Background | nanotechnology

A Little About Nanotechnology

The Nanometer

What is a nanometer? The International System of Units, "nano" is the Greek prefix for one-billionth. Therefore, a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter (Citation 3). Some examples of a nanometer are:

DNA is about 2.5 nanometers thick
A tennis ball is 100,000,000 nanometers wide
A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick
One nanometer is the size of a glucose molecule

What is a Nanoparticle?

A nanoparticle is an object similar in size to biomolecules (about 2500 to 10000 nanometers in length). (Citation 2)

What is Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology occupies a wide range of topics such as nanobiotechnology, nanoropotics, and nanomedicine. The general term is the manipulation of matter at the atomic scale. The concept was first introduced by physicist Richard Feynman, who proposed the idea of synthesis of by manipulation of atoms. (Citation 1)

History of Nanotechnology

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4th Century The Lycurgus Cup is one of the earliest examples of nanotechnology. This roman cup made up of dichroic glass, glows differently when light is passing from behind or in front.	1200's - 1700's Damascus saber blades contained carbon nanotubes which gave the swords a strength almost unrivaled at the time.	1857 Michael Faraday(1971-1867) discovers colloidal ruby gold, showing that nanostructured gold has different colors depending on lighting.
1936 Erwin Müller(1911-1977) invented the field emission microscope, providing scientists with a clear resolution of atomic sized materials.	1947 John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain discovered the semiconductor transistor, thus expanding the knowledge of semiconductor interfaces.	1958 Jack Kilby(1923-2005) designed and built the first integrated circuit.
1959 Richard Feynman(1918-1988) gave what is said the first lecture on technology and engineering at the atomic scale, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom".	1981 Gerd Binnig(1947-present) and Heinrich Rohrer(1933-2013) invent the Scanning Tunneling Microscope(STM), allowing scientists to see and move individual atoms.	1989 Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer manipulated 35 individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo, demonstrating the ability to precisely manipulate atoms.
1991 Sumio Iijima(1939-present) of NEC is given credit for the discovery of the carbon nanotube. This formation of carbon atoms displays astonishing strength, electrical and thermal conductivity.	1997 Zyvex becomes the first nanotechnology company.	2000 President Clinton of the United States launches the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). This organization coordinates Federal R&D efforts and promote U.S. competitiveness in nanotechnology.
2003 Naomi Halas, Jennifer West, Rebekah Drezek, and Renata Pasqualin at Rice University develop gold nanoshells. These serve as a platform for the integrated discovery, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer without surgery.	2007 Angela Belcher and colleagues at MIT build a lithium-ion battery with a common type of virus that is unharmful to humans, using a low-cost and environmentally benign process.	2010 IBM used a silicon tip, measuring only a few nanometers at its apex, to create a complete nanoscale 3D relief map of the world one-one-thousandth the size of a grain of salt—in 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Nanomedicine

Molecular Manufacturing

Nanorobotics

Nanotechnology encompases a broad range of topics. Just to name a few are:

Nanomedicine: the medical application of nanotechnology in the human body
Nanorobotics: the use of engineering technology whose components are nanometers small
Nanotoxicology: the study of the toxicity of nanomaterials
Nanolithography: the study and application of fabricating nano-scale structures

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A Little About Nanotechnology

History of Nanotechnology

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4th Century

The Lycurgus Cup is one of the earliest examples of nanotechnology. This roman cup made up of dichroic glass, glows differently when light is passing from behind or in front.

1200's - 1700's

Damascus saber blades contained carbon nanotubes which gave the swords a strength almost unrivaled at the time.

1857

Michael Faraday(1971-1867) discovers colloidal ruby gold, showing that nanostructured gold has different colors depending on lighting.

1936

Erwin Müller(1911-1977) invented the field emission microscope, providing scientists with a clear resolution of atomic sized materials.

1947

John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain discovered the semiconductor transistor, thus expanding the knowledge of semiconductor interfaces.

1958

Jack Kilby(1923-2005) designed and built the first integrated circuit.

1959

Richard Feynman(1918-1988) gave what is said the first lecture on technology and engineering at the atomic scale, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom".

1981

Gerd Binnig(1947-present) and Heinrich Rohrer(1933-2013) invent the Scanning Tunneling Microscope(STM), allowing scientists to see and move individual atoms.

1989

Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer manipulated 35 individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo, demonstrating the ability to precisely manipulate atoms.

1991

Sumio Iijima(1939-present) of NEC is given credit for the discovery of the carbon nanotube. This formation of carbon atoms displays astonishing strength, electrical and thermal conductivity.

1997

Zyvex becomes the first nanotechnology company.

2000

President Clinton of the United States launches the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). This organization coordinates Federal R&D efforts and promote U.S. competitiveness in nanotechnology.

2003

Naomi Halas, Jennifer West, Rebekah Drezek, and Renata Pasqualin at Rice University develop gold nanoshells. These serve as a platform for the integrated discovery, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer without surgery.

2007

Angela Belcher and colleagues at MIT build a lithium-ion battery with a common type of virus that is unharmful to humans, using a low-cost and environmentally benign process.

2010

IBM used a silicon tip, measuring only a few nanometers at its apex, to create a complete nanoscale 3D relief map of the world one-one-thousandth the size of a grain of salt—in 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Nanomedicine

Molecular Manufacturing

Nanorobotics

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