History of Nanotechnology

Chapter 8Contemporary History of Nanotechnology

CH Godale and Madhuri Sharon

Walchand College of Arts and Science, Solapur University, Solapur, India

Everything we see around us is made of atoms, the tiny elemental building blocks of matter. From stone, to copper, to bronze, iron, steel, and now silicon, the major technological ages of humankind have been defined by what these atoms can do in huge aggregates, trillions upon trillions of atoms at a time, molded, shaped, and refined as macroscopic objects. Even in our vaunted microelectronics of 1999, in our highest-tech silicon computer chip the smallest feature is a mountain compared to the size of a single atom. The resultant technology of our 20th century is fantastic, but it pales when compared to what will be possible when we learn to build things at the ultimate level of control one atom at a time. Richard E. Smalley

8.1 Introduction to the Concept of Nano After 1959

The term “nanometer scale” is due to Richard P. Feynman’s great contribution to the field of nanotechnology.

One can define the essence of nanotechnology as the ability to work at the molecular level, atom by atom, to create large structures with fundamentally new molecular organization. The aim is to exploit these properties by gaining control of structures and devices at atomic, molecular, and supramolecular levels and to learn to efficiently manufacture and use these devices.

Nano is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to ...