Nanotechnology involves understanding and manipulating matter at the nanoscale level, between 1-100 nanometers. Materials at this scale can exhibit different properties than at larger scales due to quantum mechanics. While nanoscale materials were used for centuries, the modern field began in the 1980s with inventions like the scanning tunneling microscope that allowed visualization of individual atoms. Today, nanotechnology has applications in medicine such as using lasers to fuse chicken meat or potentially repair arteries. It works by utilizing properties that naturally occur at the nanoscale level.