Material Behavior on Nanometer Scales

Small particles have larger surface area compared to their bulk even when their quantity is the same. Surface area of the material is involved in chemical reactions and the small particles are more reactive than the larger ones because their surface area is larger (Misra & H, 185). Secondly, in the nanometer scale, the laws of physics shift and some effects that are not normally visible become noticeable particularly for particles with sizes of less than 20nm. One area where the behavior of the material deviates in nanometer scales is in magnetic properties. Ferromagnetic materials such as iron, cobalt and nickel are all characterized by certain behavior change below their critical sizes. At the surface, there is change in lattice constant, coordination and the symmetrical break-up of the bulk materials.