Suggestion for nanotechnology books?

[Monique]

I'm looking for a 'popular science book' that gives a good overview of current nanotechnology advancements.

 

[Davorak]

Two years old now and a lite read there is "Nanotechnology: A gentle introduction to the Next Big Idea" by Mark Ratner and Daniel Ranter. I think it would fit the term "popular science book." No math easy to read, no good references though for the reader who wants to go further.

Also “Understanding Nanotechnology” by Scientific American, editors at Scientific American is grouped with the Ratners book by Amazon.com. It is by Scientific America so this might also fit the bill.

 

[Monique]

It doesn't have to be a lite read, as long that it covers a wide field of applications and some future applications. I read reviews on the Scientific American one, which seemed to be very conservative in their examples and future respectives. I guess I'll go for the Ranter book, which seems to give a good overview and thus make a good present .. it sure will lead to some hype-discussions

 

[Telos]

You may find Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life interesting. It argues that future advancements in nano-engineering will not be like scaled down versions of modern machines but will mostly resemble molecular biology.

Enthusiasts look forward to a time when tiny machines reassemble matter and process information with unparalleled power and precision. But is their vision realistic? Where is the science heading? As nanotechnology (a new technology that many believe will transform society in the next on hundred years) rises higher in the news agenda and popular consciousness, there is a real need for a book which discusses clearly the science on which this technology will be based. Whilst it is most easy to simply imagine these tiny machines as scaled-down versions of the macroscopic machines we are all familiar with, the way things behave on small scales is quite different to the way they behave on large scales. Engineering on the nanoscale will use very different principles to those we are used to in our everyday lives, and the materials used in nanotehnology will be soft and mutable, rather than hard and unyielding. Soft Machines explains in a lively and very accessible manner why the nanoworld is so different to the macro-world which we are all familiar with. Why does nature engineer things in the way it does, and how can we learn to use these unfamiliar principles to create valuable new materials and artefacts which will have a profound effect on medicine, electronics, energy and the environment in the twenty-first century. With a firmer understanding of the likely relationship between nanotechnology and nature itself, we can gain a much clearer notion of what dangers this powerful technology may potentially pose, as well as come to realize that nanotechnology will have more in common with biology than with conventional engineering.

A sample pdf can be found at the Oxford site.

Oh, the author's blog is also work checking out.

 

[The Rev]

I've only read one book on nanotech, but I really liked it, and it's very accessible. It's Engines of Creation by Eric Drexler.

\phi

The Rev

 

[Davorak]

You can also find Engines of Creation here online:
http://www.foresight.org/EOC/

 

[marlon]

I'm looking for a 'popular science book' that gives a good overview of current nanotechnology advancements.

Monique,

If you are interested in a nice physical overview (some solid state physics is required to make the reading more easy, though everything is very well explained-so you certainly DON't need to be a specialist) i suggest "Introduction to nanotechnology" by C P Poole Jr. and F J Owens

I really enjoyed that book

regards
marlon