Nanotechnology is technology which takes advantage of the unique properties of matter when it is so small it can be measured in nanometers (generally 1 to 100 nm). One nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or approximately 1/10,000th the size of the width of a single hair.

When matter gets this small, materials take on new properties. In some cases, for example, melting points get lowered through the Gibbs-Thomson effect. In other cases, matter will conduct more or less electricity when it is nanosized, making this change useful in producing semiconductors. Also, some elements become catalysts on the nanoscale, like gold. Gold is normally inert, but on the nanoscale it is a very strong catalyst. An interesting nanotechnology niche is in ceramics and powder metallurgy, whereby nano-particles assemble to make newer, stronger compounds, holding promise for construction companies of the future.

Aside from exploiting the unique properties of nanoscale matter, nanotechnology holds great promise for manufacturing. Nanodevices can be designed to self-assemble atom by atom (which is also how human cells self-assemble). This is already being done, and it is far more efficient than the 'old' way of atomic manufacturing, which was to use atomic force microscopes to move individual atoms manually.

Nanotechnology holds great promise for medicine, too. From improved drug delivery systems which would target specific types of cells (cancer cells, for instance) or specific parts of the body (like the pancreas, in treating Diabetes), to assisted nerve and tissue repair, to friendlier and safer biocompatible materials, and more.

The term, "nanotechnology," comes from Norio Taniguchi, a Tokyo Science University professor who wrote a paper on it in 1974. Previously, the properties of matter on the nanoscale had been described by Richard P. Feynman 1959. Things did not really take off in terms of impact on the scientific community until Dr. Eric Drexler wrote books and gave speeches on it in the mid-1980's.