What is nanoscience? What is nanotechnology? The prefix "nano" originates from the Greek word for dwarf, and thus refers to something small. As a prefix for a unit of time or length, it means one billionth of that unit. Thus, a nanometer (nm) is 10-9 meter. The dot over this letter "i" is approximately one million nanometers in diameter.

The fundamental building blocks of nature, atoms and molecules, have dimensions in the nanometer domain (i.e., the nanoscale). Many water molecules can easily occupy a sphere 1 nm in diameter. The DNA double helix is approximately 2 nm wide.

The way molecules, for example, assemble into larger, supramolecular entities on the nanoscale determines important material properties (e.g., electrical, optical, and mechanical properties). Of course, it has long been recognized that nature performs this assembly very well in the creation of the sophisticated molecular machinery that supports our life on earth. In short, by controlling structure on the scale of ~ 1 – 100 nm, one can, in principle, ultimately design new materials with specific properties.

Scientists have long imagined the possibility of manipulating individual atoms and molecules. Over the past 20 years, a variety of tools have been developed, the so-called scanning probe microscopes, that indeed make it possible not just to "see" individual atoms and molecules on the surfaces of materials (i.e., create images) but to move atoms and molecules on the nanoscale as well. Thus, we have a new paradigm by which science can be conducted. Competitive programs with this new perspective should, by definition be interdisciplinary, involving physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science, among other fields.

Nanoscience is the study of phenomena on the scale of ~ 1-100 nm. Nanotechnology is the ability to create and control objects on this same scale with the goal of preparing novel materials that have specific properties and, thus, functions. Although current nanotechnology research is primarily exploratory, and it may take years to realize many of the goals envisioned, the prospect for significant applications is high. It is thus clear and justified that nanoscience, as a prerequisite to nanotechnology, should receive long-term fundamental support.

For a more extensive introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology, we recommend the following general article written by the U.S. National Science and Technology Council:

Nanotechnology: Shaping the World Atom by Atom
itri.loyola.edu/nano/IWGN.Public.Brochure