Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews
Nanocosm: Nanotechnology and the Big Changes Coming from the Inconceivably Small by William Illsey Atkinson AMACOM (American Management Association): New York, NY, 2003. 277 pp. + Glossary + Index ISBN 0814471811. $24.95 reviewed by Jack K. Steehler
Nanotechnology is a hot area of research, and a growing area for commercial applications. Worldwide funding for research in this area has been estimated as $5 billion for 2003. Given the newness of the field and the unfamiliarity of some aspects of the science, monographs that serve as introductions to the field are needed and appreciated. William Atkinson has written such a book, based on his experience at interpreting science and technology trends, primarily as a business consultant. According to the preface, the primary audience for the book includes venture capitalists who need to learn how to analyze this new area of technology, to avoid investment debacles such as the recent “dotcom” hype. Atkinson also seeks to write in an entertaining fashion, with a casual, approachable style rather than a linear technical presentation. He is as much interested in the personalities involved in nanotechnology and the developing businesses as he is in explaining the fundamentals of the science. The book is self-described as “a highly subjective take on an area that fascinates me: a book-length column”. That apt description defines the reader’s experience. The author provides a mix of factual material, personal commentary, and some side trips into topics of interest to the author. As is true of a newspaper column, the mix of fact and opinion demands much of the reader. The line between authoritative material
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and personal opinion is not always clear. However, both offer useful perspectives on this growing field. Unfortunately, the author is at times sufficiently opinionated to interfere with the communication of his slant on this new science and with the factual material. For example, he takes particular pleasure in trampling on some futuristic projections of K. Eric Drexler (in a section entitled “The Church of St. Drex”), a pioneer in the field of nanotechnology and the author of one of the standard monographs on nanotechnology. In addition to his sometimes judgmental style, the personal digressions in the writing make it hard to discern the factual content amidst the opinions and unrelated material. Yet the book does contain solid information describing historical developments, possible applications, and realistic limitations on those applications. It also points out that nanoscale materials and processes require a fundamentally different understanding; they are not just miniaturized macroscale materials. As one of his interviewees commented: “Below fifty nanometers or so, the individual electron can sense that it’s confined. At these scales, it stops behaving like a charged particle and starts behaving like a wave-function. … It’s unfortunate, but some people trying to design molecule-sized circuits continue to visualize electrons as little elastic billiard balls instead of as waves.” Scientists and engineers working in nanotechnology need to be open to new ways of thinking and designing. Given the tendency to over-hype any new technology, Atkinson’s commentary on the need to appreciate the wonderful new opportunities while retaining some critical caution is quite valuable. This book also contains interesting factual and historical information. Readers seeking to add a human and historical dimension to their knowledge of nanotechnology will find this book useful, as well as controversial. Jack Steehler is in the Department of Chemistry, Roanoke College, Salem, VA 24153;
[email protected] Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 80 No. 12 December 2003 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
