Bringing It All Together

Once the size-dependent properties of a particular material are discovered, they may open the door for new ways of using the material. New applications also become possible because nanoscale items are so small that they can often be placed into an environment (like the human body) without harming it. Using the special properties that occur at the nanoscale to develop new technologies is called nanotechnology.

The field of nanotechnology focuses on three main areas:

1. Developing new tools to measure, and new chemistry to make, highly miniaturized structures.


2. Identifying the chemical and physical changes that occur at the nanoscale.


3. Using the chemical and physical changes that occur at the nanoscale to develop new technologies.

Nanotechnology gives us an entirely new way to make and study materials and devices in all fields of science and engineering. The exploration of nanotechnology is going on around the world and includes researchers from many different fields including chemistry, physics, material science, engineering, biology, and medicine. Several commercial examples of nanotechnology are on the market, and many more promising applications of nanotechnology are being investigated. To learn more about where this new technology may be heading see the Applications of Nanotech section.