Understanding nanotechnology : from the editors of Scientific American

Abstract

Everyone today knows what technology is, but what is nanotechnology? Taken from the Greek, nano means 'one billionth part of' a whole. In modern parlance, it means very, very small. Nano-tech is the next step after miniaturization. Mobile phones are miniaturized versions of traditional landline phones. Watches are miniature clocks. Desktop computers are miniature versions of the original analogue calculating machines. Miniaturization is common in today's world - in tomorrow's world, nano-tech will be the new common technology. It will afect everyone on the planet and may change civilization as it is known. This book presents the cutting edge of a new technology that will find usage in medicine, space exploration, communications, manufacturing and almost every other aspect of modern society. Imagine getting an injection of smart molecules that can seek out cancer cells and destroy them without hurting any of the surrounding tissue. Imagine a simultaneous space launch via the Shuttle of thousands of robotic probes, each no bigger than an insect and each programmed to do a single task in concert with all the others. And that's just the begnning.