Everyone in the modern world knows what technology is. But what is nanotechnology? Taken from the Greek, nano means "one billionth part of" a whole. In modern parlance, it means very, very small. Nano-tech is the next step after miniaturization. Cell phones are miniaturized versions of traditional landline phones. Wristwatches are miniature versions of clocks. Desktop computers are miniature versions of the original analog calculating machines. Miniaturization is commonplace in today's world. In tomorrow's world, nano-tech will be the new common technology. It will affect everyone on the planet, and may change civilization as it is now known.
Scientific American's UNDERSTANDING NANOTECHNOLOGY presents the cutting edge of a new technology that will find usage in medicine, space exploration, communications, manufacturing, and almost every other aspect of modern society. Imagine getting an injection of "smart" molecules that can seek out cancer cells and destroy them without harming any of the surrounding tissue. Imagine a simultaneous space launch via the Shuttle of thousands of robotic probes, each no bigger than an insect, and each programmed to do a single task in concert with all of the others. And that's just the beginning.
