NANOTECHNOLOGY
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN...
300 CE
They Lycurgus Cup is one of the earliest examples of when nanotechnology is used. It contains a dichroic glass that has nanoparticles in it, which changes color with the presence of light. With light coming from the outside, the cup is green; when the light is coming from the inside, the cup turns orange/red.
1936
Erwin Muller and his assistant who was working as a student at the time invented the field emissions microscope (FEM). This allowed the ablility to be able to look at materieals at "near-atomic" level.
1959
Richard Fenyman conducts his speech, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom". He is the first one to speak about the concepts of nanotechnology.
1974
Norio Taniguchi " coined the term nanotechnology to describe precision matching of materials to within atomic-scale dimensional tolerences." (1)
1986
Eric Drexler writes a book, Engines of Creation, which introduces nanotech to the world.
1991
"The carbon nanotube is created by Sumio IiJima" (3). A carbon nanotube is an allotrope of carbon that has a nanostructure in the shape of a cylinder.
2000
"Consumer nanotech-based products start appearing on the global marketplace" (2). Materials such as athletic shoes, socks, tennis raquets, golf balls correlate to nanotechnology by integrating it into them for a better product.
2004
SUNY Albany launched a college-level course for nanotechnology in the US for the first time.
2009
"The EPA outlines a new research and regulatory strategy to better control the production and use of engineered nanomaterials" (2).
2013
"Stanford University researchers develop the first carbon nanotube computer" (1).
