Nanotechnology is getting big. It is already a driving force in diverse fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and information sciences. Developments coming out of research labs this year will lead to breakthrough new products in medicine, communications, computing, and material sciences sometime in the next two decades. Its impact on our lives over the next fifty years could rival the combined effects of electricity, the internal combustion engine, and the computer over the last century. As with any new technology, nanotechnology raises some safety concerns. However, its overall effects will be strongly beneficial to all sectors of society.