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Since the beginning of the industrial age,
many machines have grown steadily smaller even as they have
grown more powerful and complex. Nanotechnology,
based on the science of the infinitesimally small, takes
technology beyond most popular definitions of reality, to
a realm of astounding possibilities. Nanocosm reveals
a spectacular view of the immediate future of nanotechnology
and its applications in medicine, computing, manufacturing,
engineering, and countless other arenas that affect our
world, redefining how we work, play, and live.
Will nanoscale transistors enable computers
to outstrip the combined power of all the supercomputers
currently in the world? Can gold nanoparticles bond with
-- and destroy -- cancer cells? Will gargantuan elevators
lift satellites to their orbits? The possibilities for the
not-too-distant future are astounding. But nanotech is already
real: It makes tennis balls last longer. It makes paints
and coatings stick better. It makes pants impervious to
coffee spills. It's made car tires stronger for decades.
And in 2003, President Bush signed the 21st Century Nanotechnology
Research and Development Act, a $3.7 billion grant that
represents the largest federally funded science initiative
since President Kennedy established the space program.
As with any phenomenon, nanotechnology has
both its naysayers and its zealots, by turns clouding scientific
truth with dismissals, prophecies, and pipe dreams. Nanocosm
distinguishes fact from fantasy, possibility from hype,
and perspective from fear-mongering, to present an emerging
reality far more thrilling than any fiction.
William Illsey Atkinson is president
of Draaken Communications, which interprets technological
issues for universities, institutes, and private firms.
His book Prototype was a finalist for Canada's National
Business Book Award, and he was named the first recipient
of the Innovation Champion Award, given by the Toronto Technology
Alliance. He lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
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