On Guidebooks, Lists and Nanotechnology: Fritz Allhoff, Patrick Lin and Daniel Moore, What is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter? Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 293 pp,£22.99

摘要

Much like an exotic city, a computer programme or an artistic exhibition, new technologies often require guidebooks. This is particularly the case for nanotechnology, a multifaceted and diverse research programme characterised by canonical origin stories, seemingly limitless claims about its potential to transform everything from sunscreen to space travel, the nascent ingredients for a public risk controversy and state-level coordination of research funding and support measures. If ever anyone was in any doubt, What is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter? confirms that nanotechnology has arrived.