Nanotechnology

Everything on Earth is made up of atoms. The clothes we wear, the food we eat, the buildings and houses we live in, and even our own bodies. Today's scientists and engineers are discovering a wide variety of ways to deliberately make materials at the nanoscale in order to take advantage of their enhanced properties. Such as a higher strength, a lighter weight, an increased control of light spectrum, and a greater chemical reactivity than their bigger counterparts. It is more than just mixing nanoscale materials together, it requires that we understand how to precisely manipulate and control these materials in a useful way. Nanotechnology is a new and broad science where diverse fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and engineering converge. The way consumers respond to these early products, will be the test for broader market acceptance of nanotechnologies in the future.

Nanotechnology is the construction and the use of functional structures designed from an atomic or molecular scale with at least one characteristic dimension measured in nanometers. The prefix "nano" comes from the ancient Greek word for "dwarf". In science it means one billionth (10 to the minus 9) of something. So, a nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter, or 0.000000001 meters. A nanometer is about three to five atoms wide, or some 40,000 times smaller than the thickness of human hair. Their special size allows them to significantly improve physical, chemical, and biological properties, phenomena, and processes. Nanotechnology is an exciting area of scientific advancement which promises “more for less”. It offers ways to create smaller, cheaper, lighter and faster devices that can do more and cleverer things while using less raw mat...

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...to be taken, in order to ensure these advances come about in as safe of a manner as possible.

Nanotechnology's potential is vast and real. "We are at the vanguard of discovering the endless benefits of nanotechnology for applications like targeted cancer treatments and more efficient solar cells. With this inventory, we also are learning that this technology is already being incorporated into our daily lives. It's on store shelves and being sold in every part of the world," said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. The opportunity of nanotechnology can improve anything from Olympic sports equipment to help discovering better treatments for Alzheimer's disease. But our ability to obtain these long-term benefits of nanotechnology will depend on how well the industry and government can manage the safety and performance of these products.