nanotechnology

Introduction
Overview of nanotechnology
Milestones in the development of nanotechnology
- Visionaries
- Pioneers
Properties at the nanoscale
- Electronic and photonic behaviour
- Magnetic, mechanical, and chemical behaviour
Nanotechnology research
- Nanomaterials
- Biomedicine and health care
  - Drug delivery
  - Bioassays
  - Assistive devices and tissue engineering
- Information technology
  - Molecular electronics
  - Nanotubes and nanowires
  - Single-electron transistors
  - Spintronics
  - Information storage
- Communications
Nanofabrication
- Top-down approach
- Bottom-up approach

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

How spider-inspired tools could revolutionize nanofiber handling

Discover how progress in nanotechnology aid scientists to understand and apply the concept of particle engineering, specifically in the field of pharmacology

Learn about “QED” a play about physicist Richard Feynman, to teach science and engineering to people through performance art

Understand how researchers are creating wrinkled surfaces with precise sizes and controlled patterns for use in various structures

detailed illustrations of the top-down and bottom-up approaches for building structures at the micrometre scale

structure of an inverted or reverse micelle

At a Glance

nanotechnology summary

Related Questions

How can gold nanoparticles reveal the presence of a matching DNA sequence?
How can molecules attached to a nanowire change its electrical current?
How can nanocomposites improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles?
How can nanoparticles help doctors detect diseases at an early stage?
How can nanoparticles transport pollutants through rivers and lakes?
How can nanoscale sensors detect individual molecules?
How can nanotechnology create lighter and stronger materials?
How can nanotechnology help repair bone skin and cartilage?
How can quantum dots improve the performance of semiconductor lasers?
How did Sumio Iijima’s discovery of carbon nanotubes advance nanotechnology?
How did the scanning tunneling microscope allow scientists to see individual atoms?
How do biological systems use nanoscale structures and chemical forces?
How do carbon atoms form fibers tubes coatings and wires with different properties?
How do magnetic nanoparticles help identify specific biomolecules?
How do photonic crystals control the movement of light?
How do quantum mechanical effects change materials at the nanoscale?
How do semiconductor nanoparticles create different colour labels in medical bioassays?
How does molecular beam epitaxy create extremely thin atomic layers?
How does nanotechnology manipulate atoms and small groups of atoms?
How does superparamagnetism occur in very small iron particles?
How many carbon atoms are in a C60 buckyball?
How might very small nanoparticles affect the blood-brain barrier?
What challenge limited the early development of tools for working at the nanoscale?
Which materials can be used to make nanowires?
Which scientific fields contribute to nanotechnology research?
Why are nanowires also called quantum wires?
Why are studies of nanoparticle effects on human health still inconclusive?
Why can nanoscale gold melt at a lower temperature than bulk gold?
Why do materials behave differently at sizes below 100 nanometres?
Why is buckminsterfullerene called a buckyball?
Why was Richard Feynman’s 1959 lecture important to the development of nanotechnology?
Why is biotechnology important?
When did modern biotechnology emerge?

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External Websites

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Top 5 Trends in Nanotechnology
American University - The Applications and Implications of Nanotechnology
University of Wisconsin-Madison - MRSEC Education Group - What is Nanotechnology? ï¿½ Defining Nanotechnology
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The History of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: From ChemicalÂ–Physical Applications to Nanomedicine
DigitalCommons at CalPoly - Introduction: Nanotechnology, Society, and Ethics* (PDF)
University of Houston Open Educational Resources - Experimental Methods for Nanomaterials Engineering - Introduction to Nanotechnology
IOPscience - Designing Hybrid Nanoparticles - An introduction to nanoparticles and nanotechnology
Digital Commons at American University Washington College of Law - Nanotechnology: Getting it Right the First Time (PDF)
National Geographic - Nanotechnology
European Commission - Nanotechnologies
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College - Nanotechnology: an Emerging Science
UNESCO - ELOSS - History of Nanotechnology

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

nanotechnology - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

nanotechnology

technology

Written by

S. Tom Picraux

Executive Director of Materials Research & Professor of Materials Engineering, Arizona State University, U.S.

S. Tom Picraux

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026 •History

nanotechnology, the manipulation and manufacture of materials and devices on the scale of atoms or small groups of atoms. The “nanoscale” is typically measured in nanometres, or billionths of a metre (nanos, the Greek word for “dwarf,” being the source of the prefix), and materials built at this scale often exhibit distinctive physical and chemical properties due to quantum mechanical effects. Although usable devices this small may be decades away (see microelectromechanical system), techniques for...

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