Fullerene Nanogears - GPN-2000-001535.

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For the materials science journal, see Nanotechnology (journal). For other
uses of "Nanotech", see Nanotech (disambiguation).
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Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an
atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The
earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular
technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for
fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular
nanotechnology.[1][2] A more generalized description of nanotechnology
was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology Initiative,
which defined nanotechnology as the manipulation of matter with at least
one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers. This definition reflects the
fact that quantum mechanical effects are important at this quantum-realm
scale, and so the definition shifted from a particular technological goal to a
research category inclusive of all types of research and technologies that
deal with the special properties of matter which occur below the given size
threshold. It is therefore common to see the plural form "nanotechnologies"
as well as "nanoscale technologies" to refer to the broad range of research
and applications whose common trait is size.
Nanotechnology as defined by size is naturally broad, including fields of
science as diverse as surface science, organic chemistry, molecular
biology, semiconductor physics, energy storage,[3][4] engineering,[5]
microfabrication,[6] and molecular engineering.[7] The associated research
and applications are equally diverse, ranging from extensions of
conventional device physics to completely new approaches based upon
molecular self-assembly,[8] from developing new materials with dimensions
on the nanoscale to direct control of matter on the atomic scale.
Scientists currently debate the future implications of nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology may be able to create many new materials and devices
with a vast range of applications, such as in nanomedicine,
nanoelectronics, biomaterials energy production, and consumer products.
On the other hand, nanotechnology raises many of the same issues as any
new technology, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental
impact of nanomaterials,[9] and their potential effects on global economics,
as well as speculation about various doomsday scenarios. These concerns
have led to a debate among advocacy groups and governments on
whether special regulation of nanotechnology is warranted.
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 External linksOrigins
Main article: History of nanotechnology
The concepts that seeded nanotechnology were first discussed in 1959 by
renowned physicist Richard Feynman in his talk There's Plenty of Room at
the Bottom, in which he described the possibility of synthesis via direct
manipulation of atoms.

Comparison of Nanomaterials Sizes

The term "nano-technology" was first used by Norio Taniguchi in 1974,
though it was not widely known. Inspired by Feynman's concepts, K. Eric
Drexler used the term "nanotechnology" in his 1986 book Engines of
Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which proposed the idea of
a nanoscale "assembler" which would be able to build a copy of itself and
of other items of arbitrary complexity with atomic control. Also in 1986,
Drexler co-founded The Foresight Institute (with which he is no longer
affiliated) to help increase public awareness and understanding of
nanotechnology concepts and implications.