Introduction

Nanotechnology refers to the branch of science and engineering devoted to designing,

producing, and using structures, devices, and systems by manipulating atoms and
molecules at nanoscale, i.e. use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular
scale for industrial purposes.
The prefix ‘nano’ is referred to a Greek prefix meaning ‘dwarf’ or something very small and
depicts one thousand millionth of a meter.
History (Done)
The American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman introduce the concept of
nanotechnology in 1959. During the annual meeting of the American Physical Society,
Feynman presented a lecture entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” at the
California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In this lecture, Feynman made the hypothesis
“Why can’t we write the entire 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the head of a
pin?”, and described a vision of using machines to construct smaller machines and down to
the molecular level [5]. This new idea demonstrated that Feynman’s hypotheses have been
proven correct, and for these reasons, he is considered the father of modern
nanotechnology.
There was a little progress in nanotechnology since the early ideas of Feynman until 1981
when the physicists Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer invented a new type of microscope at
IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM). The STM was
invented to image surfaces at the atomic scale and has been used as a tool with which
atoms and molecules can be manipulated to create structures. The tunnelling current can
be used to selectively break or induce chemical bonds.
Experimental Evidence: Aim, …, Conclusion

Applications:
1)Many everyday commercial products are currently on the market and in daily use that
rely on nanoscale materials and processes:
Nanoscale additives to or surface treatments of fabrics can help them resist wrinkling,
staining, and bacterial growth.

Clear nanoscale films on eyeglasses, computer and camera displays, windows, and other
surfaces can make them water- and residue-repellent, antireflective, self-cleaning, resistant
to ultraviolet or infrared light, antifog, antimicrobial, scratch-resistant, or electrically
conductive.

Nano-bioengineering of enzymes is aiming to enable conversion of cellulose from wood

chips, corn stalks, unfertilized perennial grasses, etc., into ethanol for fuel.
Nano-engineered materials in automotive products include high-power rechargeable
battery systems.

2) IT: Nanotechnology has greatly contributed to major advances in computing and

electronics, leading to faster, smaller, and more portable systems that can manage and
store larger and larger amounts of information.

These continuously evolving applications include: Transistors, the basic switches that
enable all modern computing, have gotten smaller and smaller through nanotechnology.

Other computing and electronic products include Flash memory chips for smart phones and
thumb drives

3) Medical and Healthcare Applications 

 Nanotechnology is already broadening the medical tools, knowledge, and therapies

currently available to clinicians. Commercial applications have adapted gold
nanoparticles as probes for the detection of targeted sequences of nucleic acids.
Better imaging and diagnostic tools enabled by nanotechnology are paving the way
for earlier diagnosis, more individualized treatment options, and better therapeutic
success rates.

The design and engineering of advanced solid-state nanopore materials could allow for the
development of novel gene sequencing technologies that enable single-molecule detection
at low cost and high speed.

Nanomedicine researchers are looking at ways that nanotechnology can improve vaccines,
including vaccine delivery without the use of needles. For example, Nanocarriers have
potential to design risk-free and effective immunization strategies for severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine candidates such as protein constructs and
nucleic acids.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nanotechnology

The advantages and disadvantages of nanotechnology can be easily enumerated, and here
are some of them:

Advantages of Nanotechnology

 Nanotechnology can actually revolutionize a lot of electronic products,

procedures, and applications. The areas that benefit from the continued
development of nanotechnology when it comes to electronic products include
nano transistors, nano diodes, OLED, plasma displays, quantum computers, and
many more.
 Nanotechnology can also benefit the energy sector. The development of more
effective energy-producing, energy-absorbing, and energy storage products in
smaller and more efficient devices is possible with this technology. Such items
like batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells can be built smaller but can be made to be
more effective with this technology.
 In the medical world, nanotechnology is also seen as a boon since these can help
with creating what is called smart drugs. These help cure people faster and
without the side effects that other traditional drugs have. You will also find that
the research of nanotechnology in medicine is now focusing on areas like tissue
regeneration, bone repair, immunity and even cures for such ailments like
cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases.

Disadvantages of Nanotechnology
 You will also find that the development of nanotechnology can bring about the
crash of certain markets due to the lowering of the value of oil and diamonds
due to the possibility of developing alternative sources of energy that are more
efficient and won’t require the use of fossil fuels.
 Atomic weapons can now be more accessible and made to be more powerful and
more destructive. These can also become more accessible with nanotechnology.
 Since these particles are very small, problems can actually arise from the
inhalation of these minute particles, much like the problems a person gets from
inhaling minute asbestos particles.
 Presently, nanotechnology is very expensive and developing it can cost you a lot
of money. It is also pretty difficult to manufacture, which is probably why
products made with nanotechnology are more expensive.

Significance:
The ability to arrange atoms and molecules according to our will help us design materials
whose properties will be indefinitely mutable in all contexts. This will also reduce wastage
from extracting materials from resources as we can build products from the ground up aka
atomic level.
Conclusion:
Nanotechnology is helping to considerably improve, even revolutionize, many technology
and industry sectors: information technology, homeland security, medicine, transportation,
energy, food safety, and environmental science, among many others.
While nanotechnology is seen as the way of the future and is a technology that a lot of
people think will bring a lot of benefit for all who will be using it, nothing is ever perfect and
there will always be pros and cons to everything.
One foot on the accelerator to fully exploit the technology with the brakes on negative
aspects should be dealt with a consensus. Consensus decisions can lead to better quality
outcomes that empower the group or community to move forward to create the future.
Summary: Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic,
molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread
description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal of precisely
manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also now
referred to as molecular nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology is helping to considerably improve, even revolutionize, many technology
and industry sectors: information technology, homeland security, medicine, transportation,
energy, food safety, and environmental science, among many others.
Because of the variety of potential applications (including industrial and military),
governments have invested billions of dollars in nanotechnology research.
An area of concern is the effect that industrial-scale manufacturing and use of
nanomaterials would have on human health and the environment.
Others counter that overregulation would stifle scientific research and the development of
beneficial innovations.
Experts have testified[85] that successful commercialization depends on adequate oversight,
risk research strategy, and public engagement.

Bibliography
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
https://www.nano.gov/
https://www.nano.gov/get-involved
https://www.molecularcloud.org/p
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology#Research_and_development