The classic speech from Feynman from 1959 in which he said that the basic principles of the physics do not contradict the ability of moving atoms and molecules is often seen as starting point of nanotechnology. The term nanotechnology became established by the publication of ‘Engines of creation: the Coming Era of Nanotechnology’from Eric Drexler in the eighties. “Nano” is Greek for dwarf and one nanometer is one billionth meter. There are heated discussions on the right definition of nanotechnology, but in general the next elements are mentioned: the construction of functional systems on molecular scale, between 1 and 100 nm.
Special to nanotechnology is that on this scale properties differ structurally from that of bulk materials. Examples of nanotechnology applied to consumer goods are particles titaniumoxide and sinkoxide processed as UV-reflectors in sun cream and carbon black particles used as material intensifiers in car tyres. An application still far away and considered by some as science fiction is an ICT-implant that enables people to be connected with each other by a computernetwork
