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make living simpler in our era. Structures, devices, and systems having unique
characteristics and functionalities due to the arrangement of their atoms on the 1–100
nm scale represent a developing study topic in nanoscience and nanotechnology. In
the early 2000s, public awareness and controversy over nanotechnology grew, leading
to the first commercial uses of the technology. Nanotechnologies have applications in
physics, materials science, chemistry, biology, computer science, and engineering.
Nanotechnologies have been applied to human health in recent years with promising
results, particularly in the field of cancer therapy.
The word 'nano' is a Greek prefix that means 'dwarf' or'very little,' and it represents a
thousand millionth of a meter (10.9). Nanoscience and nanotechnology must be
distinguished. Nanoscience is the study of structures and chemicals on nanometer
sizes ranging from 1 to 100 nm, whereas nanotechnology is the technology that
applies nanoscience to practical applications such as gadgets. A single human hair is
60,000 nm thick, but the radius of the DNA double helix is 1 nm. The origins of
nanoscience may be traced back to Democritus and the Greeks in the 5th century B.C.
when scientists debated whether matter is continuous and hence infinitely divisible
into smaller bits, or if it is made up of minuscule, indivisible, and indestructible
particles known as atoms.