Question: if scientists stretched out the nano wires to make them bigger would they still be called nano wires?

Eleanor Holmes answered on 12 Nov 2013:

Do you mean if they stretched them in all directions or just along their length?

A nano-wire is considered a nanowire no matter how long it is so long as it’s diameter is less than about 100 nanometers. It could be a mile long and still be nano if it is thin enough.

If any of an object’s dimensions are less than 100 nanometers it is considered to have less dimensions than if it was thicker. i.e. A sheet of material with thinner than 100 nm is considered 2 dimensional. A wire with width and depth of less than 100 nm is considered 1 dimensional and a particle with width, depth and height of less than 100 nm is considered to be zero dimensional. This is mostly to help with the maths we use to describe these things, but it’s strange to think about.