The Nanotechnology Revolution Is Here—We Just Haven’t Noticed Yet

Before there was a “metaverse,” before there were crypto millionaires, before nearly every kid in America wanted to be an influencer, the most-hyped thing in tech was “nanotechnology.” “Nano-,” for those who could use a refresher, means “one billionth,” and nanotechnology generally refers to materials manipulated at an atomic or molecular scale.

For decades, computer scientists and physicists speculated that, any minute now, nanotechnology was going to completely reshape our lives, unleashing a wave of humanity-saving inventions. Things haven’t unfolded as they predicted but, quietly, the nanotech revolution is under way.