Travels to the Nanoworld: Miniature Machinery in Nature and Technology

Imagine a world of invisible servants, nimbly trimming unsightly hairs and whipping up a strawberry mousse while you relax on your 200th birthday. Biochemist Michael Gross takes you there with Travels to the Nanoworld, an explanation and exploration of machines so tiny and complex as to rival the powers of the mightiest magician. The lively, compelling prose introduces the subject bit by bit, sharing the secrets of physics, biochemistry, and engineering with concrete examples, then moves on to current and future research possibilities. You'll visit with scientists who are cooking eggs at room temperature, creating microscopic "buckytubes" of rolled graphite, and digging into our DNA to create the next generation of computers. Gross takes the time to explain his points carefully, but this never detracts from the narrative flow; furthermore, his attention to describing processes and personalities makes the players and even the technology come alive on the page. Whether writing about nanotech guru K. Eric Drexler's unabashed cheerleading or wise guy Richard Feynman's eerie prognostication, he makes the stories so engrossing that it's easy to forget that most of the advances in Travels to the Nanoworld are yet to come. It's a great place to visit, and if we're lucky, we'll get to live there. --Rob Lightner