What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter?
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Diamondoid Mechanosynthesis Prepared for the International Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems
IMM White Paper Scanning Probe Diamondoid Mechanosynthesis Prepared for the International Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems 1 August 2007 D.R. Forrest, R. A. Freitas, N. Jacobstein One proposed pathway to atomically precise manufacturing is scanning probe diamondoid mechanosynthesis (DMS): employing scanning probe technology for positional control in combination with novel reactive tips to fabricate atomically-precise diamondoid components under positional control. This pathway has its roots in the 1986 book Engines of Creation, in which the manufacture of diamondoid parts was proposed as a long-term objective by Drexler [1], and in the 1989 demonstration by Donald Eigler at IBM that individual atoms could be manipulated by a scanning tunelling microscope [2]. The proposed DMS-based pathway would skip the intermediate enabling technologies proposed by Drexler [1a, 1b, 1c] (these begin with polymeric structures and solution-phase synthesis) and would instead move toward advanced DMS in a more direct way. Although DMS has not yet been realized experimentally, there is a strong base of experimental results and theory that indicate it can be achieved in the near term. • Scanning probe positional assembly with single atoms has been successfully demonstrated in by different research groups for Fe and CO on Ag, Si on Si, and H on Si and CNHCH3. • Theoretical treatments of tip reactions show that carbon dimers1 can be transferred to diamond surfaces with high fidelity. • A study on tip design showed that many variations on a design turn out to be suitable for accurate carbon dimer placement. Therefore, efforts can be focused on the variations of tooltips of many kinds that are easier to synthesize. -
Molecular Nanotechnology - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Molecular nanotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_manufacturing Molecular nanotechnology From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Molecular manufacturing) Part of the article series on Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is the concept of Nanotechnology topics Molecular Nanotechnology engineering functional mechanical systems at the History · Implications Applications · Organizations molecular scale.[1] An equivalent definition would be Molecular assembler Popular culture · List of topics "machines at the molecular scale designed and built Mechanosynthesis Subfields and related fields atom-by-atom". This is distinct from nanoscale Nanorobotics Nanomedicine materials. Based on Richard Feynman's vision of Molecular self-assembly Grey goo miniature factories using nanomachines to build Molecular electronics K. Eric Drexler complex products (including additional Scanning probe microscopy Engines of Creation Nanolithography nanomachines), this advanced form of See also: Nanotechnology Molecular nanotechnology [2] nanotechnology (or molecular manufacturing ) Nanomaterials would make use of positionally-controlled Nanomaterials · Fullerene mechanosynthesis guided by molecular machine systems. MNT would involve combining Carbon nanotubes physical principles demonstrated by chemistry, other nanotechnologies, and the molecular Nanotube membranes machinery Fullerene chemistry Applications · Popular culture Timeline · Carbon allotropes Nanoparticles · Quantum dots Colloidal gold · Colloidal -
Green Goo: Nanobiotechnology Comes Alive!
Communiqué January/February 2003 Issue # 77 Green Goo: Nanobiotechnology Comes Alive! Issue: If the word registers in the public consciousness at all, "nanotechnology" conjures up visions of itty- bitty mechanical robots building BMWs, burgers or brick walls. For a few, nanotech inspires fear that invisible nanobots will go haywire and multiply uncontrollably until they suffocate the planet – a scenario known as "Gray Goo." Still others, recalling Orwell’s 1984, see nanotech as the path to Big Brother’s military-industrial dominance, a kind of “gray governance.” Gray Goo or gray governance – both are plausible outcomes of nanotechnology – the manipulation of matter at the scale of the nanometer (one billionth of a meter) – but possibly diversionary images of our techno-future. The first and greatest impact of nano-scale technologies may come with the merger of nanotech and biotech – a newly recognized discipline called nanobiotechnology. While Gray Goo has grabbed the headlines, self- replicating nanobots are not yet possible. The more likely future scenario is that the merger of living and non- living matter will result in hybrid organisms and products that end up behaving in unpredictable and uncontrollable ways – get ready for “Green Goo!” Impact: Roughly one-fifth (21%) of nanotech businesses in the USA are currently focusing on nanobiotechnology for the development of pharmaceutical products, drug delivery systems and other healthcare-related products.1 The US National Science Foundation predicts that the market for nano-scale products will reach $1 trillion per annum by 2015. As with biotech before it, nanotech is also expected to have a major impact on food and agriculture. -
Some Limits to Global Ecophagy by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, With
