Abstract
One often hears the claim that nanoscale research (NSR) constitutes nothing new in science – that it is simply old science pursued under a new name in order to benefit from changes in funding policy. In effect, NSR is old wine in new bottles. This assertion is in part connected to the fact that some areas of NSR are deeply rooted in semi-conductor physics and technology and in solid state physics generally. However, much nanoscale research is unrelated to solid-state physics. We will document the existence and importance of numerous other domains in NSR linked to the birth of materials by design. Moreover, it will be shown that NSR is the product of an instrument revolution. Contrary to pronouncements that NSR is continuity under a different name, we will argue that the substance of the field arose suddenly and completely unexpectedly in the course of a single decade. A variety of science emerged that is in some respects novel, being grounded in the combinatorial of new instruments, new materials and a new logic regarding the formulation of research questions.
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Notes
- 1.
The Tyndall Effect is the scattering of light by particles in suspension in a colloidal solution.
- 2.
Interview with M. Cohen, conducted by T. Shinn, 5 Feb 2008.
- 3.
It was Japan first, in the 1990s under the auspices of the MITI, and then the United States that developed extensive, well-organized and long-term policy initiatives and activities in NSR. The term “nanotechnology” was first coined in 1974 by the Tokyo University professor Norio Taniguchi.
- 4.
For a highly useful scientometric examination of aspects of NSR, see the special issue of the journal Scientometrics, Scientometrics 7(3), 2007. For a qualitative study of some economic aspects of NSR, and of enterprise interactions, see the special issue on NSR of Research Policy 36 (6), 2007, pp. 807–904.
- 5.
In France, for example, one can reasonably conjecture that the 2003 intellectual and organizational merger and partial reorientation of four important Parisian laboratories was significantly influenced by recent pro NSR policy and by the money earmarked for specifically NSR endeavours. It resulted in the creation of the Institute de Nanoscience de Paris dealing explicitly with NSR-related themes. One could cite many instances of this kind for many countries.
- 6.
http://www.physorg.com/news197887610.html (consulted 12 July 2010)
- 7.
http://www.physorg.com/news197897133.html (consulted 12 July 2010).
- 8.
Interview conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, Paris, 18 February 2005.
- 9.
http://www.chem.ucla.edu/dept/Faculty/sweiss/ (consulted 13 July 2010).
- 10.
http://www.nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=1242&ntid=116&pg=80 (consulted 13 July 2010)
- 11.
Interview with B. Kuhlman conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, 10 June 2009.
- 12.
Interview with C. Schafmeister conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, 18 June 2009.
- 13.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/uop-pps111005.php (consulted 13 July 2010)
- 14.
Interview with H. Hellinga conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, 9 June 2009.
- 15.
Interview with J. Gimzewski conducted by T. Shinn, 22 January 2008.
- 16.
Drs. Marvin L. Cohen and Steven G. Louie of the University of California at Berkeley, Department of Physics, received the theoretical prize for their contributions to the understanding of the behavior of materials. Their models of the molecular and electronic structures of new materials predict and understand properties such as structure, surface conditions, and interactions with other materials. Many of these predictions have since been confirmed experimentally; see http://www.nanotech-now.com/Foresight-release-10152003.htm (consulted July 14, 2010).
- 17.
Interview conducted by T. Shinn, 29 January 2008.
- 18.
Interview conducted by T. Shinn, 22 January 2008.
- 19.
Interview conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, June 2009.
- 20.
Interview conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, 12 June 2008.
- 21.
Interview with D. Bensimon conducted by A. Marcovich and T. Shinn, 12 June 2008, translated from French.
- 22.
His book was based on a course of public lectures delivered under the auspices of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at Trinity College, Dublin in February 1943.
- 23.
This is freely translated from the French.
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Marcovich, A., Shinn, T. (2011). The Cognitive, Instrumental and Institutional Origins of Nanoscale Research: The Place of Biology. In: Carrier, M., Nordmann, A. (eds) Science in the Context of Application. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 274. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9051-5_14
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