Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea

Molecules

When atoms are brought together in a fixed structure, they form a molecule. This construction resembles the way the parts are put together in children's building sets. Though there is a small set of parts, almost anything can be built within the confines of the builder's imagination and a few basic physical limits on how the parts fit together. Nature and the nanotechnologist have 91 different atoms to play with—each is roughly spherical but different in its size and its ability to interact with and bind to other atoms. Many, many different molecules exist—millions are known and hundreds of new ones are made or discovered each year. Figure 3.1 shows several molecules with from 2 to 21 atoms. All molecules with more than 30 or so atoms ...