2. Nanometer One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 109 of a meter; approximately the length of three to six atoms (Atoms are the building blocks for all matter in our universe. Nature has perfected the science of manufacturing matter molecularly. For instance, our bodies are assembled in a specific manner from millions of living cells. Cells are nature's nanomachines. At the atomic scale, elements are at their most basic level. On the nanoscale, we can potentially put these atoms together to make almost anything.) placed side-by-side, or the width of a single strand of DNA; the thickness of a human hair is between 50,000 and 100,000 nanometers. http://cohesion.rice.edu/CentersAndInst/CNST/emplibrary/Scale%20of%20Nanotechnology.jpg
3. K. Eric Drexler popularized the word 'nanotechnology' in the 1980's, he was talking about building machines on the scale of molecules, a few nanometers wide—motors, robot arms, and even whole computers, far smaller than a cell.
4. What for ? Biologists, chemists, physicists and engineers are all involved in the study of substances at the nanoscale. Engineers are trying to use nano-size wires to create smaller, more powerful microprocessors. Doctors are searching for ways to use nanoparticles in medical applications. Still, we've got a long way to go before nanotechnology dominates the technology and medical markets.
5. Currently, scientists find two nano-size structures of particular interest: nanowires and carbon nanotubes. Nanowires are wires with a very small diameter, sometimes as small as 1 nanometer. Scientists hope to use them to build tiny transistors for computer chips and other electronic devices. In the last couple of years, carbon nanotubes have overshadowed nanowires. We're still learning about these structures, but what we've learned so far is very exciting.
6. Nanotechnology in medicine Imagine a medical device that travels through the human body to seek out and destroy small clusters of cancerous cells before they can spread. Yeah it is possible now !. Tiny Nanorobots can go through our body cells and search for viruses and destroy them . But this method can be also used to destroy body cells as a weapon !!!!!.
7. Molecular Manufacturing Molecular manufacturing (MM) means the ability to build devices, machines, and eventually whole products with every atom in its specified place. Today the theories for using mechanical chemistry to directly fabricate nanoscale structures are well-developed and awaiting progress in enabling technologies. Molecular manufacturing can create computer logic gates a few nanometers on a side, and efficient enough to be stacked in 3D. An entire supercomputer can fit into a cubic millimeter, and cost a small fraction of a cent. With actuators smaller than a bacterium, a thin, high-resolution computer display will be easy (and cheap) to build. With GHz mechanical frequencies, a mostly-mechanical device can sense and produce radio waves. Computers, PDAs, and cell phones can be cheap enough for even the poorest people on earth to own one, and contain more than enough processing capability for a voice interface for illiterate people. Distributed networking hardware can likewise be very cheap, and distributed networking software, though not trivial, is already being developed. The whole world could get "wired" within a year.
