The idea is not new,but the delicate sensing system needed to detect the vibration and measure its frequency is new.European researchers have built a new device that can do just that. It may ultimately allow scientists to study the progress of chemical reactions, molecule by molecule.The new devise is a delicate sensing system needed to detect the vibration and measure its frequency.
                          
                               Real-life image (inset) of a carbon nanotube.
  
         Some nanotubes turn out to be semiconductors, depending on how the graphene sheet is wound, and it is these that offer the solution that CARDEQ has developed.It may then become possible to observe the radioactive decay of a single nucleus and to study other types of quantum mechanical phenomena.

 [Source: sciencedaily]

The future of nanotechnology is a promising one.According to Scientific American,between 1997 and 2005, investment in nanotech research and development by governments around the world soared from $432 million to about $4.1 billion, and corresponding industry investment exceeded that of governments by 2005. By 2015, products incorporating nanotech will contribute approximately $1 trillion to the global economy. About two million workers will be employed in nanotech industries, and three times that many will have supporting jobs.

Scientists are also developing ever more sophisticated ways of encapsulating molecules and delivering them on demand for targeted drug delivery reported by physics world.

  Nanotechnology may have its biggest impact on the medical industry. Patients will drink fluids containing nanorobots programmed to attack and reconstruct the molecular structure of cancer cells and viruses. There's even speculation that nanorobots could slow or reverse the aging process, and life expectancy could increase significantly. Nanorobots could also be programmed to perform delicate surgeries -- such nanosurgeons could work at a level a thousand times more precise than the sharpest scalpel.Nanotechnology has the potential to have a positive effect on the environment. For instance, scientists could program airborne nanorobots to rebuild the thinning ozone layer.

Nanotechnology And Health:
   Günter Oberdörster, Ph.D., professor of Toxicology in Environmental Medicine and director of the university's EPA Particulate Matter Center, has already completed one study showing that inhaled nano-sized particles accumulate in the nasal cavities, lungs and brains of rats. Scientists speculate this buildup could lead to harmful inflammation and the risk of brain damage or central nervous system disorders.For decades Oberdörster has studied how the body interacts with ambient ultrafine particles, including automotive and power plant emissions and dust from the World Trade Center disaster. What's different about nanotechnology is that these particles are man-made into a well-defined size, down to a billionth of a meter, and appear to seep all the way into the mitochondria, or energy source, of living cells.

     Chan  an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering together with Hans Fischer, a PhD student  in his group,argue that the development of predictive models of nanostructure toxicity requires a systematic mapping of the fate, kinetics, clearance, metabolism, protein coating, immune response and toxicity of nanostructures to the nanostructure’s physical properties within a life cycle model.
"Currently, there is a common assumption that the small size of nanostructures allows them to easily enter tissues, cells, organelles, and functional biomolecular structures (i.e. DNA, ribosomes) since the actual physical size of an engineered nanostructure is similar to many biological molecules (e.g. antibodies, proteins) and structures (e.g. viruses)" explains Chan. "A corollary is that the entry of the nanostructures into vital biological systems could cause damage, which could subsequently cause harm to human health. However, a number of recent studies have demonstrated that despite the size of the nanostructures they do not freely go into all biological systems but are instead governed by the functional molecules added to their surfaces."

Nanotechnology And Environment:

         Because of their tiny size, nanomaterials have special properties that make them ideal for a range of commercial and medical uses, but researchers are still trying to determine how they might affect humans and animals. Gold, for example, may behave differently when introduced at nanoscale into the human body, where it is chemically inert in traditional applications.Scientific studies also suggest nanoparticles can cause health problems and damage aquatic life. For instance, they lodge in the lungs and respiratory tract and cause inflammation, possibly at an even greater rate than asbestos and soot do."Nanoparticles are like the roach motel. The nanoparticles check in but they don't check out," said John Balbus, health program director for the advocacy group Environmental Defense.

This vedio describes The environmental impact of nanomaterials found on Youtube,

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.

1974
Taniguchi uses term "nano-technology" in paper on ion-sputter machining

1977
Drexler originates molecular nanotechnology concepts at MIT

1981
First technical paper on molecular engineering to build with atomic precision
STM invented

1985
Buckyball discovered

1986
First book published,AFM invented,First organization formed

1987
First protein engineered,First university symposium

1988
First university course

1989
First national conference,IBM logo spelled in individual atoms

1990
Japan's STA begins funding nanotech projects,First nanotechnology journal

1991
IBM endorses bottom-up path,Japan's MITI commits $200 million,Carbon nanotube discovered

1992
First Congressional testimony,First textbook published

1993
First 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

1994
Nanosystems textbook used in first university course


1995
First industry analysis of military applications,First think tank report

1996
First European conference,NASA begins work in computational nanotech,$250,000 Feynman Grand Prize announced,First nanobio conference

1997
First company founded,First design of nanorobotic system

1998
First NSF forum,First DNA-based nanomechanical device

1999
First safety guidelines,First Nanomedicine book published

2000
President Clinton announces U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative

2001
First report on nanotech industry

2002
First nanotech industry conference

2003
Call for balancing NNI research portfolio,Drexler/Smalley debate is published in Chemical & Engineering News

2004
First policy conference on advanced nanotech,First center for nanomechanical systems

2005
At Nanoethics meeting, Roco announces nanomachine/nanosystem project count has reached 300

 Nanotechnology is the study and use of structures between 1 nanometer and 100 nanometers in size. Nanotechnology is the postulated ability to manufacture objects and structures with atomic precision, literally atom by atom. This technology will have tremendous potential if it can be developed; simple applications involve the creation of new and powerful materials, perfect diamond in bulk quantities and a tool to manipulate objects on any scale. More advanced applications would involve massively parallel nanocomputers, self-replication and more or less bright nanodevices able to interact with their surroundings.Nanotechnology is the science of the extremely tiny. According to the US Government’s National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) “nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications.”

Here is a vedio found on Youtube,will give an introsuction to nanotechnology.