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November 2001

Self-Assembly

Devices that build themselves are key to nanotech.

By Philip Ball

As researchers begin trying to build devices and novel materials at the nanoscale (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, the size of a few atoms), they're facing a massive challenge. While it's proving possible, in many cases, to push molecules around to form tiny structures and even functioning devices, efficiently mass-producing anything with nanoscale features is another matter altogether. But what if millions of these nano building blocks did the heavy lifting and assembled themselves into the desired structures-avoiding the use of expensive and elaborate manufacturing instruments?

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