India, July 23 -- The world has long looked at nanotechnology with scepticism. This is because the field involves manipulating matter at the atomic level to create entirely new materials or products.

In the International System of Units, nano refers to one billionth of a metre. For context, a human hair strand is about 80K-1 Lakh nanometres wide, and nanotechnology operates at sizes lower than 100 nanometers.

However, as mind-boggling as it sounds, the potential of nanotechnology is massive - from transforming medical treatments and electronics (batteries, semiconductor chips, or even rockets) to revolutionising energy production and advancing environmental sustainability.

More than a decade ago, when scepticism regarding this technolo...