Emerging Industry Overview: Micromachines and Nanotechnology
Industry Snapshot
Broadly speaking, micromachines and nanotechnology refer to gadgetry and systems on a Lilliputian scale. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. A single sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick. Newer scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes have enabled scientists to better understand the physical, chemical, and biological properties of matter at this level. But the impact of this pint-sized technology--financial and otherwise--is anything but small. Indeed, by the turn of the new century, nanotechnology was widely touted as one of the most revolutionary and innovative developments on the horizon. By...