General Definition
Nanotechnologyor nanoscience is a field in engineering or science, which usually investigates the objects (particles/structures) or phenomena (physical/chemical) happening at the nanoscale. Usually, nanoscale ranges from 1 to 100 nanometres (nm), where1 nmis equal to10-9 metres.
// Note: As compared to “nanoscience”, the term “nanotechnology” is widely used. However, each of the term is similar. But, for the sake of uniformity and to reduce any confusion, hereafter the “nanotechnology” term will be usedconsistently. //
Earlier History
“CompletelyUnknowing” (May be)
- 600 BC in Ancient India- Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) &Cementite Nanowires in WootzSteel
- 4 AD in Rome – Lycurgus Cup – Dichroic glass made from nano-colloidal metals (gold and silver)
- 6-15 AD in Europe – Glass windows stained with nanoparticles of gold and other metal oxides
- 9-17 AD in Islamic world – Ceramic glazes coated with nanoparticles of metals – silver & copper
- 13-18 AD in Damascus – Saber blades possessing CNTs and Cementite Nanowires
Modern History
“Slightly Unknowing”
- 1857 – Discovery of colloidal “ruby” gold by Michael Faraday
- 1936 – Inventionof field emission microscopeby Erwin Müller
- 1947 – Discovery of semiconductor transistor at Bell Labs
- 1950 – Development of theory/process to growcolloidsin a monodispersed manner
- 1956 – Coinageof term“molecular engineering” – applied to di-/ferro-/piezo- electrics
- 1958 – Design and construction of Nobel prize worthy “Integrated circuits” by Jack Kilby
“Get-to-Knowing”
- 1958 – Famous statement of “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” by Richard Feynman
- 1974 – Coinage of term “Nanotechnology” by Norio Taniguchi
- 1981 – Invention of scanning tunneling microscope by Binnig and Rohrer
- 1981 – Discovery of nanocrystalline, semiconducting quantum dots (QDs) by Alexei Ekimov
- 1985 –Discovery of buckminsterfullerene (i.e., bucky ball) by Smalley et al.
- 1986 – Invention of atomic force microscope by Binnig et al.
- 1989 – Manipulation of 35 individual xenon atoms to write“IBM” company logo.
- 1990 – Beginning of operation of some nanotechnology companies
- 1992 – Discovery of nanostructured catalytic materials
- 1993 – Invention of a method to synthesizeQDsnanocrystals in a controllable manner
- 1999 – Assembling of a molecule using a scanning tunneling microscope
- 1999 – Invention of “Dip Pen Nanolithography” by Chad Mirkin
- Early 2000’s–Development of consumer products based on nanotechnology
