The nanosciences and their companion nanotechnologies are a hot topic all around the world. For some, they promise developments ranging from nanobots to revolutionary new materials. For others, they raise the specter of Big Brother and of atomically modified organisms (AMOs). This book is a counterbalance to spin and paranoia alike, asking us to consider what the nanosciences really are. Nanosciences are not just a branch of materials sciences, a common misrepresentation fostered in the funding wars. Nor should nanotechnology be confused with miniaturization, a convergence of microelectronics, biotechnology and lab-on-chip techniques. These misconceptions arise from a well-orchestrated US policy dating from the mid-1990s, in which the instrument that lies at the heart of the true nanoscience revolution the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) plays just a minor part. These issues are covered here for the first time in a book by a scientist who holds two Feynman prizes in nanotechnology and who has played a significant role in the birth of the nanosciences. Writing from the cutting edge and with an understanding of the real nature of nanoscience, the author provides a scientific and historical perspective on the subject, a response to the misplaced ethical concerns of objectors and to the scaremongering of the popular press.
Author(s): Christian Joachim, Laurence Plevert
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 128
CONTENTS......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 6
Introduction: Infinities in a Grain of Sand......Page 12
1. A Case of Misdirection......Page 16
Political Hijacking......Page 17
The Temporary End of Sustainable Industrial Development......Page 21
The Planet Goes Nano......Page 22
A Mythical Speech......Page 26
The Giants of Miniaturization......Page 28
From Electron to Electronics......Page 30
Enter Gordon Moore......Page 31
A Needle Upright on a Football Pitch......Page 34
The First Limits to Miniaturization......Page 35
Contagious Miniaturization......Page 36
Welcome to the Quantum World......Page 38
Pardon Me, Did You Say “Mesoscopic”?......Page 41
The Electronics of Tomorrow......Page 44
The Guiding Thread......Page 46
3. Staying at the Bottom......Page 48
Birth of the Molecule......Page 49
So How Big is a Molecule?......Page 51
Maxwell’s Demon......Page 52
How to Connect a Molecule......Page 54
Man Moves Atom......Page 56
And Yet It Moves!......Page 59
The First Experiments in Nanophysics......Page 61
The Mechanics of a Molecule......Page 63
The Advantage of Staying at the Bottom......Page 65
4. Monumentalization......Page 68
A Wire…......Page 70
An Ampermeter…......Page 72
And a Cantilever......Page 74
Molecule Machines......Page 75
Calculating Molecules......Page 77
Quantum Computing Molecules......Page 78
Molecular Factories......Page 79
Bigger and Bigger?......Page 80
The Retreat to Nanomaterials......Page 81
5. Nannobacteria......Page 84
Ripples from a Meteorite......Page 85
Surrounded by Nanoaliens......Page 87
The Missing Link......Page 88
The Molecular Fabrication of Life......Page 89
The Lessons of Mother Nature......Page 92
6. Who’s Afraid of Nanotechnologies?......Page 94
AMOs: Atomically Modified Organisms......Page 95
Another Threat on the Horizon: Nanomaterials......Page 96
Electronic Spies......Page 99
On the Road to Nanomedicine?......Page 102
Where Next?......Page 105
In Search of Common Sense......Page 107
Appendix I: A Short History of Microscopy......Page 110
X-Ray Diffraction......Page 111
Copper Phthalocyanine in Pictures......Page 113
The Birth of Electron Microscopy......Page 115
The Scanning Tunneling Microscope......Page 116
Appendix II: Trials and Tribulations of a Prefix......Page 120
Works by Multiple Authors......Page 126
Other References......Page 127
