Forget about the micron. That millionth of a meter seems like a lumbering giant next to the nanometer. At one billionth of a meter, the nanometer is the scale used in the discipline of Nanotechnology, a growing focus of research efforts in government, industry and the academic community. (To give you some perspective, the diameter of a human hair is approximately 100,000 nanometers.)

The logic of using a nanoscale was explained by (the aptly named) R. E. Smalley:

This nanometer is about as far down in size as it is sensible to go, because from one side of the nanometer to the other there are only about three to five atoms. Although there are smaller things in the universe than atoms, these are not the sort of things you can put in a bottle or play with out in the open. For us, and the things around us in ordinary life, atoms are the ultimate building blocks.¹

Visionary physicist Richard Feynman expressed the importance of exploring this tiny terrain decades ago, but it took recent developments in imaging technologies to allow us to really observe and manipulate atoms and molecules.

Today, most of the work being done is at the theoretical level, and the goals are still a bit vague:

Nanotechnology should improve our lives in any area that would benefit from the development of better, faster, stronger, smaller, and cheaper systems.²

In spite of this, nanotechnology research has gained considerable financial support (e.g., the National Nanotechnology Initiative). The topic has captured our imagination as the press reports on predictions that "carbon nanotubes" will replace silicon in computers and that the development of tiny "nanomotors" will radically alter manufacturing processes.³ There have even been some practical applications --like sunscreen made of transparent, nano-size zinc oxide particles (marketed by Nanophase Technologies).

Below are links to resources on the basic concepts of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Included are a recent article from Scientific American and, for the visually oriented, a website featuring illustrative, three-dimensional models rendered in LEGO bricks.

In the next issue of the Forum we'll look at the implications of nanotechnology for diagnosis and medicine.

• Exploring the Nanoworld with LEGO Bricks
• Foresight Institute -- Website of educational organization that sponsors conferences, and publishes books and journals on nanotechnology.
• Nanotechnology Now -- Comprehensive resource including basics, news and links to related sites.
• National Nanotechnology Initiative
• Stix G. Little big science. Scientific American. September 2001 -- A good introduction/overview of the topic.
• There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom -- Transcript of Richard Feynman's1959 address to the American Physical Society.