Mechanochemistry

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Mechanochemistry is the coupling of the mechanical and the chemical on a molecular scale includes mechanical breakage, polymer degradation under shear, cavitation-related phenomena (e.g., sonochemistry and sonoluminescence), shockwave chemistry and physics, and even the burgeoning field of molecular machines. It can be seen as an interface between chemistry and mechanical engineering.

The term mechanochemistry is also sometimes used in molecular nanotechnology as a synonym for mechanosynthesis, the hypothetical process by which molecular assemblers would operate. Also called "positional synthesis" or "positional assembly", it is a technique for forming chemical bonds by direct computer control of the position of molecules.