Definition change

As I said in the last post, it’s hard to get your hands around MM. To be more accurate, it’s hard to wrap your mind around MM.

With that in mind, here is a short explanation on how the term "nanotechnology" has a different meaning than it did back when Dr. K. Eric Drexler first used it to describe what we now call molecular manufacturing (MM).

The term "nanotechnology" evolved (*) over the years via terminology drift to mean "anything smaller than microtechnology," such as nanoscale powders and other things that are nanoscale in size, but not referring to products that have been purposefully built from nanoscale components.

Today, when poeple talk about "nanotechnology" they are usually referring to the new definition, not MM.

Read more about today’s nanotechnology products at the Nanotechnology Now Current Uses page.

(*) I say "evolved" rather that the possibly more accurate term "hijacked" since there remains some debate. Many argue that old-economy industries such as advanced materials companies are responsible for the change in meaning.