make no preparation. We have trouble enough controlling viruses and Some Limits to Global Ecophagy fruit flies. by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, with Among the cognoscenti of nanotechnology, this threat has become known as the "gray goo problem." Though masses of uncontrolled Public Policy Recommendations replicators need not be gray or gooey, the term "gray goo" emphasizes that replicators able to obliterate life might be less inspiring than a single species of crabgrass. They might be superior in an evolutionary Robert A. Freitas Jr. sense, but this need not make them valuable. Research Scientist, Zyvex LLC , 1321 North Plano Road, The gray goo threat makes one thing perfectly clear: We cannot afford Richardson, TX 75081 © April 2000 Robert A. Freitas Jr. certain kinds of accidents with replicating assemblers. http://www.foresight.org/nano/Ecophagy.html Gray goo would surely be a depressing ending to our human adventure on Earth, far worse than mere fire or ice, and one that could Abstract stem from a simple laboratory accident. The maximum rate of global ecophagy by biovorous self- Lederberg [ 3] notes that the microbial world is evolving at a replicating nanorobots is fundamentally restricted by the fast pace, and suggests that our survival may depend upon replicative strategy employed; by the maximum dispersal embracing a "more microbial point of view." The emergence velocity of mobile replicators; by operational energy and of new infectious agents such as HIV and Ebola demonstrates chemical element requirements; by the homeostatic resistance that we have as yet little knowledge of how natural or of biological ecologies to ecophagy; by ecophagic thermal technological disruptions to the environment might trigger pollution limits (ETPL); and most importantly by our mutations in known organisms or unknown extant organisms determination and readiness to stop them. -
Observer Technology
TECHNoLoGYOBSERVER The science and technology magazine created and Issue 2009-2010 Volume 01 published by students of Albert Dorman Honors College of New Jersey Institute of Technology. OBSERVING THE PRESENT, WITH AN EYE oN THE FUTURE. OBSERVING THE PRESENT, WITH AN EYE oN THE FUTURE. o OBSERVING THE PRESENT, WITH AN EYE oN THE FUTURE. OBSERVING THE PRESENT, WITH AN EYE oN THE FUTURE. TECHNoLoGY OBSERVER Editor-in-Chief Fatima Elgammal, ‘10 Managing Editor Matthew P. Deek, ‘11 Design Managers Fatima Elgammal, ‘10 Horane O. Henry, ‘10 Photo Editor Andrew “Twig” Harrison, ‘12 Copy Editor Andrew J. Helbers, ‘12 Writers Wasseem Abugosh, ‘10 Peter Besada, ‘12 FF :: Matthew P. Deek, ‘11 Fatima Elgammal, ‘10 Bishoy R. Hanna, ‘12 Bushra Hossain, ‘11 Sheba S. Khan, ‘10 Mohammad Nawaz, ‘11 David M. Thompson, ‘12 Layout Staff Hussam S. Eltoukhy, ‘11 Sta Muhammad Hoque, ‘10 Ashley M. Martins, ‘13 Mohammad Nawaz, ‘11 Shadia Saleh, ‘12 Photo Editing :: Basim S. El-Toukhy, ‘12 Christopher Fowler, ‘13 Adam Gomori, ‘13 Nathan J. Harmes, ‘12 Contact Us Technology Observer Albert Dorman Honors College Advisor New Jersey Institute of Technology University Heights Dr. Paul J. Dine Newark, NJ 07102 Assistant Dean of Student Programs The Technology Observer is a publication of Albert Dorman Honors College at NJIT, New Jersey’s Science & Technology University. Albert Dorman Honors College Visit Us at honors.njit.edu/news/technologyobserver 03 Message from the Editor 04 About NJIT and Albert Dorman Honors College 05 Message from the Dean 06 Climbing to the Stars Written by :: Mohammad Nawaz Exploration of space has continued to be a lucrative trove of knowledge and, in the near future, we will not need rockets to get to space 08 Nanotechnology in Medicine: The Next Big Thing is Small Written by :: Matthew P. -
Nanotechnology and Regulatory Policy: Three Futures
Harvard Journal of Law & Technology Volume 17, Number 1 Fall 2003 NANOTECHNOLOGY AND REGULATORY POLICY: THREE FUTURES Glenn Harlan Reynolds* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................180 II. A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO NANOTECHNOLOGY ............................181 A. How Nanotechnology Works....................................................181 B. What Nanotechnology Can Do.................................................185 III. REGULATORY RESPONSES ..........................................................187 A. “Relinquishment” and Prohibition ..........................................188 1. The Case for Prohibition: Children of Our Minds.................188 2. Problems with Turning a Blind Eye ......................................190 B. Restriction to the Military Sphere ............................................193 1. The Case for “Painting It Black”...........................................193 2. Problems with Military Classification...................................194 C. Modest Regulation and Robust Civilian Research...................197 1. Early Biotechnology Regulation ...........................................198 2. Evaluating the Biotechnology Model....................................199 IV. LESSONS FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY .............................................200 A. Research...................................................................................201 B. Beyond the Lab.........................................................................202 -
Nanotechnology K
