. I wanted to be sure I was true to the legendary characteristics that have fascinated people for millennia. I just think accuracy is important. Hence, I do the research!
Along those lines, I have been researching (and slowly writing) my next book. It’s going to be a thriller (at least it is now – you never know where the characters will take you) that has absolutely nothing to do with gemstones, Aidan, Maggie, Nana, elves, of any of the other familiar characters from Celahir. No, this book will be set in current times and focus on a conspiracy. And part of it involves research into cool technology. Nanotechnology to be exact. And that is where the research is killing me!
Many of you know that I’m a big nerd and geek. I graduated from the US Navy’s Nuclear Power School (a kingdom of nerds and geeks if ever there was one), served aboard a nuclear powered submarine (very cool technology and engineering) and, if given the chance, will spend a day watching The Science Channel on TV. I like to read about quantum mechanics, and follow CERN. If there is going to be a black hole created during the search for the Higgs boson, I want to know about it!!
Nanotechnology:
Now I’m researching nanotechnology and it appeals to my nerd/geek side. When I start reading about the technology, I want to keep reading about it. What exactly is nanotechnology? According to our friends over at Wikipedia, a general definition is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers. The definition reflects the fact that quantum mechanical effects are important at this quantum realm scale.
What does all that mean? A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. By comparison, a DNA helix is 2 nm in diameter. Or, for you chemistry fans, the carbon-carbon bond lengths or the spacing between the atoms in a molecule is 0.12 – 0.15 nm. We are talking small!!
The book:
How does this fit into the research for my next book? As I mentioned above, nanotechnology figures prominently in the story. I can’t tell you much as it would be a spoiler, but I can describe some of the areas of nanotechnology research. Nanomaterials include carbon nanotubes that can be used to make stain resistant fibers, nanopillars that can be used in solar cells (and help lower the cost of traditional silicon cells), and nanoparticles that can possibly be used for displays, solar cells, lighting, and other such applications.
Medical research with nanotechnology is also progressing. Ideas of using nanomachines to fight disease, cure illnesses, and other such possibilities are mind-boggling. Imagine a tiny machine that destroys cancer and then disappears. It could be possible in the near future.
But, I digress (as always happens when I do research). Nanotechnology isn’t the focus of this post. It was supposed to be about how research distracts me from writing my next book. I guess the key is discovering how much research is enough! I’m not writing historical fiction, so I think if I can get the gist of the idea across, that may be enough. On that note, I think I will try to stay away from the internet and do some writing!
Does research distract you from your writing? If not, what distractions do you encounter and how do you deal with them? Leave me a comment and let me know! I might be able to avoid some of them in the future!! 🙂
Connect with me:
Want to connect with me? I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or just email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to connecting with you.
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