nano-, prefix
(ˈnænəʊ-, ˈneɪnəʊ-, ˈnɑːnəʊ-)
[f. L. nan-us, Gr. νᾶν-ος dwarf + -o.]
Prefixed to the names of units to form the names of units 109 times smaller, i.e. one thousand-millionth part of them (symbol n), as nanoamp(ere, nano-farad, nano-gramme, nano-henry [henry3], nano-litre nano-metre, nano-mole [mole n.7] (hence nano-molar adj.), nano-volt, nano-watt; ˈnanoequivalent, one thousand-millionth of a gramme-equivalent. Also nanosecond.
| 1947 Compt. Rend. de la 14me Conf. (Union Internat. de Chimie) 115 The following prefixes to abbreviations for the names of units should be used to indicate the specified multiples or sub-multiples of these units:..n nano- 10-9 ×. 1952 Wireless World May 187/2 The prefixes ‘pico’ and ‘nano’ became popular in this country fifteen or twenty years ago, mostly through the technical publications of Philips and others, with ‘pico’ as favourite. |
| 1973 Nature 23 Nov. 190/3 The transient currents generated are small (of the order of a few nanoamps) and flow for a very short time (of the order of 10 nanoseconds). |
| 1962 Flight Internat. LXXXII. 634/2 Designers are talking in terms of nanoAmperes. |
| 1967 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 146 Accuracy and precision [of coulometric analysis]..range from a few hundredths of a per cent at the hundred microequivalent level..to approximately 10% at the five nanoequivalent level. |
| 1951 Wireless World Nov. 458/1 This is undesirable..if another metric value, the nF (nano-farad) could be accepted for one-milliardth of a farad... Originally introduced—so far as I know—in Germany and also used in other Continental countries before the war, this nano abbreviation is now, in the Indonesian PTT, as normal as km for length of wire. |
| 1951 Nature 8 Dec. 1008/2 Most microanalytical needs are satisfied by the subunits milligram and microgram. This sequence has now been extended by the nanogram (ng = 10-9 g) and picogram (pg = 10-12 g). 1964 W. G. Smith Allergy & Tissue Metabolism vii. 76 In man, 108 platelets contain 60 nanograms (0·06 mg.) of serotonin. 1975 Nature 11 Sept. 141/2 Nanogram quantities of DNP-d-GL induced anti-DNP antibody formation, while larger amounts prevented responses to DNP-conjugates, as previously reported. 1975 Williams & Wilson Biologist's Guide to Princ. & Techniques Pract. Biochem. i. 16 Response of isolated organs to nanogramme quantities of active substances has been obtained by this technique. |
| 1968 New Scientist 29 Feb. 484/1 The capacitors..are 28 microfarads, 5 nanohenries, 2 milliohms. |
| 1974 Nature 26 Apr. 774/2 The use of injection experiments..demands careful quantitative control over the injection of nanolitre volumes of material. |
| 1963 Calibration & Test Services (Nat. Bureau of Standards Misc. Publ. 250) 41 Transmittances of these disks at wavelengths from 365 to 390 nm (nanometer, 10-9 meter)..will also be determined on request. 1970 Sci. Jrnl. Feb. 49/3 Usually points closer than one nanometre (10-9m) can be separated with the electron microscope. 1971 Sci. Amer. Sept. 89/2 Blue light at a wavelength of 450 nanometers (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter). |
| 1969 Nature 18 Oct. 221/1 They are of such high biological potency that nanomolar concentrations can produce well-marked effects. |
| 1968 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 387/2 Conduction is blocked in isolated, desheathed frog sciatic nerves by a solution [of tetrodotoxin] containing about 3 nanomoles per liter. 1971 Sci. Amer. Sept. 98/2 Plants will increase photosynthesis with increasing concentration of carbon dioxide to at least three times the normal concentration of 12·5 nanomoles per cubic centimeter (·03 percent by volume). |
| 1968 New Scientist 22 Aug. 391/1 The other problem is how to take just a few microvolts from the national standard of one volt, and to infer its correctness to a few parts of a nanovolt (10-9V). |
| 1968 Sci. Amer. Mar. 17 (Advt.), The new COS/MOS units..operate on nanowatts of power in the quiescent state. |
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nanomaterial n. Materials Sci. a material that has particles or constituents which are of nanoscale dimensions or is produced by nanotechnology.
| 1989 Res. Opportunities for Materials with Ultrafine Microstruct. (National Res. Council) p. xiii, Table 1... Properties of *nano materials compared with their crystalline counterparts. 1994 Science 23 Dec. 1961/1 A relatively new method for preparing nanomaterials..is reviewed. This method entails synthesis of the desired material within the pores of a nanoporous membrane. 2004 Hartford (Connecticut) Mag. Feb. 54/2 Nanomaterials for thermal sprayed coatings, magnetics, catalysts and biosensors. |
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nanoscopic adj. having or involving dimensions in the range 1 to 100 nanometres, nanoscale.
| 1989 Biochimie 71 19/2 LB [= Langmuir–Blodgett] films..have a *nanoscopic thickness. 1995 Sci. Amer. May 62/1 Donald A. Tomalia is..director of nanoscopic chemistry and architecture at the Michigan Molecular Institute. 2003 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 10 May 5 This ‘hydrophobic’ glass treatment..claims to cover the nanoscopic cracks on the surface of glass to allow water droplets to disperse much faster. |