Nanoscience is the study, and nanotechnology is the exploitation, of the strange properties of materials smaller than 100 nanometers (nm) to create new useful objects. This work is made possible by being able to manipulate structures at the size-scale of the atoms.
Nanotechnology, or, as it is sometimes called, engineering at the molecular level, is a multi-disciplinary area of applied science and engineering that deals with the design and manufacture of extremely small components and systems. They are built at the molecular level of matter, are characterized by large surface areas in comparison with their volumes, and have behaviors that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. In contrast, larger-scale engineered objects are built with masses large enough they could be described, starting with uniform bulk properties, according to the classical laws of physics and chemistry.
Nanomaterials in some applications can be added to other materials, thereby lending some of their unique properties to the overall performance of the composite object. In this case, production of the nanomaterials must be scaled up to make enough of the additive to make the overall process significant and feasible.
In other cases in nanoscience and nanotechnology, scientists and engineers are using smaller amounts of “nanoscale” materials, such as nanopowders and nanocrystals with unique properties as shown below, to create incredibly advanced and extremely capable devices and machines.
Both of these kinds of developments of nanoscience and nanotechnology could affect nearly every industrial sector in the future.