Nanotechnology

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  nanotechnology \nan"o*tech*nol`o*gy\
     (n[a^]n"[-o]*t[e^]k*n[o^]l`[-o]*j[=e]), n.
     The manipulation or construction of objects with sizes in the
     nanometer range or smaller.
  
     Note: Objects of the size of molecules may be moved and


           placed in specific locations using laser tweezers or an
           atomic force microscope. See [a
  
           href="http:]/21net.com/content/inside_se/nano.htm">nanotechnology.
           [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  nanotechnology
       n : the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller
           than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of
           individual molecules)

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  nanotechnology /nan'-oh-tek-no`l*-jee/ n. A hypothetical fabrication
     technology in which objects are designed and built with the individual
     specification and placement of each separate atom. The first unequivocal
     nanofabrication experiments took place in 1990, for example with the
     deposition of individual xenon atoms on a nickel substrate to spell the
     logo of a certain very large computer company. Nanotechnology has been a
     hot topic in the hacker subculture ever since the term was coined by K.
     Eric Drexler in his book "Engines of Creation" (Anchor/Doubleday, ISBN
     0-385-19973-2), where he predicted that nanotechnology could give rise
     to replicating assemblers, permitting an exponential growth of
     productivity and personal wealth (there's an authorized transcription at
     `http://www.foresight.org/EOC/index.html'). See also {blue goo}, {gray
     goo}, {nanobot}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  nanotechnology
       
          /nan'-oh-tek-no"l*-jee/ Any fabrication technology in which
          objects are designed and built by the specification and
          placement of individual atoms or molecules or where at least
          one dimension is on a scale of {nanometers}.
       
          The first unequivocal nanofabrication experiments took place
          in 1990, for example with the deposition of individual xenon
          atoms on a nickel substrate to spell the logo of a certain
          very large computer company.
       
          Nanotechnology has been a hot topic in the hacker subculture
          ever since the term was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his book
          "Engines of Creation", where he predicted that nanotechnology
          could give rise to replicating assemblers, permitting an
          exponential growth of productivity and personal wealth.
       
          See also {nanobot}.
       
          {(http://www.lucifer.com/~sean/Nano.html)}.
       
          (2003-05-02)