Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and - Center for ...

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What is
Nanotechnology?
Before you can understand nanotechnology, you must first understand
nano. Nano, derived from the Greek word nanos, meaning dwarf, is a
prefix in the SI measurement system that means 10 -9 , or one billionth.
Here are a few interesting metrics to put nano in perspective:
• If you were 1 nanometer tall, the Earth would be the size of a
green pea.
• There are 1 billion nanoseconds in one second. There are
1 billion seconds in 11,574 days (approximately 31 years, 8
months, 12 days).
• A grain of table salt weighs approximately 50,000 nanograms.
Nano is special because materials have different properties at the
nanometer scale. Here are two examples:
Color
Silver particles that are 100 nm appear red in solution, at 50 nm
appear green and at 40 nm appear blue.
Number and surface area
Basketball Basketball Full of Nanoparticles
• 7055 cc volume • 7055 cc volume
• 23.8 cm diameter • 25 nm diameter each
• number = 1 • number = 870 quintrillion (18 zeros)
• surface area = 0.18 m2 • surface area = 1.7 million m2 (4,063 basketball courts)
Nanotechnology is the application of scientific knowledge to the
control and use of matter at the nanoscale, where size-related
phenomena and processes may occur as defined by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO). But the simplest definition was
given by Smalley Institute Director Wade Adams at the 2009 Ig Nobel
Prize Ceremony: “Making Small Stuff Do Big Things.”