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Nanogears
Nanotechnology as a collective term refers to technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually
0.1-100nm. (One nanometer equals one thousandth of a micrometer or one millionth of a millimeter.) The term sometimes applies to
any microscopic technology. Due to the small size at which nanotechnology
operates, physical phenomena not observed at the macroscopic scale dominate. These nanoscale phenomena include quantum effects and short range forces such as van der Waals forces. Furthermore the vastly increased ratio of
surface area to volume promotes surface phenomena.
In fiction and media, "nanotechnology" often refers to hypothetical molecular nanotechnology (also known as "MNT").
History
The first mention of nanotechnology (not yet using that name) occurred in a talk given by Richard Feynman in 1959, entitled There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom. Feynman suggested a means to develop the
ability to manipulate atoms and molecules "directly", by developing a set of one-tenth-scale machine tools analogous to those
found in any machine shop. These small tools would then help to develop and operate a next generation of one-hundredth-scale
machine tools, and so forth. As the sizes get smaller, we would have to redesign some tools because the relative strength of
various forces would change. Gravity would become less important, surface tension
would become more important, van der Waals attraction would become
important, etc. Feynman mentioned these scaling issues during his talk. Nobody has yet effectively refuted the feasibility of his
proposal.
The term nanotechnology first appeared in K. Eric
Drexler's 1986 book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era
of Nanotechnology. He explored this subject in some technical depth in an MIT doctoral dissertation, later expanded into
Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation. Computational methods play a key role in the field
today because nanotechnologists can use them to design and simulate a wide range of molecular systems.[1]
.
New materials, devices, technologies
- Mechanochemistry
- Nanoactuator
- Nanobearing
- Nanocontact
- Nanomotor
- Nanoring
- Nanorotor
- Nanosensor
- Nanotransistor
- Nanotube
- Nanowire
- Nanopore
- Self replication
References
Current useful reference works
- Nanotechnology , electronic journal since 1990, available on web and CD-ROM.
- Drexler and others have extended the ideas of nanotechnology with two more books, Unbounding the Future: the
Nanotechnology Revolution [2] and Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing,
and Computation [3] . Unbounding the Future, an easy-to-read
book, introduces the ideas of nanotechnology in a not-too-technical way; and Nanosystems provides an in-depth analysis
of nanomachines and molecular manufacturing, with thorough scientific
analyses of their feasibility and performance. Note another notable work in the same vein: Nanomedicine by Robert Freitas.
- Political commentators often have a one-sided understanding of nanotechnology. In In the Absence of the Sacred: The
Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations (ISBN 0871565099), Jerry Mander uses the term "nano-technology" based on a telephone call he had with a writer for Mother Jones magazine. Presumably, Mander believes that MNT would prove alienating to American Indians and other Native Peoples, but in Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology. K. Eric Drexler writes
-
- One test of the freedom a technology offers is whether it frees people to return to primitive ways of life. Modern technology
fails this test; molecular technology succeeds. As a test case, imagine returning to a stone-age style of life—not by
simply ignoring molecular technology, but while using it. [4]
Nanotechnology in fiction
Nanotechnology has also become a prominent theme in science
fiction [5] , for example with the Borg in Star Trek, the game Deus Ex, Greg Bear's Blood Music, Michael Crichton's
Prey, and Neal Stephenson's more attuned book The Diamond Age.
Related topics
External Links
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