The science and engineering of materials and devices at the nanoscale (roughly 1 to 100 nanometres), where matter shows new properties different from those of bulk material.
- A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre (10 to the power minus 9 metres); at this scale, properties such as strength, colour, conductivity, and reactivity can change sharply.
- Important nanomaterials include carbon nanotubes (very strong and conductive) and graphene (a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon that is extremely strong and an excellent conductor).
- Uses span medicine (targeted drug delivery), electronics (smaller, faster chips), stain-resistant fabrics, sunscreens, water purification, and stronger lightweight materials.
- The physicist Richard Feynman first suggested manipulating matter at this scale in his 1959 talk "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom".
- India runs a Nano Mission to support research and applications; possible health and environmental risks of nanoparticles are an active area of study.
Nanotechnology, the nanometre scale, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and India's Nano Mission are recurring emerging-technology facts, with defence and water-purification applications.
Nanotechnology is defined by scale (about 1 to 100 nanometres), not by any single material; graphene and carbon nanotubes are examples, not the whole field. A nanometre is far smaller than a micrometre (one-millionth of a metre).
Engineering matter at 1 to 100 nanometres, where properties change; key materials are carbon nanotubes and graphene, supported in India by the Nano Mission.