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You have accessMoreSectionsView PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Cite this article Kroto H. 2004PrefacePhil. Trans. R. Soc. A.3622033http://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2004.1441SectionYou have accessPreface H. Kroto H. Kroto Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author H. Kroto H. Kroto Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Published:15 October 2004https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2004.1441AbstractThe new millennium has seen the birth of a new perspective on materials science: one which recognizes that future advances will be based on a fundamental understanding of the atomic and molecular infrastructure of materials. These advances will be achieved when the novel behaviour, in particular the quantum–mechanical behaviour, that nanoscale structures possess can be controlled and harnessed. To go with this new perspective the field has acquired a new name: ‘nanoscience and nanotechnology’ (N&N). The promise of developing functional devices at the molecular and atomic scale is now becoming a reality. However, a massive effort is still needed in order to control the fabrication of such novel nanodevices and nanomachines and to exploit processes based on quantum–mechanical laws. The next decade should see the emergence of new technologies based on systems with not only improved but hopefully also fundamentally new physico–chemical properties produced at reasonable costs. Experimental and theoretical research should lead to industrial applications yielding important breakthroughs. If universities, independent research centres, government agencies and innovative industrial organizations invest time and resources imaginatively in this multidisciplinary adventure, a highly synergistic process will ensue in the development of these new technologies. This Theme Issue provides an overview by experts in recent advances in carbon N&N and related systems. The articles emphasize some important applications that promise to revolutionize a wide range of technologies in the twenty–first century. The unique chemical properties of carbon result in an immensely varied range of compounds, such as graphite, diamond, hydrocarbons, soot, oil, complex molecules, etc. In the last decade, the field of carbon N&N emerged, following the discovery of fullerenes (hollow carbon nanoscale cages) and the identification of carbon nanotubes (cylindrical tubes consisting of rolled graphene sheets). This is a clear demonstration of the fact that carbon is even more flexible than previously realized and that it can adopt various totally unexpected nanoscale morphologies with novel tensile, electronic and magnetic properties. Carbon, already recognized as the most unique and versatile of elements, now seems on the verge of giving birth to a vast new range of exciting technological applications. Next Article VIEW FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD PDF FiguresRelatedReferencesDetails This Issue15 October 2004Volume 362Issue 1823Theme Issue ‘Nanotechnology of carbon and related materials’ compiled by Mauricio Terrones and Humberto Terrones Article InformationDOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2004.1441Published by:Royal SocietyPrint ISSN:1364-503XOnline ISSN:1471-2962History: Published online15/10/2004Published in print15/10/2004 License: Citations and impact