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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Nano
From the Greek nanos - meaning "dwarf" this prefix is used in the metric system to mean 10^-9 or one billionth (1/1,000,000,000).

NanoElectroMechanical Systems (NEMS)
Systems consisting of integrated electromechanical actuators of nanometer-scale dimensions.

Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL)
A method of lithography that uses a mold, or mechanical force (embossing) to pattern a resist.

Nanolithography
Writing on the nanoscale.

Nanomachine
Mechanical devices so small that the parts are single molecules.

Nanometer (nm)
One billionth of a meter.

Nanoscience
The scientific discipline seeking to increase our knowledge and understanding of nanoscale phenomena, i.e. science on the scale of 0.1 nm to 100 nm.

Nanotechnology
The application of nanoscience in order to control processes on the nanometer scale, i.e. between 0.1 nm and 100 nm.

Nanotube
A one dimensional fullerene with a cylindrical shape.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
An analytical method that can detect subatomic and structural information of molecules by measuring the adsorption of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation by nuclei under the influence of a magnetic field.