Engineering Physics

13.1 Basic principle of nanoscience and nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the extension of existing science into the nanoscale. It pushed towards microminiaturization. The word ‘nano’ means ‘one-billionth’, (10^–9). Feynman, a noble laureate in physics, brought this nanotechnology into daylight by delivering lectures in 1959. Nanoscience is the study of the fundamental principles of molecules and structures having sizes in between 1 and 100 nm. These are known as nanostructures. The 20th century scientists called this as top-down science. The physical, chemical, biological properties associated with the nanostructures constituted from atoms and molecules is known as bottom-up process. The top-down process refers to machining and etching techniques ...