Nano Scale

Nano scale is the size range from 1 to 100 nanometers. In terms of scale, nano-scale is about 1/1000th the width of a human hair, or 10 times smaller than the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Even though objects at the nano-scale are very small, they can have a large surface area in comparison to their overall size. This gives them unique properties that differ from both larger and smaller objects.

The term “nano” comes from the Greek word for dwarf. As such, many people think of nano as meaning “very small”. However, in scientific terms it refers to a specific size range. To put it into perspective, one square meter contains over 25 million billion nanometers! So although nano-scale objects are extremely small, there are actually a huge number of them around us all the time.

Atoms and molecules are the building blocks of everything we see around us, including ourselves. They are also what give materials their properties – whether they are hard or soft, heavy or light, etc. When we work with materials at the nano-scale we can change these properties in interesting ways. For example, by changing the shape of nanoparticles we can make materials that absorb light better (which could be used for solar cells) or make them more durable (which could be used for car parts). Nano-scale objects also have much higher surface area to volume ratios than larger objects which means they interact differently with their surroundings – this can be exploited for sensor applications or drug delivery systems.

There is currently a lot of excitement around working with materials at the nano-scale because it opens up new possibilities for how we use and interact with materials in our everyday lives.