• Table of Contents • cen-chemjobs.org • Today's Headlines December 1, 2003 • Cover Story Volume 81, Number 48 CENEAR 81 48 pp. 37-42 • Editor's Page ISSN 0009-2347 Search • Business Advanced • Government & Policy Options • Science & Technology Related People • ACS News • Calendars NANOTECHNOLOGY K. Eric Drexler • Books Drexler and Smalley make the case for and against Richard E. Smalley • Career & Employment 'molecular assemblers' • Special Reports Related Books • Nanotechnology RUDY BAUM Engines of Creation: • What's That Stuff? The Coming Era of Nanotechnology by K. Back Issues Eric Drexler 2003 Go! Prey by Michael Crichton Safety Letters Chemcyclopedia Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and ACS Members can sign up to Computation by K. Eric receive C&EN e-mail Drexler newsletter. E-mail this article to a friend Print this article PHOTO BY RUDY BAUM PHOTO BY LINDA CICERO E-mail the OPEN DEBATE Rice University's Smalley (left) takes editor issue with mechanosynthesis and molecular manufacturing Join ACS as set forth by Foresight Institute's Drexler. In this C&EN exclusive "Point-Counterpoint," two of nanotechnology's biggest advocates square off on a fundamental question that will dramatically affect the future development of this field. Are "molecular assemblers"-- devices capable of positioning atoms and molecules for precisely defined reactions in almost any environment-- physically possible? In his landmark 1986 book, "Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology," K. Eric Drexler envisioned a world utterly transformed by such assemblers. They would be able to build anything with absolute precision and no pollution. They would confer something approaching immortality. They would enable the colonization of the solar system. -
Large-Product General -Purpose Design and Manufacturing Using Nanoscale Modules
Final Report Large-Product General -Purpose Design and Manufacturing Using Nanoscale Modules NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts CP-04-01 Phase I Advanced Aeronautical/Space Concept Studies PriPrnicincpialpa Iln Ivnevstesigtiagtaotor:r :C hCrihsr iPs hoPheoneinxi x CoC-Ion-Ivnevstesigtiagtaor:tor :Ti Thaihmeamre Tor Tthot-Fh-Feejjelel MaMayy 2 2, ,2 2000055 1 Cover page: The computer-controlled NIAC desktop nanofactory (top figure) uses nanoscale machinery (lower right) to manufacture a molecularly precise 3-D product—a high performance water filter—out of nanoblocks made using bottom-up techniques, in this case synthesized from 2-layer silsesquioxane deriviatives (lower left). The authors wish to thank Eric Drexler, Jeffrey Soreff, and Robert Freitas for helpful comments on portions of this document. 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents.............................................................................................. 3 Summary........................................................................................................... 5 Background 1. Incentives................................................................................................................8 1.1. Scaling laws............................................................................................... 8 1.2. Molecular Fabrication Advantages............................................................ 9 1.3. Exponential manufacturing ..................................................................... 11 1.4. Information delivery rate..........................................................................13 -
Nanotechnology in the Age of Posthuman Engineering: Science Fiction As Science
Nanotechnology in the Age of Posthuman Engineering: Science Fiction as Science Colin Milburn Harvard University Now nanotechnology had made nearly anything possible, and so the cultural role in deciding what should be done with it had become far more important than imagining what could be done with it. —Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age (1995) Long live the new flesh. —David Cronenberg’s Videodrome (1983) The Technoscapes and Dreamscapes of Nanotechnology K. Eric Drexler, pioneer and popularizer of the emerging science of nanotechnology, has summarized the ultimate goal of his field as “thorough and inexpensive control of the structure of matter.”1 Nano- technology is the practical manipulation of atoms; it is engineering conducted on the molecular scale. Many scientists involved in this ambitious program envision building nanoscopic machines, often called “assemblers” or “nanobots,” that will be used to construct ob- jects on an atom-by-atom basis. Modeled largely after biological “ma- chines” like enzymes, ribosomes, and mitochondria—even the cell — these nanomachines will have specific purposes such as binding two chemical elements together or taking certain compounds apart, and will also be designed to replicate themselves so that the speed and scale of molecular manufacturing may be increased. Several different 1. K. Eric Drexler, “Preface,” in K. Eric Drexler, Chris Peterson, and Gayle Pergamit, Un- bounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution (New York: Morrow, 1991), p. 10. Configurations, 2002, 10:261–295 © 2003 by The Johns Hopkins University Press and the Society for Literature and Science. 261 262 Configurations types of assemblers, or assemblers with multiple functions, will act together to engineer complex objects precise and reproducible down to every atomic variable. -
