What should the average person know about science? Because science is so central to life in the 21st century, science educators and other leaders of the scientific community believe that it is essential that everyone understand the basic concepts of the most vital and far-reaching disciplines. Nanotechnology 101 does exactly that. This accessible volume provides readers - whether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay public - with the essential ideas of the new science of nanotechnology using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicted ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be more easily understood.Nanotechnology 101 provides contemporary topics about the infusion of nanotechnology in the areas of the environment, food safety, medicine and healthcare, consumer goods, agriculture, homeland security, and energy supply. With a bibliography, sidebars, and interviews with leading figures in the field, Nanotechnology 101 provides the perfect starting point for anyone wishing to understand this burgeoning science.