Nanotechnology: the whole story

1. Big picture of the small world

Understanding the atom : ex nihilo nihil fit

Nanotechnology starts with a dare : Feynman's big little challenges

Why one-billionth of a meter is a big deal

Thinking it through : the broad implications of nanotechnology

Gray goo

Environmental impact

the written word

The business of nanotech ; plenty of room at the bottom line, too

2. Introduction to miniaturization

Background : the smaller, the better

Scaling laws

The elephant and the flea

Scaling in mechanics

Scaling in electricity and electromagnetism

Scaling in optics

Scaling in heat transfer

Scaling in fluids

Scaling in biology

Accuracy of the Scaling Laws

3. Introduction to nanoscale physics

Background : Newton never saw a nanotube

One hundred hours and eight minutes of nanoscale physics

The basics of quantum mechanics

Atomic orbitals (not orbits)

Electromagnetic waves

The quantization of energy

Atomic spectra and discreteness

The photoelectric effect

Wave-particle duality : the double-slit experiment

Bullets

Water waves

Electrons

The uncertainty principle

Particle in a well

4. Nanomaterials

Background : matter matters

Bonding atoms to make molecules and solids

Ionic bonding

Covalent bonding

Metallic bonding

Walking through Waals : van der Waals forces

The dispersion force

Repulsive forces

Van der Waals force versus gravity

Crystal structures

Structures small enough to be different (and useful)

Particles

Colloidal particles

Wires

Films, layers, and coatings

Porous materials

Small-grained materials

Molecules

Carbon fullerenes and nanotubes

Dendrimers

Micelles

5. Nanomechanics

Background : the universe mechanism

Nanomechanics : which motions and forces make the cut?

A high-speed review of motion : displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force

Nanomechanical oscillators : a tale of beams and atoms

Beams

Free oscillation

Free oscillation from the perspective of energy (and probability)

Forced oscillation

Atoms

The Lennard-Jones interaction : how an atomic bond is like a spring

The quantum mechanics of oscillating atoms

The Schrödinger equations and the correspondence principle

Phonons

Nanomechanical oscillator applications

Nanomechanical mass sensors : detecting low concentrations

Feeling faint forces

Scanning probe microscopes

Pushing atoms around with the scanning tunneling microscope

Skimming across atoms with the atomic force microscope

Pulling atoms apart with the AFM

Rubbing and mashing atoms with the AFM

Mechanical chemistry : detecting molecules with bending beams

6. Nanaoelctronics

Background : the problem (opportunity)

Electron energy bands

Electrons in solids : conductors, insulators, and semiconductors

Fermi energy

Density of states for solids

electron density in a conductor

Turn down the volume! : how to make a solid act more like an Atom

Quantum confinement

Quantum structures

Conductors : the metal-to-insulator transition

Semiconductors : confining excitons

The band gap of nanomaterials

Tunneling

Single-electron phenomena

The Coulomb Blockade

Overcoming uncertainty

Single-electron transistor (SET)

Molecular electronics

Molecular switches and memory storage.

7. Nanoscale heat transfer

Background : hot topic

All heat is nanoscale heat

Boltzmann's constant

Conduction

thermal conductivity of nanoscale structures

Mean free path and scattering of heat carriers

thermoelectrics : better energy conversion with nanostructures

Quantum of thermal conduction

Convection

Radiation

Increased radiation heat transfer

8. Nanophotonics

Background : the Lycurgus Cup and the birth of the photon

Photonic properties of nanomaterials

Photon absorption

Photon emission

Photon scattering

Metals

Permittivity and the free electron plasma

Extinction coefficient of metal particles

colors and uses of gold and silver particles

Semiconductors

Tuning the band gap of nanoscale semiconductors

colors and uses of quantum dots

Lasers based on quantum confinement

Near-field light

Limits of light : conventional optics

Near-field optical microscopes

Optical tweezers

Photonic crystals : a band gap for photons

9. Nanoscale fluid mechanics

Background : becoming fluent in fluids

Concept of continuum

fluid motion, continuum style : the Navier-Stokes equations

Fluid motion : molecular dynamics style

Fluids at the nanoscale : major concepts

Reynolds Numbers

Surface charges and the electrical double layer

Surface charges at interfaces

Gouy-Chapman-Stern model and electrical double layer

Electrokinetic phenomena

Molecular diffusion

How fluids flow at the nanoscale

Electroosmosis

Ions and macromolecules moving through a channel

The convection-diffusion-electromigration equation : nanochannel electrophoresis

Macromolecules in a nanofluidic channel

Applications of nanofluidics

Analysis of biomolecules

EO pumps : cooling off computer chips

10. Nanobiotechnology

Background : our wold in a cell

Introduction : how biology feels at the nanometer scale

Biological shapes at the nanoscale : carbon and water are the essential tools

Inertia and gravity are insignificant : the swimming bacterium

Random thermal motion

The machinery of the cell

Sugars

Fatty acids

Nucleotides

Amino acids

ATP synthase

Applications of nanobiotechnology

Biomimetic nanostructures

Molecular motors

11. Nanomedicine

What is nanomedicine?

Medical nanoparticles

Nanoshells

Lipid-based nanoparticles

Polymer-based nanoparticles

Drug delivery using nanoparticles

Nanomedicine and cancer

Biomimicry in nanomedicine

Potential toxicity

Environmental concerns

Ethical implications

Commercial exploration.