|
|
"Exploring the
Nanoworld"
|
|
Atoms are the fundamental "building blocks" of everything in the world around us. In 1960, the physicist Richard Feynman asked the question, "What would happen if we could arrange atoms one by one the way we want them?" Today, the emerging fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology are enabling such control of the material world at the scale of atoms and molecules. "Nano" means a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth (one billionth). Materials with dimensions on the scale of nanometers can have fundamentally different properties and behavior from those of bulk materials. The nature of the nanoworld is such that its exploration depends on the combined viewpoints of chemistry, physics, engineering, and the biological sciences. Details of student-centered, nanotechnology-enriched resources will be shared with the group. They are available at the Web site of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). Each participant will also receive an "Exploring the Nanoworld: Try This!" packet of hands-on demonstrations. |
|
