TABLE OF CONTENTS Everything we see around us is made of atoms, the tiny elemental building blocks of matter. From stone, to copper, to bronze, iron, steel, and now silicon, the major technological ages of humankind have been defined by what these atoms can do in huge aggregates, trillions upon trillions of atoms at a time, molded, shaped, and refined as macroscopic objects. Even in our vaunted microelectronics of 1999, in our highest-tech silicon computer chip the smallest feature is a mountain compared to the size of a single atom. The resultant technology of our 20th century is fantastic, but it pales when compared to what will be possible when we learn to build things at the ultimate level of control, one atom at a time. Richard E. Smalley
In this chapter, we present an introduction to the advances made in the atomic and molecular nanotechnology, ability to systematically organize and manipulate properties and behavior of matter in the atomic and molecular levels. It is argued that through nanotechnology, it has become possible to create functional devices, materials and systems on the 1 to 100 nanometer (one billionth of a meter) length scale.
The reasons why nanoscale has become so important are presented. Historical aspects of nanotechnology are introduced starting with the famous 1959 lecture by R.P. Feynman. It is suggested to name the nanometer scale the Feynman ( 
nman) scale after Feynman s great contributions to nanotechnology (1 Feynman [ ] ?10 -9 meter
