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").
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].
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[1] and Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation[1]. 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. [1]
The Foresight Institute Foresight's goal is to guide emerging technologies to improve the human condition - it focuses on nanotechnology and "systems that will enhance knowledge exchange and critical discussion, thus improving public and private policy decisions". http://www.foresight.org
Nanotechnology Without Genies Critique of the belief system associated with nanotechnology. http://www.geniebusters.org/
Nanotechnology: The Coming Molecular Revolution Student report on the potential for nanotechnology from a management point of view. http://nanotech.about.com/science/nanotech/library/weekly/aa122400a.htm
Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Report from an interdisplinary workshop held at the National Science Foundation (U.S.), covering a range of topics in the area of ethical, legal, social, cultural, medical, political, and environmental implications. http://itri.loyola.edu/nano/NSET.Societal.Implications/
Nanosocialism Seminal paper which argues that nanotechnology projections need to be tempered by realism about what it will be used for in the hands of corporations and governments - but that nanotechnology also offers enormous opportunities for the liberation of humanity. http://www.cla.sc.edu/ENGL/faculty/berube/nanosoc.htm
Center for Responsible Nanotechnology CRN investigates the societal implications, long-range risks, and effective use of nanotechnology, and educates those who will influence its use, or be affected by it. http://crnano.org/
Ethical Issues in Nanotechnology A starting point for exploring ethical, social, and environmental implications of nanotechnology. http://www.ethicsweb.ca/nanotechnology/
University of South Carolina NanoScience and Technology Studies Aims to provide scholarship and commentary on issues of nanotechnology to raise ethical, legal, political and societal issues, risks and benefits, and public and private sector approaches on its development. http://www.cla.sc.edu/cpecs/nirt/
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