Why Is Nanotechnology Important?

Why Is Nanotechnology Important?By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Craig_Mccoy]Craig Mccoy
First, you need to know what the term means...I will reference Wikipedia for a proper definition.
Nanotechnology refers broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices with critical dimensions that lie within that size range.

It is simply technology of the smallest kind. Why is that important? The laws of physics as most of you know them don't function in quite the same way when you talk about things this small. But you may be surprised to know that this is not "new" technology.

The first use of the concepts in 'nano-technology' (but predating use of that name) was in "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," a talk given by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959. Feynman described a process by which the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed, using one set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, so on down to the needed scale. In the course of this, he noted, scaling issues would arise from the changing magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would become less important, surface tension and Van der Waals attraction would become more important, etc.

This technology is making leaps and bounds. Quantum physics, quantum mechanics, nanotechnology, all of these are related terms. You could ride an [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/03/01/8370588/index.htm]elevator into space because of nanotubes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanofiltration]Nanofiltration will bring water to rural areas who otherwise could not properly filter drinking water. There are ideas in the works that would allow nanomachines to deliver medicine directly to specific types of cells in the body. For example, an injection of nanobots with a chemotherapy drug for cancer could deliver the dose directly to the cancer tissue, reducing the damage to other tissues, and the quantity of medicine needed for treatment. There are nano materials that you can wear just like your shirt, that can change instantaneously into bullet and pierce proof material. There are literally thousands of other applications out there, but what is important for you to know is that this is a legitimate, and worthwhile thing to study.
These ideas are no longer science fiction, they are real.
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