Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Reviews of Modern Physics
Publication Date
Page Number
1889
Volume
82
Abstract
Our understanding of the “long range” electrodynamic, electrostatic, and polar interactions that
dominate the organization of small objects at separations beyond an interatomic bond length is
reviewed. From this basic-forces perspective, a large number of systems are described from which one
can learn about these organizing forces and how to modulate them. The many practical systems that
harness these nanoscale forces are then surveyed. The survey reveals not only the promise of new
devices and materials, but also the possibility of designing them more effectively.
