The next big thing will be small. Very small. No bigger than one-thousandth the width of a human hair, to be precise. At this scale, unique properties emerge that can be used in everything from sunscreens to quantum computers. It's early days for nanotechnology, but money is pouring in and ideas are starting to move from universities to start-up companies. Nanotechnology gives us the tools to build things out of nature's construction kit of molecules and atoms at dimensions below 100 nanometres. The possibilities are huge. As well as smaller, faster computers, nanotechnology will let us create lighter, stronger materials and medical implants that are more friendly to the body, says Ottila Saxl, CEO of the Institute of Nanotechnology in Stirling, Scotland, which acts as a focus for interest in this new science.
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