Nanotechnology is a catch-all phrase for materials and devices that operate at the nanoscale. In the metric system of measurement, Nano equals a billionth and therefore a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. References to nano materials, nanoelectronics, nano devices and nanopowders simply mean the material or activity can be measured in nanometers. To appreciate the size, a human red blood cell is over 2,000 nanometers long, virtually outside the nanoscale range!

Recently, government and private institutions have devoted substantial research into finding potential valuable uses at this scale, as discussed below.

How are nanotechnologies used today?


Despite views that nanotechnology is a far-fetched idea with no near-term applications, nanoparticles, nanopowders and nanotubes already play a significant role in industry, environmental remediation, medicine, science and even in the household. The majority of nanotechnologies commercially used today are based on such nano-sized p ...more

Nanotechnology is a field of applied science and technology covering a broad range of topics. The main unifying theme is the control of matter on a scale smaller than 1 micrometer, normally between 1-100 nanometers, as well as the fabrication of devices on this same length scale. It is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as colloidal science, device physics, and supramolecular chemistry. Much speculation exists as to what new science and technology might result from these lines of research. Some view nanotechnology as a marketing term that describes pre-existing lines of research applied to the sub-micron size scale.

Nano = 10-9 or one billionth in size
Nanotechnology comprises technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0.1 to 100 nm. (One nanometer equals one thousandth of a micrometre or one millionth of a millimetre.)

Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical carbon molecules with novel properties that make them potentially useful in a wide variety of applications.
Carbon nanotubes are hexagonally shaped arrangements of carbon atoms that have been rolled into tubes. These tiny straw-like cylinders of pure carbon have useful electrical properties

Nanotube properties

;Superior stiffness and strength to all other materials
;Extraordinary electric properties
;Reported to be thermally stable in a vacuum up to 2800 degrees Centigrade (and we fret over CPU temps over 50o C)
;Capacity to carry an electric current 1000 times better than copper wires
;Twice the thermal conductivity of diamonds
;Pressing or stretching nanotubes can change their electrical properties by changing the ...more

Nanotechnology is the engineering of tiny machines the projected ability to build things from the bottom up inside personal nanofactories (PNs), using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, highly advanced products. Ultimately, nanotechnology will enable control of matter at the nanometer scale, using mechanochemistry. Shortly after this envisioned molecular machinery is created, it will result in a manufacturing revolution, probably causing severe disruption. It also has serious economic, social, environmental, and military implications.

A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, roughly the width of three or four atoms. The average human hair is about 25,000 nanometers wide.