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Biotechnology Products in Everyday Life pp 3–14Cite as

Nanotechnology in Ancient Era

Part of the EcoProduction book series (ECOPROD)

Abstract

Nanotechnology is defined as design and production of structures, devices, and systems by controlled manipulation of sizes and shapes at atomic, molecular, and macromolecular scale where properties differ significantly from those of bulk materials. Although the concept of “nanoscience/nanotechnology” was introduced by the Nobel laureate Richard Feynman in 1959, long before the beginning of “nanoera,” ancient people used various nanoparticles and processes related to it. Some classic examples are the Lycurgus cup: A cup made up of glass containing gold–silver-alloyed nanoparticles which change color from greenish-yellow to red when light is shone on it; Maya blue: a corrosion-resistant blue pigment which consists of indigo molecules incorporated into needle-shaped palygorskite crystallites; Damascus steel sword: an unbreakable and exceptionally sharp sword built using steel blades containing oriented nanowires- and nanotube-like structure. Nevertheless, the breakthrough of nanotechnology has been permitted over the last three decades due to invention of many techniques/instrument which allowed the manipulation and observation of the nanoworld. Nowadays, nanomaterials/nanoparticles are being used for many applications in daily life, such as in the fields of electronics, catalysis, optics, biology, and medicine. This chapter presents an overview of nanotechnology, from ancient eras.

Keywords

  • Nanotechnology
  • Ancient era
  • Nanoparticles and nanomaterials

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The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Prollenium Medical Technologies Inc., Toronto, Canada

    Ketaki Deshmukh

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  1. Ketaki Deshmukh
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Correspondence to Ketaki Deshmukh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    Dr. Menka Khoobchandani

  2. AAPT Foundation, Aurangabad, India

    Dr. Arpita Saxena

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Deshmukh, K. (2019). Nanotechnology in Ancient Era. In: Khoobchandani, M., Saxena, A. (eds) Biotechnology Products in Everyday Life. EcoProduction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92399-4_1

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