C hapter 1 Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies: an overview
12
quadrant (a quarter) of the circumference of the Earth along this
particular trajectory. A liter is the volume of a cube with an edge of
one tenth of a meter. A kilogram is the weight of one liter of water
at 4°C. Once the reformers of the First Republic got started, there
was no way of stopping them. Imperial units may have charm, but
metric units are logical, comprehensible, and (as Figure 1.11 shows)
extendable.
The tools of science allow the study of materials over this immense
range. Of the many ways in which they can be probed, the most
revealing has been the interaction with radiation. Electromagnetic
(e-m) radiation permeates the entire universe. Observe the sky with
your eye and you see the visible spectrum, the range of wavelengths
we call “light” (400–770 mm). Observe it with a detector of X-rays
or γ-rays and you see radiation with far shorter wavelengths (as short
as 10
−4 nm, one thousandth the size of an atom). Observe it instead
with a radio telescope and you pick up radiation with wavelengths
Astronomical scale
Terrestrial scale
Circumference of the Earth (4.2 × 10 7 m)
Thickness of the Earth’s crust (3 × 10
4 m)
Height of Mt. Everest (8 × 10
3 m)
Depth of deep oceans (5 × 10
3 m)
Infrastructure engineering
Road systems
Rail systems
Water distribution systems
Sewage systems
Conventional engineering
Shipping
Trains, aircraft
Cars, trucks
Household products
Precision instruments
Conventional electronics
Nanoengineering
10
–15
Microelectronic components
Nanostructured solids
Nanoparticles and emulsions
Thin films, multilayers
Carbon nanotubes
Amorphous materials
Human scale
League (3 miles, 4.8 × 10
3 m)
Furlong (22 yards, 2 × 10
2 m)
Molecular and atomic scale
Molecular scale
Subatomic scale
Electron
Neutron
Proton
Atomic scale
Foot (3 × 10
–1 m)
Inch (ell) (2.54 × 10
–2 m)
Diameter of a hair (2 × 10
–6 m)
1 light year (9.5 × 10
15 m)
Earth–sun distance (1 AU.1.5 × 10
11 m)
Earth–moon distance (3.8 × 10
8 m)
Nearest galaxy (2 × 10
22 m)
10
–12
10
–9
10
–6
10
–3
1
10
3
10
6
10
9
10
12
10
15
10
18
jemio
pico
nano
micro
milli
meter
kilo
mega
giga
pera
exa
zetia
Metres
Figure 1.11
Length scales ranging from the subatomic through
molecular, human, and terrestrial to astronomic.
The nano range is shown on the lower right.
12
quadrant (a quarter) of the circumference of the Earth along this
particular trajectory. A liter is the volume of a cube with an edge of
one tenth of a meter. A kilogram is the weight of one liter of water
at 4°C. Once the reformers of the First Republic got started, there
was no way of stopping them. Imperial units may have charm, but
metric units are logical, comprehensible, and (as Figure 1.11 shows)
extendable.
The tools of science allow the study of materials over this immense
range. Of the many ways in which they can be probed, the most
revealing has been the interaction with radiation. Electromagnetic
(e-m) radiation permeates the entire universe. Observe the sky with
your eye and you see the visible spectrum, the range of wavelengths
we call “light” (400–770 mm). Observe it with a detector of X-rays
or γ-rays and you see radiation with far shorter wavelengths (as short
as 10
−4 nm, one thousandth the size of an atom). Observe it instead
with a radio telescope and you pick up radiation with wavelengths
Astronomical scale
Terrestrial scale
Circumference of the Earth (4.2 × 10 7 m)
Thickness of the Earth’s crust (3 × 10
4 m)
Height of Mt. Everest (8 × 10
3 m)
Depth of deep oceans (5 × 10
3 m)
Infrastructure engineering
Road systems
Rail systems
Water distribution systems
Sewage systems
Conventional engineering
Shipping
Trains, aircraft
Cars, trucks
Household products
Precision instruments
Conventional electronics
Nanoengineering
10
–15
Microelectronic components
Nanostructured solids
Nanoparticles and emulsions
Thin films, multilayers
Carbon nanotubes
Amorphous materials
Human scale
League (3 miles, 4.8 × 10
3 m)
Furlong (22 yards, 2 × 10
2 m)
Molecular and atomic scale
Molecular scale
Subatomic scale
Electron
Neutron
Proton
Atomic scale
Foot (3 × 10
–1 m)
Inch (ell) (2.54 × 10
–2 m)
Diameter of a hair (2 × 10
–6 m)
1 light year (9.5 × 10
15 m)
Earth–sun distance (1 AU.1.5 × 10
11 m)
Earth–moon distance (3.8 × 10
8 m)
Nearest galaxy (2 × 10
22 m)
10
–12
10
–9
10
–6
10
–3
1
10
3
10
6
10
9
10
12
10
15
10
18
jemio
pico
nano
micro
milli
meter
kilo
mega
giga
pera
exa
zetia
Metres
Figure 1.11
Length scales ranging from the subatomic through
molecular, human, and terrestrial to astronomic.
The nano range is shown on the lower right.