Editing Picotechnology (section)

==Applications==
Picoscience is a term used by some [[Futures studies|futurists]] to refer to structuring of matter on a true picometre scale. Picotechnology was described as involving the alteration of the structure and chemical properties of individual atoms, typically through the manipulation of energy states of electrons within an atom to produce metastable (or otherwise stabilized) states with unusual properties, producing some form of [[exotic atom]]. Analogous transformations known to exist in the real world are [[redox chemistry]], which can manipulate the [[oxidation states]] of atoms; excitation of electrons to metastable [[excited state]]s as with [[laser]]s and some forms of [[saturable absorption]]; and the manipulation of the states of excited electrons in [[Rydberg atom]]s to encode information. However, none of these processes produces the types of exotic atoms described by futurists.

Alternatively, picotechnology is used by some researchers in [[nanotechnology]] to refer to the fabrication of structures where atoms and devices are positioned with sub-nanometre accuracy. This is important where interaction with a single atom or [[molecule]] is desired, because of the strength of the interaction between two atoms which are very close. For example, the force between an atom in an [[atomic force microscope]] probe tip and an atom in a sample being studied vary [[exponential function|exponentially]] with separation distance, and is sensitive to changes in position on the order of 50 to 100 picometres (due to [[Pauli exclusion]] at short ranges and [[van der Waals force]]s at long ranges).