Technological applications where contact area matters, including (a) characterization, (b) nanomanufacturing, and (c) nanodevices. (Image (a) reproduced with permission from Li et al. [18]. Copyright 2011 by American Physical Society. Image (b) reproduced with permission from Garcia et al. [10]. Copyright 2004 by American Chemical Society. Image (c) reproduced with permission from Loh and Espinosa [17]. Copyright 2012 by Nature Publishing Group)