What Is Nanotechnology?The shotgun marriage of chemistry and engineering called "Nanotechnology” is ushering in the era of self-replicating machinery and self-assembling consumer goods made from cheap raw atoms.Nanotechnology is molecular manufacturing or, more simply, building things one atom or molecule at a time with programmed nanoscopic robot arms. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter ( 3-4 atoms wide ). Utilizing the well understood chemical properties of atoms and molecules ( how they M stick'1 together) , nanotechnology proposes the construction of novel molecular devices possessing extraordinary properties. The trick is to manipukite atoms individually and place them exactly where needed to produce the desired structure. This ability is almost in our grasp. The anticipated payoff for mastering this technology is far beyond any human accomplishment so far. Technical feasibilities include:•Self-assembling consumer goods•Computers billions of times faster•Extremely novel inventions (impossible today)•Safe and affordable space travel•Medical Nano... virtual end to illness, aging, death•No more pollution and automatic cleanup of already existing pollution•Molecular food syntheses... end of famine and starvation•Access to a superior education for every child on Earth•Reintroduction of many extinct plants and animals•Terra forming here and the Solar SystemBy treating atoms as discrete, bit-like objects, molecular manufacturing will bring a digital revolution to the production of material objects. Working at the resolution limit of matter, it will enable the ultimate in miniaturization and performance. By starting with cheap, abundant t components - molecules - and processing them with small, high-frequency, high-productivity machines, it will make products inexpensive. Design computers that each executes moreWhat Is Nanotechnology?The shotgun marriage of chemistry and engineering called "Nanotechnology" is ushering in the era of self-replicating machinery and self-assembling consumer goods made from cheap raw atoms.Nanotechnology is molecular manufacturing or, more simply, building things one atom or molecule at a time with programmed nanoscopic robot arms. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter ( 3-4 atoms wide1). Utilizing the well understood chemical properties of atoms and molecules ( how they "stick" together), nanotechnology proposes the construction of novel molecular devices possessing extraordinary properties. The trick is to manipulate atoms individually and place them exactly where needed to produce the desired structure. This ability is almost in our grasp. The anticipated payoff for mastering this technology is far beyond any human accomplishment so far. Technical feasibilities include: •Self-assembling consumer goods•Computers billions of times faster•Extremely novel inventions (impossible today)•Safe and affordable space travel•Medical Nano... virtual end to illness, aging, death•No more pollution ' and automatic cleanup of already existing pollution•Molecular food syntheses... end of famine and starvation•Access to a superior education for every child on Earth•Reintroduction of many extinct plants and animals•Terra forming here and the Solar SystemBy treating atoms as discrete, bit-like objects, molecular manufacturing will bring a digital revolution to the production of material objects. Working at the resolution limit of matter, it will enable the ultimate in miniaturization and performance. By starting with cheap, abundant components ■- molecules ~ and processing them with small, high-frequency, high-productivity machines, it will make products inexpensive. Design computers that each executes more instructions per second than all of the semiconductor CPUs inthe world combined. Nanotechnology will reverse the harm done by the industrial revolution. Imagine being able to cure cancer by drinking a medicine stirred into your favorite fruit juice. Imagine a supercomputer no bigger than a human cell. Imagine a four-person, surface-to-orbit spacecraft no larger or more expensive than the family car. These are just a few products expected from nanotechnology.Humanity will be faced with a powerful, accelerated social revolution as a result of nanotechnology. In the near future, a team of scientists will succeed in constructing the first nanosized1 robot capable of self-replication. Within a few short years, and five billion trillion nano-robots later, virtually all present industrial processes will be obsolete as well as our contemporary concept of labor. Consumer goods will become plentiful, inexpensive, smart, and durable. Medicine will take a quantum leap forward. Space travel and colonization will become safe and affordable.For these and other reasons, global life styles will change radically and human behavior will be drastically impacted. The world is on the brink of a new technological revolution beyond any human experience. A new, more powerful industrial revolution capable of bringing wealth, health, and education, without pollution, to every person on the planet. No longer will forest need to be cut or smoke spewed into the air. This is the promise of nanotechnology.A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Thafs a thousand, million times smaller than a meter. If you blew up a baseball to the size of the earth, the atoms would become visible, about the size of grapes. Some 3-4 atoms fit lined up inside a nanometer.Nanotechnology is about building things atom by atom, molecule by molecule. The trick is to be able to manipulate atoms individually, and place them where you wish on a structure. Nature uses molecular machines to create life. If you want to see a nanotechnology machine, just look in the mirror. Scientists from several fields including chemistry, biology, physics, and electronics are driving towards the precise manipulation of matter on the atomic scale.How do we get to nanotechnology? Several approaches seem feasible. Ultimately a combination may be the key.悬索桥人们常常愿意修建悬桥以代替其他类型的桥梁，特别是在那些运输量比较小而桥的跨度又大的地方。