Nanotechnology Applications and Markets

By Lawrence Gasman

Book Overview

An introduction to nanotechnology, emphasizing emerging markets for nan-enabled products in semiconductors/computing, energy, and medical/biotech applications. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596930063
• ISBN13: 9781596930063
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Artech House Publishers
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The Best Book for Executives New to Nanotechnology

Having been in the nanotechnology field for six years, I have seen many books on nanotechnology. This is the best one I have seen for business executives and other decision makers that are new to the field and trying to understand where the opportunities are for their organizations. The book is well-structured, and written in an erudite, accessible and engaging style. Unlike many books on the subject, Gasman provides specific guidance on the applications that are most likely to pay off in the near and medium term, and which are not. While not exhaustive, it provides a good overview of the most fertile opportunities. The summaries of the "takeaways" from each chapter, and the ample reference to further reading are particularly useful for the busy reader. These will help the neophyte to locate the gems as they wade through the huge amount information on nanotech, much of which is quite mediocre. Unlike many authors who provide a superficial and shallow treatment of the subject, Gasman's experience as a high-quality, disciplined and thorough market analyst comes through in this book. If I have one primary complaint about the book, it is that there are a few important elements of the nanotech field that are missing. For example, his summary of nanotechnology tools does not make any reference to electron microscopes and focused ion beam devices, which are key to imaging and manipulation at the nanoscale. These omissions are more than balanced by the overall quality of the book. I recommend it highly.

wide scope, but necessarily somewhat introductory

The strength of this book lies in its broad scope. Gasman provides an up to date survey of nanotech's prospects in a wide range of applications. From semiconductors, computers, communication to the currently very hot energy field. Other topics include medicine and pharmaceuticals. For semiconductors, I see the nano prospects as just hype, for the near future. Semiconductor research and fabs are already at or near the so-called nanoscales. Current linewidths of circuits are reaching below 100 nm. Sure, new and very different production methods are being devised, to get around various limits in current technology. Call these nanotech if the trends continue, perhaps. But it's just a change in label. The very breadth of the book's scope also means that it is unable to enter any given topic to any depth. Of necessity, the book then functions as an alertness indicator, if you will. Then, for a topic germane to your interests, you might follow the references cited for a more indepth exposition.

Well structured, broad scope introduction to nanotech markets

This book offers a broad overview of nanotech markets. It is structured around major markets where nanotech is likely to have an impact (energy, healthcare, IT). The author's background as a high tech market researcher is evident: while the book is hopeful, it's informed by experience with hype in other industries (disclosure: I was a contractor for the author's telecom market research company in the 1990s). There is ample discussion of different scenarios and their relative probability, and effective summaries at the beginning and end of most sections, which make it very easy to scan at different levels of detail. The book also includes a method for assessing the likely impact of nanotech on the reader's company and industry; for people in the planning sections of large organizations, this section is reason enough to buy the book. The weakness of the book is related to its strength: most of the discussion is necessarily introductory. That said, the book is rich with pointers to other resources, and though the focus is on business, aside on societal, legal, cultural, and other implications included throughout.

Cost

At $79 for a 242 page book, don't bother with nanotechnology. Invest in the guys marketing this book.

Gasman NanoBook Important Contribution to the Literature and History of Nano

As author of the first book on successful investing in nanotechnology, Nanotech Fortunes: Make Yours in the Boom; Winning Strategies, I can say that Nanomarkets.net's Lawrence Gasman has produced an exceptional contribution to the literature of nanotech, Nanotechnology: Applications and Markets. Everyone interested in exactly how nanotech is going to impact products, markets, industries and businesses must study this concise and worthwhile read. Gasman's intuitions, opinions and arguments are not only right on target but they are informed by a lively intelligence and decades of real-life experience and deeply thought analysis. Whether you are in the business or just looking to invest with a real understanding of what you're doing, you are going to love this book and thank the author as well. Lawrence has decades of experience analyzing the impact of, commercialization processes and "productization" of new technologies, and he is one of the most down-to-earth reporters on the goings on in real world manufacturing and basic industrial demands, as well as the far-out world of nanotechnology. The book's real value lays in chapters on nanotech's likely and UNLIKELY impacts on industries as diverse as semiconductors, medical, computing, pharmaceuticals, communications, alternative energy, pollution control and advanced materials. From there, Lawrence leads executives (and investors) on an examination of specific industry-related opportunities and then the step-by-step tools on exactly how to conduct a nanotech audit in any particular company. His strategy will help businesses, large and small, identify both commercial opportunities and threats stemming from advances in nanotechnology. If there is any "weakness" to the book some might argue that it is too short. At only 200 pages perhaps several chapters and discussions could have been expanded and more time could have been spent debunking ideas and processes, current in the nano-community, that have little or no commercial future. That said, Gasman covers all the important topics, markets and applications. I feel that scientists and engineers can also benefit from Nanotechnology: Applications and Markets simply because it orients any reader to a perspective where solutions to problems and products that are needed or useful become the key areas of interest. Clearly, a fruitful place for engineers to start . . . I think one that more and more scientists will find a beneficial focus. All and all, along with Nanotech Fortunes, of course, this is one of the few books related to nano, that belongs on everyone's shelf.