The Nanoscale Frontier

This article presents an overview of various aspects of nanoscale technology. As opposed to the macroscale, where water molecules next to a pipe wall have zero velocity, in nanochannels, fluid molecules slip at the channel surface, experiencing an enhanced convective transport. Nanotechnology can also help us alter natural designs. Carbon nanotubes act like a reinforcement to give synthetic tissue the strength, stiffness, and viscoelastic performance of natural membranes. In order to store macroscopically significant amounts of energy, one needs to deform large numbers of carbon nanotubes. It is more challenging still to deform them in a way that maintains high-energy density of overall system. Micro- and nanoscale structures have given us capabilities to interact with cells and pathogens at their level as never before and helped us understand how they live, grow, multiply, differentiate, and die.