Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

The book presents nanoscience and nanotechnology to a broad audience that does not necessarily have a scientific background. This book starts with the fundamental physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and nanostructures, and discusses how these special properties can be manipulated to produce high-performance materials and devices. In the following chapters, the scope is broadened to cover naturally occurring nanoparticles and artificially-engineered carbon nanoparticles, their mechanical properties, and their importance to the rest of nanotechnology. The book also covers the two design ideologies for manufacturing nanostructures, the bottom-up and top-down methods, and discusses how these two can be combined to allow for the imaging, probing and manipulation of nanostructures. The remainder of the book surveys the current state of nanotechnology, including the use of single-nanoparticle devices in data storage, electronics, optics, and solar power; advances in nanoparticle manufacturing and biotechnology that can lead to powerful new cancer treatments; and the use of nanotechnology to study the "quantum vacuum".