THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY January 27, 2004 nanotechnology ______________________ SPONSORED BY: Smart CRM
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Confirm your registration today and save $1,495. http://searchCRM.com/r/0,,19798,00.html?track=NL-34 ______________________ TODAY'S WORD: nanotechnology See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213444,00.html?track=NL-34 Nanotechnology, or, as it is sometimes called, molecular manufacturing, is a branch of engineering that deals with the design and manufacture of extremely small electronic circuits and mechanical devices built at the molecular level of matter. The Institute of Nanotechnology in the U.K. expresses it as "science and technology where dimensions and tolerances in the range of 0.1 nanometer (nm) to 100 nm play a critical role." Nanotechnology is often discussed together with micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), a subject that usually includes nanotechnology but may also include technologies higher than the molecular level. There is a limit to the number of components that can be fabricated onto a semiconductor wafer or "chip.". Traditionally, circuits have been etched onto chips by removing material in small regions. However, it is also possible in theory to build chips up, one atom at a time, to obtain devices much smaller than those that can be manufactured by etching. With this approach, there would be no superfluous atoms; every particle would have a purpose. Electrical conductors, called nanowires, would be only one atom thick. A logic gate would require only a few atoms. A data bit could be represented by the presence or absence of a single electron. Nanotechnology holds promise in the quest for ever-more-powerful computers and communications devices. But the most fascinating (and potentially dangerous) applications are in medical science. So-called nanorobots might serve as programmable antibodies. As disease-causing bacteria and viruses mutate in their endless attempts to get around medical treatments, nanorobots could be reprogrammed to selectively seek out and destroy them. Other nanorobots might be programmed to single out and kill cancer cells. Two concepts associated with nanotechnology are positional assembly and self-replication. Positional assembly deals with the mechanics of moving molecular pieces into their proper relational places and keeping them there. Molecular robots are devices that do the positional assembly. Self-replication deals with the problem of multiplying the positional arrangements in some automatic way, both in building the manufacturing device and in building the manufactured product. __________________________ RELATED TERMS: MEMS http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci214093,00.html?track=NL-34 semiconductor http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212960,00.html?track=NL-34 atom http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci211610,00.html?track=NL-34 logic gate http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213512,00.html?track=NL-34 nanorobot http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci519843,00.html?track=NL-34 positional assembly http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci516583,00.html?track=NL-34 self-replication http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci516522,00.html?track=NL-34 ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: Scientific American offers a collection of articles about nanotechnology. http://www.sciam.com/nanotech/ Ralph C. Merkle provides an introduction and links to further information about nanotechnology. http://www.zyvex.com/nano/ Small Times is a Web site devoted to nanotechnology news. http://www.smalltimes.com/ ______________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: LOTUSPHERE '04: COMFORTING THE DOMINO BASE Some Domino shops are breathing a bit easier after IBM Lotus assured them at Lotusphere that their existing investments are safe. http://searchdomino.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid4_gci946253,00.html?track=NL-34 WORM OPENS TWO BACKDOORS, LOGS KEYSTROKES A variant of the Dumaru worm has been found. This version opens a pair of back doors and logs keystrokes before mailing them to the worm writer. http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci946167,00.html?track=NL-34 RFID GRABS APPSWORLD HEADLINES Oracle Corp. will announce new RFID technology and enhancements to its E-Business suite at this week's AppsWorld event in San Diego. http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid41_gci946255,00.html?track=NL-34 >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com?track=NL-34 ______________________ SECRET WORD-OF-THE-DAY | What is IT? Sounds sticky! This is the term for the graphical (rather than purely textual) user interface to a computer that has become the norm. Do you think you know the Secret Word? Click this URL and see if you're right! http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci213989,00.html?track=NL-34 ______________________ QUIZ #25 | Security Attacks How much do you know about security attacks? Take this week's quiz and find out! http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci813585,00.html?track=NL-34 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] near-line storage http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci944832,00.html?track=NL-34 [2] up-sell http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci942967,00.html?track=NL-34 [3] Faraday cage http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci942282,00.html?track=NL-34 [4] business metric http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci940481,00.html?track=NL-34 [5] DomainKeys http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci944600,00.html?track=NL-34 ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: MARGARET ROUSE, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) IVY WIGMORE, Consulting Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) LOWELL THING, Consulting Editor and Founder ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) GABRIELLE DERUSSY, Advertising ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ::::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER :::::::::::::::::::::: This newsletter is published by TechTarget, the most targeted IT media. http://www.techtarget.com?track=NL-34 Copyright 2004 TechTarget. 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