The recurrence, in research at the nanoscale, of the notion of form (geometrical, architectural, etc), and the exponential growth of the occurrence of themes linked with form, are the starting points for the analysis that this article provides of the significance of these forms and the epistemology associated with them. It is particularly interesting to construct such an epistemology for investigation at the nanoscale - where objects (crystals, biological materials etc.) are produced and manipulated, and where we play with the configurations that they acquire with the explicit purpose of studying these new classes of phenomena. The importance of the notion of form in nanoscale sciences is also reinforced by the essential place occupied by images in both experimental works and simulations. The coincidence of forms in experimental results and in simulations shows that form becomes a system of explanation, of interpretation, of verification of results and of comprehension of phenomena.
Crystal; Defect; Epistemology; Epitaxy; Form; Image; Morphology; Nanoscale; Sense; Significance; Simulation
