Introduction to theWorld of Nanotechnology

Abstract

In 1959 physicist Richard Feynman introduced the potential ofatomic and molecular engineering with his revolutionary speech:“There is plenty of room at the bottom.” Not but two decadeslater, the initiation of various research activities in nanotechnologybegan. Only years ago, the microscale was accepted as the smallestachievable and most desirable size and the ultimate reachablelimit for designing, engineering, and building objects. Today, thoselimits have been largely surpassed and the new advantages of thesynthesis at the nanoscale, the scale of atoms and molecules, havebeen made available in different areas. Presently, the spectrum ofnanotechnology application has expanded to almost all areas of sci-ence and technology such as bioengineering, material science, medi-cine, electronics, and agriculture [1]. The word “nanotechnology”was introduced for the first time in the late 1970s. Althoughtoday there are almost countless definitions of nanotechnology,the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) defines it as (1)Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular,or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1-10-nanometer range, (2) Creating and using structures, devices,and systems that have novel properties and functions because oftheir small and/or intermediate size, and (3) Ability to control ormanipulate on the atomic scale [2].