Nano, Greek for “dwarf,” means one billionth. Measurement at this level is in
nanometers (abbreviated “nm”) — billionths of a meter. To put this into perspective,
a strand of human hair is roughly 75,000 nm across. On the flipside
of the concept, you’d need ten hydrogen atoms lined up end-to-end to make
up 1 nm.
When faced with a squishy term that can mean different things to different
people, the best thing to do is to form a committee and charge it with drawing
up a working definition. In fact, a committee was formed (the National
Nanotechnology Initiative) and the following defining features of nanotechnology
were hammered out:(Why Nanotechnology,Nanotechnology In It)
1. Nanotechnology involves research and technology development at the
1nm-to-100nm range.
2. Nanotechnology creates and uses structures that have novel properties
because of their small size.
3. Nanotechnology builds on the ability to control or manipulate at the
atomic scale.
Numbers 1 and 3 are pretty straightforward, but Number 2 uses the eyebrowraising
term “novel properties.” When we go nano, the interactions and
physics between atoms display exotic properties that they don’t at larger
scales. “How exotic?” you ask? Well, at this level atoms leave the realm of
classical physical properties behind, and venture into the world of quantum
mechanics. David Rotman described this best in his 1999 article, “Will the
Real Nanotech Please Stand Up?” (published in the March/April edition of
Technology Review), when he quoted Mark Reed, a nanoelectronics scientist
at Yale University:
“Physical intuition fails miserably in the nanoworld . . . you see all kinds
of unusual effects.” For example, even our everyday electrons act unusual
at the nano level: “It’s like throwing a tennis ball at a garage door and
having the ball pop out the other side.”
Nanotechnology is, at heart, interdisciplinary. You’ll get only part of the story
if you just use chemistry to get at the properties of atoms on the nano level —
adding physics and quantum mechanics to the mix gives you a truer picture.
Chemists, physicists, and medical doctors are working alongside engineers,
biologists, and computer scientists to determine the applications, direction,
and development of nanotechnology — in essence, nanotechnology is many
disciplines building upon one another. Industries such as materials manufacturing,
computer manufacturing, and healthcare will all contribute, meaning
that all will benefit — both directly from nanotechnological advances, and
indirectly from advances made by fellow players in the nano field. (Imagine,
for example, quantum computers simulating the effectiveness of new nanobased
medicines.)
There are two approaches to fabricating at the nano scale: top-down and
bottom-up. A top-down approach is similar to a sculptor cutting away at a block
of marble — we first work at a large scale and then cut away until we have our
nano-scale product. (The computer industry uses this approach when creating
their microprocessors.) The other approach is bottom-up manufacturing, which
entails building our product one atom at a time. This can be time-consuming,
so a so-called self-assembly process is employed — under specific conditions,
the atoms and molecules spontaneously arrange themselves into the final
product.
nanometers (abbreviated “nm”) — billionths of a meter. To put this into perspective,
a strand of human hair is roughly 75,000 nm across. On the flipside
of the concept, you’d need ten hydrogen atoms lined up end-to-end to make
up 1 nm.
Nanotechnology can be difficult to determine and define. For example, the
realm of nanoscience is not new; chemists will tell you they’ve been doing
nanoscience for hundreds of years. Stained-glass windows found in medieval
churches contain different-size gold nanoparticles incorporated into the
glass — the specific size of the particles creating orange, purple, red, or
greenish colors. Einstein, as part of his doctoral dissertation, calculated
the size of a sugar molecule as one nanometer. Loosely considered, both
the medieval glass workers and Einstein were nanoscientists. What’s new
about current nanoscience is its aggressive focus on developing applied
technology — and the emergence of the right tools for the job.
realm of nanoscience is not new; chemists will tell you they’ve been doing
nanoscience for hundreds of years. Stained-glass windows found in medieval
churches contain different-size gold nanoparticles incorporated into the
glass — the specific size of the particles creating orange, purple, red, or
greenish colors. Einstein, as part of his doctoral dissertation, calculated
the size of a sugar molecule as one nanometer. Loosely considered, both
the medieval glass workers and Einstein were nanoscientists. What’s new
about current nanoscience is its aggressive focus on developing applied
technology — and the emergence of the right tools for the job.
When faced with a squishy term that can mean different things to different
people, the best thing to do is to form a committee and charge it with drawing
up a working definition. In fact, a committee was formed (the National
Nanotechnology Initiative) and the following defining features of nanotechnology
were hammered out:(Why Nanotechnology,Nanotechnology In It)
1. Nanotechnology involves research and technology development at the
1nm-to-100nm range.
2. Nanotechnology creates and uses structures that have novel properties
because of their small size.
3. Nanotechnology builds on the ability to control or manipulate at the
atomic scale.
Numbers 1 and 3 are pretty straightforward, but Number 2 uses the eyebrowraising
term “novel properties.” When we go nano, the interactions and
physics between atoms display exotic properties that they don’t at larger
scales. “How exotic?” you ask? Well, at this level atoms leave the realm of
classical physical properties behind, and venture into the world of quantum
mechanics. David Rotman described this best in his 1999 article, “Will the
Real Nanotech Please Stand Up?” (published in the March/April edition of
Technology Review), when he quoted Mark Reed, a nanoelectronics scientist
at Yale University:
“Physical intuition fails miserably in the nanoworld . . . you see all kinds
of unusual effects.” For example, even our everyday electrons act unusual
at the nano level: “It’s like throwing a tennis ball at a garage door and
having the ball pop out the other side.”
The applications
(Why Nanotechnology,Nanotechnology In It)
Nanotechnology is, at heart, interdisciplinary. You’ll get only part of the story
if you just use chemistry to get at the properties of atoms on the nano level —
adding physics and quantum mechanics to the mix gives you a truer picture.
Chemists, physicists, and medical doctors are working alongside engineers,
biologists, and computer scientists to determine the applications, direction,
and development of nanotechnology — in essence, nanotechnology is many
disciplines building upon one another. Industries such as materials manufacturing,
computer manufacturing, and healthcare will all contribute, meaning
that all will benefit — both directly from nanotechnological advances, and
indirectly from advances made by fellow players in the nano field. (Imagine,
for example, quantum computers simulating the effectiveness of new nanobased
medicines.)
There are two approaches to fabricating at the nano scale: top-down and
bottom-up. A top-down approach is similar to a sculptor cutting away at a block
of marble — we first work at a large scale and then cut away until we have our
nano-scale product. (The computer industry uses this approach when creating
their microprocessors.) The other approach is bottom-up manufacturing, which
entails building our product one atom at a time. This can be time-consuming,
so a so-called self-assembly process is employed — under specific conditions,
the atoms and molecules spontaneously arrange themselves into the final
product.
Tags:Why Nanotechnology,Nanotechnology In It
