The length scale we work at
Life presents many interesting questions !!!
Talk about how it is created !!!
Talk about the length scales at which it happens: "Nano"
Nanoscience 10-9 is a branch of science that deals with the study of materials having at least one of its dimensions in the nanometer length scale. One of the main criteria for a material to be considered as a nanomaterial is to exhibit distinct physical, chemical or biological properties that are absent in the individual atom or bulk. For this reason, a nanomaterial is often considered as a bridge between individual atoms and bulk materials. One of the main characteristics of nanomaterials is their size and shape dependent properties. Because of this, a nanomaterial often finds application in all areas of science, engineering and medicine.
Over the years, significant progress has been achieved on the size and shape controlled synthesis of nanoscale materials, and their inherent properties have been well understood.
What happens when a nanomaterial interacts with other materials (may it be another nanomaterial, different nanomaterial, light, molecules etc.)? Can we dictate a nanomaterial to behave the way we want: for instance can we teach a nanoparticle to interact with a biological cell at one instance and not to interact at another instance at our will? How can one improve the fundamental and applied properties of nanomaterials? These are some of the current challenges that form the integral part of modern nanoscience.