How Does Nanotechnology Work?

In order to understand the unusual world of nanotechnology, you need to get an idea of the units of measure involved. A centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter, a millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter, and a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter, but all of these are still huge compared to the nanoscale.

	Image courtesy of How Stuff Works

Reminder:

A nanometer (nm) is onebillionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundredthousandth the width of a human hair.

The most immediate challenge in nanotechnology is to learn more about materials and their properties at the nanoscale. Universities and corporations across the world are rigorously studying how atoms fit together to form larger structures. Researchers are still learning about quantum mechanics and substances at the nanoscale.

For example:

What's the difference between graphite and diamonds? Both materials are made of carbon, but both have vastly different properties. Graphite is soft; diamonds are hard. Graphite conducts electricity, but diamonds are insulators and can't conduct electricity. Graphite is opaque; diamonds are usually transparent.

Graphite and diamonds have these properties because of the way the carbon atoms bond together at the nanoscale.