Nanotechnology Information Center Nanotechnology is a catch-all phrase for materials and devices that operate at the nanoscale. In the metric system of measurement, “Nano” equals a billionth and therefore a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. References to nano materials, nanoelectronics, nano devices and nanopowders simply mean the material or activity can be measured in nanometers. To appreciate the size, a human red blood cell is over 2,000 nanometers long, virtually outside the nanoscale range!