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Definitions
A list of terms related to nanotechnology.
A
Assembler, self-assembler
A set of molecules capable of building more molecular structures. Molecular assemblers are sometimes referred to as "nanorobots" or "nanobots". Assemblers were envisioned by Eric Drexler, father of the term 'nanotechnology'. Some believe they will never exist.
B
Blue goo
See Grey goo.
Bottom-up manufacturing
See top-down manufacturing.
Buckminster fullerene
Also called 'buckyball'. A nanoscale sphere made of 60 atoms arranged in a perfectly symmetrical structure. If buckyballs were as big as footballs, footballs would be as big as the Earth.
Buckyballs were discovered in 1985 by Robert Curl, Harold Kroto and Richard Smalley, who received a Nobel prize for their achievement in 1996. Buckyballs are named after the American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller for his famous geodesic dome. Click here for an image of a buckyball.
Buckyball
See Buckminster fullerene.
D
Drexler, Eric
Father of the term 'nanotechnology'. In his famous book Engines of Creation, Drexler described what would become a revolution in manufacturing technology. Instead of building objects by shaping and machining large pieces of materials, Drexler suggested that structures could be made 'from the bottom up' — by putting their constituent atoms together in precisely the right pattern.Drexler's book described the possibilities but also the risks (see 'Grey goo') of nanotechnology. Engines of Creation is available online in html and pdf format.
G
Grey goo
An hypothetical scenario, described by Eric Drexler in 1986, in which self-replicating, destructive nanomachines escape control and take over the world. Grey goo contrasts with 'blue goo', which refers to 'good' nanomachines that battle the 'bad' ones.
M
Micrometer ('micron')
Micrometer, one millionth of a meter, one thousand nanometers.
Micron
See Micrometer.
Molecular engineering/manufacturing
Like molecular nanotechnology, this is the construction of products or materials by putting each atom and molecule precisely in the right place.
Molecular nanotechnology (MNT)
See Molecular engineering/manufacturing.
N
Nanometer
One billionth of a meter, 1/1,000,000,000 meter.
Nanostructure
Structures smaller than 1,000 nanometers, the diameter of an average biological cell.
Nanotechnology
A field of research and development involving building structures on the scale of atoms and molecules.
Nanotube
Tube-like molecular structure generally made of carbon atoms assembled in hexagons. A magnified nanotube would resemble a rolled piece of chicken wire. Click here for an illustration. Discovered by Sumio Iijima in 1991, carbon nanotubes are 100 times stronger than steel, can stand temperatures up to 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit and are only a few nanometres in width.
Q
Quantum dot
A nano-scale particle made of a few hundred to a thousand atoms and with special optical properties that can be altered by changing the particle's size or composition. The dots absorb light and re-emit it in a different wavelength.
S
Self-assembly/self-replication
Refers to the ability of molecules to arrange themselves and find their appropriate location based solely on their structural or chemical properties. Self-replication introduces the possibility for molecular structures to replicate themselves to create bigger structures. It could pave the way for producing materials at very low cost.
Semi-conductor
Any material that doesn't conduct electricity as well as a good conductor, such as copper, but better than an insulator, such as glass. Semiconductors are used in computer chips and electronic devices. Nanotechnology may replace three-dimensional silicon semiconductors with one-dimensional semiconductors such as nanotubes or DNA.
Smart materials
Materials with properties, such as colour, shape or electronic properties, that can be changed and controlled by incorporating of nanocomputers and nanomachines. Theoretically, this new class of material could be programmed to transform themselves into almost any object. They represent an essential field of research.
T
Top-down manufacturing
Traditional way of building objects by moulding and etching large pieces of bulk material (much like a sculptor creates a sculpture). The opposite of this approach is the 'bottom-up approach', in which objects are built from smaller building blocks. In the case of nanotechnology, these 'building blocks' are atoms and molecules.
