Nanotechnology – or, to be precise, nanotechnologies – have good cause to celebrate. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the scanning tunnelling microscope. This instrument and others like it enable us to peer into the world of atoms and molecules and thus make it accessible to us. Meanwhile, thanks to nanoeffects, numerous materials and products have been developed – and even brought to market – with new, very promising properties.

And also in this issue:

Artificial turf with upstanding qualities. --- Adapted to industry: Plasma technology for the textile industry. --- Debugging – successfully completed: “Detectives” investigate faulty electronics.