/nan'-oh-tek-no"l*-jee/ Any fabrication technology in which
objects are designed and built by the specification and
placement of individual atoms or molecules or where at least
one dimension is on a scale of nanometers.
The first unequivocal nanofabrication experiments took place
in 1990, for example with the deposition of individual xenon
atoms on a nickel substrate to spell the logo of a certain
very large computer company.
Nanotechnology has been a hot topic in the hacker subculture
ever since the term was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his book
"Engines of Creation", where he predicted that nanotechnology
could give rise to replicating assemblers, permitting an
exponential growth of productivity and personal wealth.
