NANOTECHNOLOGY
1. Introduction to Nanotechnology Have you ever envisaged a future in which materials behave differently and scientists can create things atom by atom? This is not science fiction; it is the fascinating world of nanotechnology! Nanotechnology is all about engineering at the atomic and molecular levels. That's correct; we're talking about a billionth of a meter (nm), which is far smaller than human hair! But what makes this scale so unique? The nanoscale, the game's laws shift. Materials show startling features that differ from their bulk counterparts. Consider gold, a beautiful metal that we all know, becoming extremely reactive at the nanoscale. Consider a fabric that is robust but lightweight due to its nan oscopic structure. These are just a few instances of the incredible possibilities that nanotechnology offers. So, how do scientists interact with objects so small? So they have some really great tools at their disposal. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) can s...