How much do Americans know about nanotechnology in the products they buy? According to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, about as much as you could measure on a nanoscale … which is to say, a very, very little amount.

That’s part of the reason the Project on Emerging Technologies got started in the first place. Established in 2005 by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Project on Emerging Technologies says its goal is “helping business, government and the public anticipate and manage possible health and environmental implications of nanotechnology.”

So what is nanotechnology? As the project’s website puts it in its “30-second primer,” “Nanotechnology is the art and science of manipulating matter at the nanoscale (down to 1/100,000 the width of a human hair) to create new and unique materials and products.”

Matter does some pretty weird stuff when you get down to that scale. For instance, at the nanoscale, copper becomes transparent and gold becomes liquid. The unique properties of nanomaterials promise all sorts of innovations, from stronger materials for construction to cheaper ways to generate and store energy to better cures for diseases.

For now, though, most of the nanomaterial-based products on the market are cosmetics, sporting goods, food storage containers and the like. Still, there’s a lot more of them than you might think: nearly 600, according to the last update to the project’s Inventory of Nanotechnology Consumer Products. And the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is concerned that a) much of the buying public doesn’t know what they’re buying and b) if they find out about what they’re buying thanks to even a minor product scare or false alarm, consumer confidence could collapse and public support for the real potential benefits of nanotechnology could shrivel.

In a poll conducted by the project this summer, only 6 percent of Americans said they had heard “a lot” about nanotechology. And many of those who hadn’t, once given a quick briefing on potential risks and benefits, expressed concern about the technology’s safety.

“As in previous polls, the results of this survey indicate that public wants more information about nanotechnology,” said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. “Most Americans will be reluctant to use nano food and food-related products until they know enough to evaluate the merits of these products.”

And that’s where the project’s website comes in so handy: not only does it offer a regularly-updated database of nanomaterial-based consumer projects, which makes for eye-opening browsing, but it also provides lots more information about nanotechnology in the marketplace that’s hard to find anywhere else. There are articles, blogs, research updates, podcasts, links, resources and even online events. In fact, the next event — “Consumers Talk Nano” — set for Oct. 23, offers the public a chance to chat online with experts from the project, Consumers Union and other institutions.

It’s one way in which the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is hoping to take something small and turn it into something much bigger, and more meaningful, for the buying public.