Encyclopedia Nanotech

Interdisciplinary nanotechnology requires thoroughly defined and re-defined terms. This encyclopedia serves the function of defining terms and then expanding upon how these words are used in nanotechnology. Click the word to view its encyclopedia entry. To see more words, click on a letter below to see the words that begin with that letter.

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Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)
A method for observing local magnetic fields near a surface by scanning the surface with a magnetic probe.

Mass to Charge Ratio
A number defining how a particle will respond to an electric or magnetic field that can be calculated by dividing the mass of a particle by its charge.

Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS)
The fabrication or micro-machining of materials to make stationary and moving structures, devices and systems of a nominal size scale from a few centimeters to a few micrometers.*

Molecular Nanotechnology (MNT)
A term coined by Drexler refering to technology resulting from the ability to thoroughly and inexpensively control matter on the molecular level.

Moore's Law
An emperical trend in the microelectronics industry for the number of circuits per chip to double roughly every 18 months.