NANO

What amazing things could be made from the very tiniest building blocks?

Physicist Wade provides an introduction to the science of new and to-be-discovered materials based on nanotechnology. “Everything is made out of something,” she begins, starting with a general, macro look at the world around us. Materials like paper, wood, metal, cotton, glass have different attributes: “light, heavy, strong, or flexible.” The way that atoms, or elements, are “mixed together” creates the attributes of the resulting material. Carbon, a “very important element” in the human body and “in every living thing,” can be found on its own as graphite, as in the soft substance in a pencil. One layer of carbon atoms makes up a new substance called graphene—“the strongest material known to human beings. If you made a tightrope out of graphene, an elephant could walk along it without breaking it.” Castrillón’s whimsical art is intriguingly paired with the subject matter, incorporating both the explanatory and speculative, using fine lines that seem delicate but are also robust—light but muscular, just like the materials Wade describes. Graphene and other nanomaterials have astonishing applications both current (lighter airplanes, self-washing windows) and potential (sieves that could make ocean water drinkable; nervelike connections that could help blind people see). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A marvelous spark for the imagination and motivation to learn more.