Nanotechnology and nanoscience are about studying, manipulating, and constructing matter nearly down to the level of the atom in order to design special properties and special functionality.
Nanotechnology denotes technology whose active elements are measured in nanometers, normally in the range of 1 – 100 nanometers. It can be used in electronics and materials technology, but also in chemical and biological applications: nanomedicine. In nanomedicine research is being conducted on everything from new target-seeking drugs to inexpensive home tests for strep throat.
Nano means one billionth and comes from the Greek word for dwarf – nanos.
A nanometer, nm, is one millionth of a millimeter, a thousandth of a micrometer, to be compared with a typical atom, which is just over 0.1 nm in diameter.
The development of nanotechnology got underway in the 1980s when scientists developed the tools needed to manipulate substances nearly at the level of the atom.
Text Carina Dahlberg/KAW
Translation Donald S. MacQueen
Photo Magnus Bergström