Engineering Physics

CHAPTER 14

Nanotechnology

14.1 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 ...