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Reference Notes: Introduction to Nanoscale

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What is Nanoscale?
The term nanoscale is a combination joined by forming two words- nanos (Greek word meaning dwarf) and scale (from Hebrew word shaqahl meaning to weigh).

The meaning of nanoscale is apparently relevant from the above brief description; however, we must learn the factual and veritable scientific countenance of this term. We are all familiar to various physical units of measurement for instance, meter, nanometer, micron, Angstrom, Fermi etc. While we are only talking about nanometer here, it is substantial to know its mathematical relationship with other units. Let us analyze here how small 1 nanometer is, A nanometer is one billionth of a meter

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A strand of hair has a diameter of about one hundred thousand nanometer Follow the diagrams below. You will understand how the dimensions of different materials are expressed in nanometer.

Source: Institute of Fundamental Sciences Department (Nanoscience), Massey University (University of New Zealand)

Source: U. S. Food and Drug Administration

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Nanoscale ranges between 1 nm 100 nm. Anything having nanoscale dimension is said to be a nanoscale matter. In the above graphic illustrations you can see that virus is in the nanoscale category while bacteria is not (it can be expressed in the dimension of nanometer though). You can view bacteria in through a compound microscope but you cannot view a virus particle in the same way. You need specialized modern electron microscopes (SEM & TEM), scanning tunneling microscope (AFM) or atomic force microscope (AFM) to see nanoscale matters (virus, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, nanorobots etc). Every aspects of nanoscience are based upon the application of nanoscale matters. Nanoscale matters maybe found in nature and also can be synthesized in the laboratory.

Some facts regarding Nanoscale:

Your fingernails grow by 1 nm every second. If a nanometer was as long as your foot, a centimeter would be the distance from New Zealand to Australia. A nanosecond is a billionth of a second. A human hair is about 40,000 100,000 nm thick. The page of a book is about 100,000 nm thick. The head of a pin is about 1,000,000 nm across. A red blood cell (RBC) is about 7,000 nm across. A DNA molecule is about 2 nm wide.

Most atoms are 0.1 0.2 nm in diameter.

If we put 10 hydrogen atoms side by side, a chain of length of 10 nm is formed.

A nanoscale particle must have at least one dimension less than 100 nm.
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Why the Nanoscale particles are so special?

Normally you would see that a substance never changes its special chemical properties which represent its individuality (refractive index, bond energy, color, hydrogen bonding and others).

In the dimensional range where these substances are readily visible, the properties which we see formed are caused by bulk or volume effects (type of atoms bonded, type of bonds formed and ratio of bonding).

However, in the visible range, these substances do not show special quantum (sub-atomic) properties. They behave almost indifferently in different temperature, pressure or volume, just experiencing change of state.

But in the nanoscale dimension the chemical and physical properties of such substances change. Some special changes are self-assembly of molecules, increase in surface area, increasing or decreasing bond energy, enhanced flexibility of bonds etc.

Such changes are due to the quantum effect or effects in the sub-atomic level.
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Hence, while discussing a nanoscale matter, we must consider the geometrical orientation of its constituent atoms (the types of atoms present and their orientation in the three-dimensional space)

While a substance is at its nanoscale dimension, its quantum effects become more dominant than bulk effects.

These quantum effects are due to the geometry of material (unlike the bulk effects which depended on the arrangement of atoms and different types of chemical bonding caused by them).

A nanoscale matter has specialized quantum state due to such quantum effects the material is affected sub-atomically.

Such changes cause the substance to change its mode of action with other substances, increases the surface area giving it the enhanced catalytic property.

Scientists are currently putting such nanoscale particles in use to create new techniques to conserving energy and also in healthcare research.

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Thank You

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