Page 18 - Science at the nanoscale

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RPS: PSP0007 - Science-at-Nanoscale
June 9, 2009
Introduction and Historical Perspective
8
100 µm
100 µm
Schematic showing systematic cutting down of the cross
Figure 1.4.
section of a human hair.
(6) how much your fingernails grow each second
(7) how much the Himalayas rises in every 6.3 seconds
(8) the thickness of a drop of water spread over a square metre
Table 1.2 shows the metric system units, symbols and prefixes
relevant to the nanoscale, as well as representative objects at each
size scale. Figure 1.5 shows images representing different size
scales from one nanometre to one metre.
1.3 EXAMPLES OF INTERESTING NANOSCIENCE ch01
APPLICATIONS
(a) Bionanotechnology One of the most exciting areas of applica-
tions of nanotechnology must be in the field of biomedical health-
care and disease treatment. The story of tiny “nanobots” acting as
miniaturised doctors entering our body to repair damaged cells and
to kill foreign bacteria alike is certainly not unheard of to many
people. While this remains science fiction in many aspects till
today, nobody can say for sure that it will never come to pass in
the future.