"Complement to the nano exhibit mounted at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from Dec. 14, 2003 to Sept. 1, 2004"--Page [7]
Includes bibliographical references (pages 212-253)
Acknowledgements; Preface; Connecting the Quantum Dots: Nanotechscience and Culture; The Invisible Imaginar y: Museum Spaces, Hybrid Reality and Nanotechnology; Working Boundaries on the nano Exhibition; Nanotechnology in the Age of Posthuman Engineering: Science Fiction as Science; Less is More: Much Less is Much More: The Insistent Allure of Nanotechnology Narratives in Science Fiction Literature; Future Present: Nanotechnology and the scene of risk; Dust, Lust and Other Messages from the Quantum Wonderland
Nano denotes a billionth; a nanometer is a billionth of a meter. New instrumentation and techniques have for the first time made possible materials research and engineering at this level, the scale of individual molecules and atoms. Extraordinary visions of material abundance, unprecedented materials, and powerful engineering capabilities have marked the arrival of nanotechnology, as well as dystopian scenarios of self-replicating devices running amok and causing global catastrophe. Largely a future possibility rather than present actuality, nanotechnology has become a potent cultural signifie