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Mechanical Nanosensors
4.1 Introduction
Precise measurements of physical variables like mass, displacement, accel-
eration, force, torque, pressure, strain, uid ow, viscoelasticity, and other
properties of matter are required everyday in many applications. The main
methods of sensing mechanical measurands have been established for many
years and are therefore directly applicable to nanosensors. There is, however,
a conspicuous effect that must be accounted for when considering micro-
and nanoscale devices. This is, of course, scaling. Some physical effects favor
the typical dimensions of smaller devices while others do not, e.g., as the ...