An Introduction To Nanoscience And Nanotechnology

An Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Alain Nouailhat This page intentionally left blank An Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology This page intentionally left blank An Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Alain Nouailhat Part of this book adapted from “Introduction aux nanosciences et aux nanotechnologies” published in France by Hermes Science/Lavoisier in 2006 First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2008 by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address: ISTE Ltd 6 Fitzroy Square London W1T 5DX UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA www.iste.co.uk www.wiley.com © ISTE Ltd, 2008 © LAVOISIER, 2006 The rights of Alain Nouailhat to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nouailhat, Alain. An introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology / Alain Nouailhat. p. cm. "Part of this book adapted from "Introduction aux nanosciences et aux nanotechnologies" published in France by Hermes Science/Lavoisier in 2006." Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-84821-007-3 1. Nanoscience. 2. Nanotechnology. I. Title. QC176.8.N35N68 2007 620'.5--dc22 2007021734 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-84821-007-3 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire. The Physicists “Leaning over the screens of powerful machines They watch the rise of a world previously unknown From within their instruments new phenomena appear.” (José Maria de Heredia, Les Conquérants, adapted by the author) This page intentionally left blank Table of Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii Chapter 1. What are Nanos?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1. What are we talking about?. . . . . . . 1.2. References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1. Two basic facts . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2. Two approaches . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.3. Two key points . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3. Some bonus material f