Nanosciences the invisible revolution - Joachim, C. (World Scientific, 2009)
Originally published in French by Editions du Seuil in 2008
Includes bibliographical references (pages 115-117)
Introduction: infinities in a grain of sand -- 1. A case of misdirection. Political hijacking. The temporary end of sustainable industrial development. The planet goes nano -- 2. The incredible shrinking chip. A mythical speech. The giants of miniaturization. From electron to electronics. Enter Gordon Moore. A needle upright on a football pitch. The first limits to miniaturization. Contagious miniaturization. Welcome to the quantum world. Pardon me, did you say "mesoscopic"? The electronics of tomorrow. The guiding thread -- 3. Staying at the bottom. Birth of the molecule. So how big is a molecule? Maxwell's demon. How to connect a molecule. Man moves atom. And yet it moves! The first experiments in nanophysics. The mechanics of a molecule. The advantage of staying at the bottom -- 4. Monumentalization. The advent of molecule devices. A wire ... An ampermeter ... And a cantilever. Molecule machines. Calculating molecules. Quantum computing molecules. Molecular factories. Bigger and bigger? The retreat to nanomaterials -- 5. Nannobacteria. Ripples from a meteorite. Surrounded by nanoaliens. The missing link. The molecular fabrication of life. The lessons of Mother Nature -- 6. Who's afraid of nanotechnologies? AMOs: Atomically Modified Organisms. Another threat on the horizon: nanomaterials. Electronic spies. On the road to nanomedicine? Potential military applications. Where next? In search of common sense
The nanosciences and their companion nanotechnologies are a hot topic all around the world. For some, they promise developments ranging from nanobots to revolutionary new materials. For others, they raise the specter of Big Brother and of atomically modified organisms (AMOs). This book is a counterbalance to spin and paranoia alike, asking us to consider what the nanosciences really are. Nanosciences are not just a branch of materials sciences, a common misrepresentation fostered in the funding wars. Nor should nanotechnology be confused with miniaturization, a convergence of microelectronics, biotechnology and lab-on-chip techniques. These misconceptions arise from a well-orchestrated US policy dating from the mid-1990s, in which the instrument that lies at the heart of the true nanoscience revolution - the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) - plays just a minor part. These issues are covered here for the first time in a book by a scientist who holds two Feynman prizes in nanotechnology and who has played a significant role in the birth of the nanosciences. Writing from the cutting edge and with an understanding of the real nature of nanoscience, the author provides a scientific and historical perspective on the subject, a response to the misplaced ethical concerns of objectors and to the scaremongering of the popular press