Birth of Nanotechnology
The ideas and concepts behind Nano science and nanotechnology started with a talk entitled “there is plenty of room at the bottom” by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on December 29, 1959, long before the term nanotechnology was used. In his talk, Feynman described a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules. Richard Feynman is considered the father of nanotechnology. The most important property that renders nanomaterials useful in a wide range of applications is the high surface-to-volume ratio. This one property alone has given the wide variety of applications of nanotechnology.
Applications:
The applications of nanotechnology widely range from industrial, medicinal, to energy uses. These include more durable construction materials, therapeutic drug delivery, and higher-density hydrogen fuel cells that are environmentally friendly.
Nanoparticles and Nano devices are highly versatile through modification of their physiochemical properties; hence they have found uses in Nano scale electronics, cancer treatments, vaccines, hydrogen fuel cells, and nanographene batteries.
Nanotechnology’s use of smaller-sized materials allows for the adjustment of molecules and substances at the Nano scale level, which can further enhance the mechanical properties of materials or grant access to less physically accessible areas of the body.