ABSTRACT
A large part of the progress of human society is based on the development of materials. In the past metals have played a tremendous role in this respect. Progress in manufacturing techniques and the creation of new alloys have fostered advances in agriculture, transportation, warfare, cooking, etc. Various periods of rapid development in human history are identified by these advances: the age of copper, which occurred after the stone age, the bronze age, the age of iron. Today we are entering a new period corresponding to the age of nanomaterials. Creating new nanomaterials and understanding their properties will have far-reaching effects, Eiji Kobayashi, from Panasonic, says: “those who control materials control technology”. This statement is certainly true for nanomaterials and their growing sociological and economic importance should not be underestimated.
