Ironically, the greatest benefits are overlooked (Score 3)

nanotechnology occurs, by definition, at a very small level - so small, in fact that many of the engineering problems of the macroscopic world - thermal dynamics, friction, and internal stresses, to mention a few - disappear. In the world of atoms, every thing is perfectly round (or at least perfectly "whatevershaped"), and the process of adhesion (sticking together) or lubrication (not sticking together) is a function not of shape, but of electromagnetic and chemical properties. We first began to learn this with the development of the microchip - Silicon, a pretty worthless element in the "big" world has properties in the microscopic realm that make it more valuable than gold (or, if you prefer, more valuable than oil). Silicon, not a conductor in it's own right, can be made progressively more conductive (or more resistive) by adding specific impurities (like Boron or Galium, respectively). This isn't worth diddly in the "big" world, but beneath an electron microscope, it allows us to do things that angels barely dared to dream of :) In the same way, we are finding that certain properties that atoms and molecules have opened up engineering possibilties that were only theoretical in the past. Frictionless machines. robots that have a programmed response to a particular chemical. self-replication (robots can't build themselves, but molecules can - often with interesting results) :) End of speech.