nano technology?

Question

in simple terms what is nanotechnology and will it have a huge impact on the world, also can it be used in conjunction with light as this also seems to me to be what science is concentrating some effort on?

Answer 1

Nanotechnology just refers to technological devices that are super tiny; so small that you need a microscope to see them.

Playing with nano-light:

Physics News Update has a story on Nader Engheta, who is designing sub-wavelength structures for manipulating light. More details can be found at Engheta's website.

Basically, Engheta has found that sub-wavelength structures can resonate with light, and propagate it (pass it from one place to another). This means that optical computing and processing components can be made very small indeed.

He's currently talking about nano-capacitors, nano-inductors, and nano-resistors, and just speculating about circuits made from combinations of these. But he's already thinking about possible applications in everything from nano-antennas to microscopy.

The coming ability to build lots of precisely engineered nonstructural in heterogeneous patterns (you knew there was a molecular manufacturing tie-in) will accelerate such research and its applications. Our ability to process light today might be comparable to the ability of flint knappers and cavemen to make and use knife edges--we do it by banging large hunks of energy together, and the results are crude but functional for some purposes. I won't even try to speculate on what we'll be able to do when we can guide individual photons through sub-wavelength processing machines.

Answer 2

The first answer is correct, I just wanted to add a little bit more.

Nano = 1/1,000,000,000
(http://www.answers.com/nano-&r=67 )

Read "by the light of the moon" by Dean Koontz

This book explores some science fiction about nanotechnology, and is a good read.

Some people think that science will be able to manufacture tiny machines (nanomachines) that will be able to do specific tasks ... such as search out, and kill cancer cells in a persons body, thus making it impossible for anyone to die from cancer.

They are also in belief that the machines will be able to repair damaged muscle such as after someone has heart attack or something similar, if anything was damaged, then they hope to be able to correct the problem.

Answer 3

nano ability 10 to the skill of -9. i.e a million divided by ability of one thousand million. nano technologies ability the technique of manipulating, controlling the organic shape and association of atoms to in good shape diverse applications. this field has a great destiny. its application are as follows- a million. nano reactors 2. nano tubes which could act as filters those are some examples of many desire this permits

Answer 4

Nanotechnology is a field of applied science focused on the design, synthesis, characterization and application of materials and devices on a very very minute scale... i.e. the scale is said to be at 10^-9 mm.... only able to view through a microscope.

Answer 5

Nanotechnology will change existance as we know it.

Being microscopic robots that can manipulate the base atomic scale, they could, in theory, create anything you could imagine.

For instance, you send some of these nano-robots to Mars and they could possibly be programed to create earth like conditions on mars. Trees, water, an atmoshere. Pretty cool, huh? Or scary as hell.

Answer 6

All nanotechnology is, is computers and microchips that are so small, that you'd need a microscope to see them.
In maybe ten years time, they may be beneficial to our health but not yet.

Answer 7

as above