NANOTECHNOLOGY

The use of science, engineering, and technology at the nanoscale, or between 1

and 100 nanometers, is known as nanotechnology. The study of and application of

very small things in nanoscience and nanotechnology can be advantageous to all other

scientific disciplines, including chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and

engineering.

On December 29, 1959, physicist Richard Feynman delivered a speech titled

"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at an American Physical Society meeting

held at the California Institute of Technology, long before the term "nanotechnology"

was invented (CalTech). Feynman described a technique in his speech that will allow

scientists to direct and control certain atoms and molecules. More than 10 years later,

while studying ultraprecision machining, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term

"nanotechnology." It wasn't until 1981 that the scanning tunneling microscope, a

device that could "see" individual atoms, was developed.

Scientists and engineers are currently developing a wide variety of deliberate

manufacturing techniques in order to take advantage of the improved properties of

materials at the nanoscale, such as higher strength, lighter weight, increased control of

the light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts.