What is Nano? | NISE Network (original) (raw)
Nano exhibition and NanoDays resources for public audiences. Nanotechnologies have the potential to transform the way we live. We all have a role in shaping our nano future.
A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. That’s really tiny! Nanometers are used to measure things that are too small to see, like atoms and molecules, the basic building blocks of our world.
Nanoscale science focuses on things that are measured in nanometers. In the field of nanotechnology, scientists and engineers make new materials and tiny devices. Nanotechnology allows them to make things like smaller, faster computer chips and new medicines to treat diseases like cancer.
Nanotechnologies include new materials and tiny devices so small they’re sometimes built from individual atoms and molecules!
Nanotechnology takes advantage of special properties at the nanoscale to create new materials and devices.
Videos on Nanoscale Science and Nanotechnology Topics
See all Nanotechnology Educational Videos
How Small is Nano? video In this 3-minute video, the viewer goes on an adventure of scale from the macrosize to the microsize to the nanosize! 
What Happens in a Nano Lab? In this 3-minute video, a child narrative introduces a tour of nanotechnology lab. 
What’s Nano About Water? In this 30-second video, viewers quickly learn how nanotechnology can filter pesticides and heavy metals out of water. 
What’s Nano About Toilets? In this 30-second video, viewers quickly learn how nanocoatings inspired by nature can keep things clean. 
What’s Nano About Chocolate? In this 30-second video, viewers quickly learn about nanosized particles and the sense of smell. 
What’s Nano About Bubbles? In this 30-second video, viewers quickly learn about the rainbow of colors seen in bubbles. 
Invisibility Cloak video In this 4-min video the idea of invisibility cloaks is comedically explored. 
Intro to Nanomedicine video An exhibit that was part of the Nanotechnology: What's the Big Deal? exhibition that is the introductory component for the Nanomedicine exhibit package; but the video on it's own is also an informative stand-alone media piece for other uses. 
Zoom into a Blue Morpho Butterfly video In this 3-minute video, the viewer zooms into a Blue Morpho Butterfly from macroscale to nanoscale. 
Zoom into a Microchip video In this video, learners see the tiny wires and the crisscrossing patterns of the microchip's circuits while learning a bit about why making it small is important. 
Zoom into a Lotus Leaf video In this video, learners get an up close look at the tiny nanostructures that give the leaf its unique superhydrophobic behavior. 
Nano and Me Videos In these short videos, learners are introduced to simple fundamentals about the nanoscale; topics include the differences between macro and nano silver, gold, aluminum, latex, gravity, and stain free pants.
Videos on Nanotechnology and Society
Wonders and Worries of Nanotechnology In this 4-minute video, actors portray characters in a 1950s style public service film about the risks and benefits of nanotechnology. 
Wonders and Worries of Nanotechnology: Who Benefits In this 4-minute video, actors portray characters in a 1950s style public service film about the unknown "future" of nanotechnology. 
Wonders and Worries of Nanotechnology: Regulation In this 4-minute video, actors portray characters in a 1950s style public service film about regulation and nanotechnology. 
Wonders and Worries of Nanotechnology: Ask and Research In this 3-minute video, actors portray characters in a 1950s style public service film about how to have a high-quality conversation about science and society. 
Same Sides and Let's Talk About It videos In this program, learners are introduced to nanoscale science which includes 2 ten-minute plays that stimulate conversation about the impact the field of nanoscale science may have on our lives. 
Three Angry Scientists In this 20-minute film, actors depict a dramatic conversation on the risks and benefits of new technology. 
Does Every Silver Lining Have a Cloud? In this 6-minute video, Duke University researchers explain the relationship between nanomaterials and their potential impact on the ecosystem. 
Changing Our Relationship With Science video In this 8-minute video, scientists from Harvard, Princeton and Duke University imagine the future of science and technology in thirty, or fifty years.
What is NanoDays?
NanoDays is a nationwide festival of educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and its potential impact
on the future. NanoDays events are organized by participants in the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Network) and take place at more than 200 science and children's museums, research centers and universities across the country from Puerto Rice to Hawaii. NanoDays engages people of all ages in learning about this emerging field of science, which holds the promise of developing revolutionary materials and technologies.
While several communities conducted NanoDays events in prior years, the first nationwide week of events took place in 2008 with more than 100 institutions participating. This has grown to more than 200 events annually nationwide.
- List of institutions hosting an event in the United States in 2008-2015
- More about NanoDays (hands on activities, training materials, promotional materials)