The Hindu : National : A book on "nano" themes flies off the shelves

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Sunday, Nov 27, 2005

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A book on "nano" themes flies off the shelves

Anand Parthasarathy

Guide to nanotechnology is reprinted for the third time in six months in Kerala

Bangalore: A lay person's introduction to nanotechnology — arguably the first publication in any Indian language on this cutting edge science — has become something of a best seller in its niche, vanishing from book shelves in Kerala, as fast as copies appear.

"Nano Technology: Athisookshmathalathile Sadyathayum Prayogavum" (Techniques and applications of the very small), a Malayalam language popular treatise published by DC Books (Rs. 60), treats the full gamut of nanotechnology themes: from carbon nanotubes — tomorrow's computer building blocks — to nano molecules and techniques like DNA replication. It was reprinted for the third time in six months this week.

The author is K. Anvar Sadat, who has decades of experience in computer technology, while guiding research and development efforts at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computer, the Information Kerala Mission and the Akshaya e-literacy project of the Kerala IT Mission. He is currently in charge of the Mission's e-governance initiatives. His earlier book in Malayalam "CyberScan" also went into a second edition.

Nanotechnology — the science of very small particles, less than the width of an atom — is one of the hottest technologies today. From drug researchers to chip designers, from nuclear scientists to bio-technologists, new development directions dictate that frontline research and development must be done in a new world where (very) small is beautiful. India is expected to soon become a global hot house of nano-scale research.

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