Computer simulation is now an indispensable part of present-day manufacturing. In automobile manufacturing, for example, detailed computer simulations are carried out before any kind of wind tunnel and other tests. Simulation can significantly reduce prototype numbers and the cost and time involved in development of new models.

Simulation is even more important in nanotechnology, since experiments and measurement at the nano level take a lot more time and effort, and thus cost more than similar processes in the ordinary-sized world. However, accurate simulation requires sufficient basic data on the atoms and molecules involved, as well as information on quantum effects and other aspects of physics that differ entirely from the physics of the ordinary-sized world.

Nanosimulation is still in its early stages, but with the help of 3D computer graphics, is proving useful in expressing molecular structure, crystal formation and so forth, and experiments are already underway on the development of nanomaterials based on simulations. Our knowledge of the nano world is growing daily, and it is likely that nanosimulation will also make rapid advances over the coming years.