What are Some Examples of Nanoscale Devices?
Nanotechnology is an new field which is virtually exploding. The nanotechnology market was $10.5 billion US Dollars (USD) in 2006, with studies expecting the field to expand to $115 billion USD by 2012. Nanotechnology has become so popular that many scientists and journalists have started referring to anything on the nanoscale as “nanotechnology”, such as current computer chips. This is despite the fact that this contradicts the original definition of nanotechnology, which was pertaining to active nanoscale devices engaging in molecular fabrication. We do not have these nanoscale fabricators (sometimes called “assemblers”) yet, but many important proof-of-concept active nanoscale devices are being created with some regularity. A library of nanoscale devices is quickly growing. Rotaxanes are circular molecules that have been used as molecular switches. Graphenes have been used to create transistors only a single atom thick and 50 atoms long. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Livermore La
