Nanotechnology is quickly redefining how we live. The science involves exploring and manipulating structures at the nanoscale, where dimensions range between 1 to 100 nanometers in scale, to enhance the properties of everyday materials and improve almost every facet of society. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter in size. To put that in perspective, the width of a human hair is typically 100,000 nanometers.<\/p>\n
One of the benefits of nanotechnology lies in the fact that atoms and molecules have different properties at the nanoscale than when combined to form larger particles or bulk material. Some are better at conducting electricity and heat. Some are stronger, have different magnetic properties, or better reflect light. In addition, some properties at the nanoscale change with the size of the nanoparticles themselves. Materials at the nanoscale also have far greater surface areas than the same materials in bulk which allows nanoparticles to be used, for example, to speed up chemical reactions in factories or catalytic converters in cars. Scientists are harnessing these unexpected properties to unlock a vast range of applications in a broad range of fields ranging from medicine to the environment to consumer electronics and even cars.<\/p>\n
In medicine, for example, nanoparticles are being developed to deliver next-generation drugs and vaccines. In the textile industry, they\u2019re leading to intelligent clothing that repels stains, odors and water, and adapts to changing temperatures. In the energy sector, nanotechnology is improving the efficiency of solar and wind power. And in consumer electronics, it\u2019s creating ever smaller, faster, and better transistors that power the smartphones, wearables and other devices we use on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
Today, the nanotechnology market is experiencing double-digit growth, and by 2021, it\u2019s expected to become an approximately $90.5 billion global industry. Already, products containing nanoparticles are hitting store shelves. Indeed, the Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory<\/a> lists more than 1,600 nanotechnology-based consumer products available to the public including clothing, cosmetics, kitchen products, vitamin supplements, home furnishings, paints, pet supplies, toys, and games.<\/p>\n While the concept of nanotechnology has been around for decades, the recent explosion can be attributed to higher-resolution microscopes and increasingly powerful computers that can very rapidly construct and analyze the data. Using intuitive scanning or transmission electron microscopes (S\/TEM) in combination with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) researchers around the globe are obtaining nanometer- and even subnanometer-scale images and chemical data which give important insights into the arrangement and functions of these materials.<\/p>\n