Nanotechnology has been applied since the time of ancient Greece. Our ability to observe, measure, control, and modify in this size realm is of recent development. The ability to work with nanomaterials has opened up numerous possibilities with both proponents and opponents of various developments. This blog is directed at providing information and not judgments on nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology normally refers to the size of the material being considered. Nano is a modifier that is employed to indicate 10^-9, or one billionth of the object in question. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. A 1/2 in marble is approximately one billionth of the size of our world. How the modifier is employed makes a difference. Actually, the term “nanosafety” means one billionth safety, which is not very safe. The appropriate use in talking about safety with nano is either “nanotechnology safety” or a shorter “nano-safety”.
