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Physics 095
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Fall 2004
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Nanoscience is the science of understanding and manipulating matter at the scale of one-billionth of a meter, while nanotechnology will be the realization of useful devices and objects using nanoscale components. Starting with physicist Richard Feynman's famous 1959 lecture "There's plenty of room at the bottom," this course will describe the development and current status of this emerging area. One goal of the course will be to introduce students to the techniques of the field. Also, quantum effects come into play at the nanoscale, leading to many new terms such as "quantum dot", "quantum well", "quantum corral", and "quantum computer". Each of these terms refers to objects or devices that behave in ways that are out of our everyday experience. A number of stunning predictions have been made regarding what is possible through nanotechnology, and some scientists believe that it will revolutionize the production of virtually every human-made object in the next 20-30 years. Others think that the results will be more modest, or at least take much longer to achieve. Therefore, another goal of this course will be to encourage critical thinking by presenting both sides of these ongoing debates. Requirements satisfied: one Non-Lab science course Meets: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05-9:55 a.m. The required text is The
New Quantum Universe, 2nd edition, by Hey and Walters. |
