Nanotechnology

Since the beginning of the industrial age, many machines have grown steadily smaller even as they have grown more powerful and complex. Nanotechnology, based on the science of the infinitesimally small, takes technology beyond most popular definitions of reality, to a realm of molecular machines, cell-sized computers, and other astounding possibilities. Nanotechnology reveals a spectacular view of the immediate future of nanotechnology and its applications in medicine, computing, manufacturing, engineering and countless other arenas that affect our world, redefining how we work, play, and live. Will nanoscale transistors enable computers to outstrip the combined power of all the supercomputers currently in the world? Can gold nanoparticles bond with – and destroy – cancer cells? Will gargantuan elevators lift satellites to their orbits? The possibilities for the not-too-distant future are astounding. But nanotech is already real: It makes tennis balls last longer. It makes paints and coatings stick better. It makes pants impervious to coffee spills. Its made car tires stronger for decades. And in 2003, President Bush signed the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, a $3.7 billion grant that represents the largest federally funded science initiative since President Kennedy established the space program.