It requires no vacuum and can be operate in liquid. Since then, other teams have used SPMs to build a tiny nanoscale guitar and an abacus with beads consisting of individual carbon molecules. Using a process called nanolithography, an entire encyclopedia could be written on a pinhead. Ramakrishna says that miniaturization is driving the most recent industrial revolution. But work is tapering off because scientists are reaching a limit for making things smaller from the top down.
Nanotechnology is the answer to that challenge.
The processes involved allow scientists and engineers to start ultra-small and build up, one layer of atoms at a time. Real-world applications for students are found in biotechnology and the semiconductor industry, where companies want people trained to study and make small structures. ASU scientists believe that the ultimate value of bringing this research into classrooms across the world may be in the number of young people who are attracted to the exciting possibilities of nanotechnology. A new revolution is in progress.