In 1965,
Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel Corporation, made the astounding prediction that the number of transistors that could be fit in a given area would double every 18 months for the next ten years. This it did and the phenomenon became known as
Moore's Law.
The history of nanotechnology begins with a lecture titled, '
There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom' a talk given by physicist
Richard P. Feynman at an
American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959; "there is nothing besides our clumsy size that keeps us from using this space. In his time, it was not possible for us to manipulate single atoms or molecules because they were far too small for our tools." His speech was completely theoretical and seemingly fantastic. He described how the laws of physics do not limit our ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules. Instead, it was our lack of the appropriate methods for doing so. However, he correctly predicted that the time would come in which atomically precise manipulation of matter would inevitably arrive.
Here is a shot vedio about the history of nanotecgnology found on Youtube,
The term "nanotechnology" was first defined by Norio Taniguchi of the Tokyo Science University in a 1974 paper as follows: "'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule." Since that time the definition of nanotechnology has generally been extended to include features as large as 100 nm. The idea that nanotechnology embraces structures exhibiting quantum mechanical aspects, such as quantum dots, has further evolved its definition.
The history of nanotechnology in chronological order,
1959"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," a talk given by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech.
1974Taniguchi uses term "nano-technology" in paper on ion-sputter machining
1977Drexler originates molecular nanotechnology concepts at MIT
1981First technical paper on molecular engineering to build with atomic precision
STM invented
1985Buckyball discovered
1986First book published,AFM invented,First organization formed
1987First protein engineered,First university symposium
1988First university course
1989First national conference,IBM logo spelled in individual atoms
1990Japan's STA begins funding nanotech projects,First nanotechnology journal
1991IBM endorses bottom-up path,Japan's MITI commits $200 million,Carbon nanotube discovered
1992First Congressional testimony,First textbook published
1993First coverage of nanotech from White House,First Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology awarded,"Engines of Creation" book given to Rice administration, stimulating first university nanotech center
1994Nanosystems textbook used in first university course
1995First industry analysis of military applications,First think tank report
1996First European conference,NASA begins work in computational nanotech,$250,000 Feynman Grand Prize announced,First nanobio conference
1997First company founded,First design of nanorobotic system
1998First NSF forum,First DNA-based nanomechanical device
1999First safety guidelines,First Nanomedicine book published
2000President Clinton announces U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative
2001First report on nanotech industry
2002First nanotech industry conference
2003Call for balancing NNI research portfolio,Drexler/Smalley debate is published in Chemical & Engineering News
2004First policy conference on advanced nanotech,First center for nanomechanical systems
2005At Nanoethics meeting, Roco announces nanomachine/nanosystem project count has reached 300