Self-Replicating Machine - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Self-replicating machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-replicating_machine Self-replicating machine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A self-replicating machine is an artificial construct that is capable of A simple form of machine self-replication autonomously manufacturing a copy of itself using simpler components or raw materials taken from its environment. The concept of self-replicating machines has been most notably advanced and examined by, Homer Jacobsen, Edward F. Moore, Freeman Dyson, John von Neumann and in more recent times by K. Eric Drexler in his seminal book on nanotechnology, Engines of Creation and by Robert Freitas and Ralph Merkle in their landmark review Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines[1] which provided the first comprehensive analysis of the entire replicator design space. The future development of such technology has featured as an integral part of several plans involving the mining of moons and asteroid belts for ore and other materials, the creation of lunar factories and even the construction of solar power satellites in space. The possibly misnamed von Neumann probe[2] is one theoretical example of such a machine. Von Neumann also worked on what he called the Universal Constructor, a self-replicating machine that would operate in a cellular automata environment. A self-replicating machine is, as the name suggests, an artificial self-replicating system that relies on conventional large-scale technology and automation. Certain idiosyncratic terms are occasionally found in the literature. For example, the term "clanking replicator" was once used by Drexler[3] to distinguish macroscale replicating systems from the microscopic nanorobots or "assemblers" that nanotechnology may make possible, but the term is informal and is rarely used by others in popular or technical discussions. -
The Consequences of Physical Immortality: Can Humans Cope with Radically Extended Lifespans?
ESSAY .83 The Consequences of Physical Immortality: Can Humans Cope with Radically Extended Lifespans? Bruce J. Klein Immortality Institute USA Bruce J. Klein considers himself to be a fairly aver- Yet, social resistance to change is persistent. There age homosapien, yet he believes his DNA is suicidal. In will always be some degree of resistance because of our order to overcome this problem, Klein hopes to eventu- evolutionary heritage. Our ancestors were successful ally shed his biological body for a more robust posthu- reproducers not because they took great risks. They man form. were successful on the whole because they were risk Kharin: How well are infinite lifespans matched to averse. Thus, evolution has selected for humans who finite environmental resources? Given popular resistance were somewhat resistant to change but not totally to the most basic forms of genetic modification, can we closed to opportunity. Once the benefits are made obvi- rely on science and technology to keep pace with expand- ous however, resistance turns quickly to support. ing lifespans? Remember the clamoring3 over "test tube babies"? In short, Yes. I think we can keep pace with popu- In the early 1970's, nearly all bioethicists warned against lation growth and we can steward environmental in vitro fertilization (IVF) and 80% of the American public resources successfully. Chiefly because we've already opposed test-tube babies. Today, over 100,000 babies been successful thus far. Looking forward, because of exist - 200,000 worldwide, from IVF. And now about greater fine tuning and skill at the manipulation of mat- 80% of Americans support IVF. -
Molecular Manufacturing for Clean, Low Cost Textile Production David R
Molecular Manufacturing for Clean, Low Cost Textile Production David R. Forrest, Sc.D., P.E. Naval Surface Warfare Center, West Bethesda, Maryland USA and Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, Los Altos, California USA ABSTRACT Molecular manufacturing is an emerging technology that is being developed to build large objects to atomic precision, quickly and cheaply, with virtually no defects. When it matures, it promises to be an energy efficient and environmentally benign way to make textiles and textile products. Current efforts to apply nanotechnology to textiles promise exciting innovations such as • Lightweight nanotube fibers stronger than steel • Fabrics able to sense temperature and control their breathability • Clothing able to sense injury and provided immediate delivery of medication to a wounded soldier However, molecular manufacturing will provide atomic control over the structure of a fabric, promising revolutionary changes far beyond current advances: • A garment could programmably increase or decrease its own size as needed • A fabric could change its own color and patterns on demand • The breathability of a textile could be variable and self-regulating • By integrating molecular robotic components into the material, a fabric could be made to be self-cleaning and self-repairing • A fabric could be programmed to move on its own accord, creating effects such as a flag flapping even without a breeze • Molecular fasteners could create new clothing design options for truly seamless garments. This paper summarizes recent advances in molecular manufacturing that are enabling the development of this radical new vision for the future of textile design and manufacture. 1 BACKGROUND Although the term “nanotechnology” is now used to describe a broad and diverse range of technological areas, it was originally used to describe a novel method of manufacturing first articulated by Richard Feynman: that molecular machines should be able to build substances by mechanically placing each atom into position exactly as specified [1].