nano- (rus. нано-) — a prefix in the international system of units (SI metric system) that denotes the 10–9 part of an object (e.g., nanometer: 1 nm = 10–9 m).

Description

The prefix "nano-" originated in Ancient Greece (Greek ηαηοσ — midget). In Latin, nano means "small", "tiny". Lately, the prefix has frequently been used to denote something "relating to nanoscale" or "relating to nanotechnology".

At the same time, some terms beginning with "nano-" have no connection to nanotechnology (e.g., nanosecond — 10–9 sec, nanosatellite — satellite weighing below 10 kg, etc.).

Authors

  • Natalya G. Zhuravleva
  • Oleg A. Shlyakhtin