Why Nano?

     Nanotechnology, which is sometimes shortened to "Nanotech", is defined as the research and technology involving the dimensions within 100 nanometres the aim of which is to created materials with new properties and functions associated with the small size as well as to enhance and improve the behaviour of materials in current devices. Researches in the fields of electronics, instrumentation, modern devices and apparatus finally boils down to the field of material sciences. The characteristics of nanomaterials can be surprisingly different from the same materials in their bulk form. This is because in nano dimensions, the laws of quantum physics and not of classical physics are valid. Insulating materials may become electrically conductive and insoluble materials soluble. In addition, features such as hardness, strength, toughness, durability may increase dramatically. Many of these characteristics are highly desirable for various products.

     One feature of the materials is that the smaller the particle gets, the higher the surface area is to the volume ratio. This means that the material in nano dimensions gets more reactive with other reagents as compared with the same material in bulk.

    Another important property of nanoparticles is the 'Quantum Confinement effects' shown by them. It is basically due to this effect that the electronic and the optical properties of the nanoparticles of same elements deviate substantially from their bulk form. It involves a lot of solid state physics relating to band-gap and blue-shift. We shall study them keeping silver and copper nanoparticles as our subject in some of the posts to come.

    The official definition of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative is that nanotechnology involves 'research and technology development at the atomic, molecular, or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1 to 100 nm range, to provide a fundamental understanding of phenomena and materials at the nanoscale and to create and use structures, devices, and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size' .