Nanotechnology

Introd

Nanobots are tiny robots. They do not exist yet. A nanometer is a measurement for nanotechnology. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. It is hoped that they can be used for many things. The government has put in millions in the research. There are movies and books about nanobots. A movie for example is Agent Cody Banks. In the movie Dr. Conners is a scientist that makes nanobots for removing the oil from oil spills. They destroy the oil and it does not effect the environment. The company owner of the project wants to use the nanobots for a evil purpose. He plans to use them to take out the US's missiles. But naturally the missiles are not destroyed by the nanobots. Instead the evil owner is destroyed by the nanobots.

What is nanoscience?

In Greek "nanos" means Dwarf. Nano refers to the 10_9 power, or one billionth.

In these terms it refers to a meter, or a nanometer, which is on the scale of atomic diameters. For comparison, a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers thick! Nanoscience is the study of atoms, molecules, and objects whose size is on the nanometer scale ( 1 - 100 nanometers ). Why is the study of nanoscience different than the same problems on a larger scale? Physics is different on the nanometer scale. Properties not seen on a macroscopic scale now become important - such as quantum mechanical and thermodynamic properties. Rather than working with bulk materials, one works with individual atoms and molecules. By learning about an individual molecules properties, we can put them together in very well_defined ways to produce new materials with new and amazing characteristics.

What size is a nano ?

Nanometer objects are too small to be seen with your eye. In fact, if you wanted to see a 10 nm sized marble in your hand, your eye would have to be smaller than a human hair.

Why is nanoscience becoming such an important area?

There are many- reasons for this. One, we now have new instruments able to "see" and "touch" at this scale. In the 1980's the scanning tunneling microscope was invented at IBM in Switzerland. This was the first instrument that was able to "see" atoms. A few years later, the Atomic Force Microscope was invented, expanding the capabilities and types of materials that could be investigated. Hence, Scanning Probe Microscopy was born, and since then multiple similar techniques have evolved from these instruments to "see" different properties at the nanometer scale. In addition, older techniques such as electron microscopy have continued to improve as well, and now can image in the nanometer range. Currently, there are a large number of helpful instruments that help scientists in the nano realm. In addition to the enabling technologies, scientists have realized the future potential of this research. By convincing politicians and leaders around the world, countries have instituted initiatives to promote nanoscience and nanotechnology in their universities and labs. With the recent increase in funding, many scientists are pursuing this research and the rate of discovery has

increased dramatically.

Why is nanoscience different than the same problems on a larger size?

Physics is different on the nanometer scale. Properties not seen on a macroscopic scale now become important_ such as quantum mechanical and thermodynamic properties. Rather than working with bulk materials, one works with individual atoms and molecules. By learning about an individual molecules properties, we can put them together in very well_defined ways to produce new materials with new and amazing characteristics.

The laws of physics behave differently at very small scales. At the nanoscale, electrons travel more quickly through wires, transistors can mete out electrons one at a time, objects stick to each other, and light can bend matter.

Moving Fast : Researchers have made semiconductor nanowires as narrow as a few nanometers, gold nanowires about half a nanometer wide, and carbon nanotubes just six atoms across.