The emergence of nanoscience

Abstract Nanoscience and nanotechnology have emerged as distinct scientific concepts in the final third of the 20th century, however the way that the history of this field is discussed has not settled into an accepted path. This paper discusses the many ways to approach this history, spanning science intuition, ancient technologies, mythical visions, tool development, commercial opportunities and science fictions. In the brief and accessible discussion here expanding on the different histories of nano, the paper explores some of these concepts and conclude that this is not (yet) a well posed question.