nanotechnology /nan'-oh-tek-no`l*-jee/ n.
A hypothetical fabrication technology in which objects are
designed and built with the individual specification and
placement of each separate atom. The first unequivocal
nanofabrication experiments took place in 1990, for example with
the deposition of individual xenon atoms on a nickel substrate to
spell the logo of a certain very large computer company.
Nanotechnology has been a hot topic in the hacker subculture ever
since the term was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his book "Engines
of Creation" (Anchor/Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-19973-2), where he
predicted that nanotechnology could give rise to replicating
assemblers, permitting an exponential growth of productivity and
personal wealth (there's an authorized transcription at http://www.foresight.org/EOC/index.html.).
See also blue goo, gray goo, nanobot.