Importance of Nanotechnology in Civil Engineering

Nanotechnology is an extremely wide term, the definition of which varies from field to field. Most commonly, nanotechnology is defined as "... the understanding, control, and restructuring of matter on the order of nanometers (i.e., less than 100 nm) to create materials with fundamentally new properties and functions" [1]. Nanotechnology refers to the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules, by engineering matter at the atomic level. At the nanoscale, familiar materials can have dramatically different properties: changes can affect color, elasticity, strength, conductivity, and other properties. Nanoparticles also have an increased surface area relative to their volume, making them especially reactive and useful in energy storage, for making composite materials, or as drug delivery devices. Nano materials are also able to be integrated with biological materials, producing new structures that have properties of both types of materials. There are two main types of approaches to nanotechnology: The "top-down" approach and the "bottom-up" approach. The "top-down" approach involves taking larger structures that are either reduced down in size until they reach the nano-scale, or are deconstructed into their composite parts. On the other hand, the "bottom-up" approach is where materials are constructed from the atomic or molecular components.