Jeremy J. Ramsden     Cranfield University

This is as much a book about ideas as about facts. It begins (Chapter 1) by explaining—yet again!—what nanotechnology is. For those who feel that this is needless repetition of a well-worn theme, may I at least enter a plea that as more and more people and organizations (latterly the International Organization for Standardization) engage themselves with the question, the definition is steadily becoming better refined and less ambiguous, and account needs to be taken of these developments.

The focus of this book is nanotechnology in commerce, hence in the first part dealing with basics, Chapter 2 delves into the fascinating relationship between wealth, technology, and science. Whereas for millennia we have been accustomed to technology emerging from wealth, and science emerging from technology, nanotechnology exemplifies a new paradigm in which science is in the van of wealth generation.

The emergence of nanotechnology products from underlying science and technology is an instantiation of the process called innovation. The process is important for any high technology; given that nanotechnology not only exemplifies but really epitomizes high technology, the relation between nanotechnology and innovation is of central importance. Its consideration (Chapter 3) fuses technology, economics and social aspects.

Chapter 4 addresses the question “Why might one wish to introduce nanotechnology?” Nanotechnology products may be discontinuous with respect to existing ones in the sense that they are really new, instantiating things that simply did not exist, or were only dreamt about, before the advent of nanotechnology. They may also be a result of nanification—defined as decreasing the size of an existing device, or a component of the device, down to the nanoscale. Not every manufactured artifact can be advantageously nanified; this chapter tackles the crucial aspects of when it is technically, and when it is commercially advantageous.

These first four chapters cover Part 1 of this book. Part 2 looks at actual nanotechnology products—in effect, defining nanotechnology ostensively. It is divided into four chapters, the first one giving an overview of the entire market, followed by chapters dealing with, respectively, information technology and healthcare, which are the biggest sectors with strong nanotechnology associations; all other applications, including coatings of various kinds, composite materials, energy, agriculture, and so forth, are collected in another chapter.

Part 3 deals with more specifically commercial, especially financial, aspects and comprises three chapters. The first two are devoted to business models for nanotechnology enterprises. Particular emphasis is placed on the spin-off company, and the role of government in promoting nanotechnology is discussed in some detail. The third chapter deals with special problems of designing nanoproducts.

The final part of the book takes a look toward the future, beginning with Productive Nanosystems; that is, what may happen when molecular manufacturing plays a significant role in industrial production. The implications of this future state are so profoundly different from what we have been used to during the past few centuries that it is worth discussing, even though its advent must be considered a possibility rather than a certainty. There is also discussion about the likelihood of bottom-up nanofacture (self-assembly) becoming established as an industrial method. The penultimate chapter asks how nanotechnology can contribute to the grand challenges currently facing humanity. It is perhaps unfortunate that insofar as failure to solve these challenges looks as though it will jeopardize the very survival of humanity, they must be considered as threats rather than opportunities, with the corollary that if nanotechnology cannot contribute to solving these problems, then humanity cannot afford the luxury of diverting resources into it. The final chapter is devoted to ethical issues. Whether or not one accepts the existence of a special branch of ethics that may be called “nanoethics”, undoubtedly nanotechnology raises a host of issues affecting the lives of every one of us, both individually and collectively, and which cannot be ignored by even the most dispassionate businessperson.

In summary, this book tries to take as complete an overview as possible, not only of the technology itself, but also of its commercial and social context. This view is commensurate with the all-pervasiveness of nanotechnology, and hopefully brings the reader some way toward answering the three questions: What can I know about nanotechnology? What should I do with nanotechnology (how should I deal with it)? What can I hope for from nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology has been and still is associated with a fair share of hyperbole, which sometimes attracts criticism, especially from sober open-minded scientists. But is this hyperbole any different from the exuberance with which Isambard Brunel presented his new Great Western Railway as the first link in a route from London to New York, or Sir Edward Watkin his new Great Central Railway as a route from Manchester to Paris? Moreover, apart from the technology, the nanoviewpoint is also an advance in the way of looking at the world; it is a worthy successor to the previous advances of knowledge that have taken place over the past millennium. And especially now, when humanity is facing exceptional threats, an exceptional viewpoint coupled with an exceptional technology might offer the only practical hope for survival.

I should like to especially record my thanks to the members of my research group at Cranfield University, with whom our weekly discussions about these issues helped to hone my ideas, my colleagues at Cranfield for many stimulating exchanges about nanotechnology, and to Dr Graham Holt for his invaluable help in hunting out commercial data. It is also a pleasure to thank Enza Giaracuni for having prepared the drawings.

January 2009