The atomic force microscope (AFM) and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) are two early versions of scanning probes that launched nanotechnology.
Beyond theology, Luther’s translation of the Bible was foundational in the development of modern German.
The impetus for nanotechnology has stemmed from a renewed interest in colloidal science, coupled with a new generation of analytical tools such as the atomic force microscope (AFM), and the scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
Nanoscience and nanotechnology only became possible in the 1910s with the development of the first tools to measure and make nanostructures.
Some view nanotechnology as a marketing term that describes pre-existing lines of research applied to the sub-micron size scale.
The National Science Foundation (a major source of funding for nanotechnology in the United States) funded researcher David Berube to study the field of nanotechnology.
The challenge for nanotechnology is whether these principles can be used to engineer novel constructs in addition to natural ones.
The following avenues of research could be considered subfields of nanotechnology.
The manufacture of polymers based on molecular structure, or the design of computer chip layouts based on surface science are examples of nanotechnology in modern use.
Nanotechnology and nanoscience got started in the early 1980s with two major developments; the birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
Nanotechnology is a field of applied science and technology covering a broad range of topics.
Note that these figures are not just for table salt but for sodium chloride in general.
A unique aspect of nanotechnology is the vastly increased ratio of surface area to volume present in many nanoscale materials which opens new possibilities in surface-based science, such as catalysis.
Much of the fascination with nanotechnology stems from these unique quantum and surface phenomena that matter exhibits at the nanoscale.
Nanotechnology cuts across many disciplines, including colloidal science, chemistry, applied physics, materials science, and even mechanical and electrical engineering.
Molecular nanotechnology, sometimes called molecular manufacturing, is a term given to the concept of engineered nanosystems (nanoscale machines) operating on the molecular scale.
Nanotechnology is a very broad term, there are many different but sometimes overlapping subfields that could fall under its umbrella.