What is the Difference Between Nanotechnology and Molecular Nanotechnology (MNT)?
The difference between nanotechnology and molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is that the former is now used to refer to any science that deals with nanoscale particles of 1-100 nanometers, while the latter refers specifically to theories of nanoscale machines capable of building products from the atom up, also called molecular manufacturing (MM). A nanometer, or one millionth of a millimeter, is an incredibly small measure of length only about 5-7 atoms in size. The general term “nanotechnology” deals with structures that are measured in nanometers. A bacterium by comparison is much larger. Fullerenes or carbon nanotubes, however, as discovered by Richard Smalley of Rice University, fall under the purview of nanotechnology. The term, “nanotechnology” was not always used so broadly. It was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book, Engines of Creation to refer to his theories for molecular manufacturing, following up on visionary ideas presented 27 years earlier by famed physicist, Richard
