Nanotechnology Now

• Nearly free consumer products
• PC's billions of times faster then today
• Safe and affordable space travel
• Virtual end to illness, aging, death
• No more pollution and automatic cleanup of existing pollution
• End of famine and starvation
• Superior education for every child on Earth
• Reintroduction of many extinct plants and animals
• Terraforming Earth and the Solar System

With order-of-magnitude performance improvements that are predicted for materials and devices, molecular manufacturing is now receiving attention at the highest level of government in the United States (and elements of it have been a national priority in Japan for over 10 years). Although determining the exact timing of the "assembler breakthrough" remains a speculative exercise, corporations can adopt strategies to avoid being blindsided by nanotechnology development (as were pharmaceutical companies by biotechnology). Industry can cooperate with governmental institutions, educational institutions, professional societies and standards organizations to (a) focus research priorities appropriately, (b) insure the adequate training of scientists, engineers, and technologists, (c) address public safety and environmental concerns, and (d) address national security concerns. Policy formulation will be an ongoing challenge, although new tools can improve the process of critical discussion and debate. —David Forrest Sept 2000

"Within a few decades, healthcare will be revolutionized by combining nanotechnology with biotechnology to produce ingestable systems that will be harmlessly flushed from the body if the patient is healthy but will notify a physician of the type and location of diseased cells and organs if there are problems. Nanometer-scale traps will be constructed that will be able to remove pollutants from the environment and deactivate chemical warfare agents. Computers with the capabilities of current workstations will be the size of a grain of sand and will be able to operate for decades with the equivalent of a single wristwatch battery. Robotic spacecraft that weigh only a few pounds will be sent out to explore the solar system, and perhaps even the nearest stars. The total societal impact of nanotechnology is expected to be greater than the combined influences that the silicon integrated circuit, medical imaging, computer-aided engineering, and man-made polymers have had in this (past) century." What is Nanotechnology? LANL

In the not-too-distant future, computation will become a property of matter. Materials will be engineered on the nanometer scale, i.e., the molecular scale, to incorporate computation along with their other desirable structural properties. Computers might be incorporated in next-generation nanostructured materials in much the same way color is incorporated in the materials with which we now make clothing, appliances, motor vehicles, and aircraft. Toward Molecular-Scale Computers, Computation as a Property of Matter, and Matter as Software By James Ellenbogen, January 2002.

"In the nearer term, many businesses will see the impact of nanotechnology. Among the industries not explored here and likely to be impacted in the not-too-distant future include:

* battery-scale energy storage - nanostructured fuel cells
* textiles - novel fibers and fabrics
* defense and security - surveillance, explosive detection and communications
* medical research - scaled down gene and protein array-based diagnostics

As with previous disruptive core technologies, such as gasoline engines, integrated circuits, and cellular radio, two key questions will remain.

Which companies will adopt and grow with this new field and which will be out-competed by new players?

Far from being a dream, nanotechnology will materially impact many of our economies largest markets during the next 10 years, and will be a common thread in many of the emerging businesses during this time. While medicine will lag other industries due to the multi-year average time for new medical technologies to emerge from clinical trials, it may be the most profoundly impacted within the next two decades." —Dr. Andrew Mutz, Managing Director Codesta. From: Nanotechnology Part Two: Markets

The Nanohouse
"Imagine windows that clean themselves. Or bathroom tiles that will not, and cannot, build up soap scum. Imagine piping sunlight around the house like water, or rolling on paint that can change colour whenever you want it to. Perhaps best of all, consider receiving a quarterly cheque from the electricity company because your house is producing more power than it is consuming." Read the Home Smart Home article.

Brave New Nanoworld
Aircraft wings made of lightweight, high-strength carbon nanotubes only a few billionths of a meter in diameter. Magnetic storage disks that could hold 100,000 times more data than current disks. These are some possible applications of new nanoscience research now being conducted at ORNL.

Click to buy

Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms by Wil McCarthy.

"Savvy technology watchers swear that programmable atoms are the Next Big Thing. According to Wired contributing editor Wil McCarthy, this technological revolution will thoroughly transform life. Listen to his prognostications: "The flick of a switch; a wall becomes a window becomes a hologram generator. Any chair becomes a hypercomputer, any rooftop a power or waste treatment plant. We scarcely notice; programmable matters prevades our homes, our workplaces, our vehicles and environments." McCarthy blends lucid nuts-and-bolts explanations of "quantum dots" and other developing technologies with healthy doses of "You ain't seen nothin' yet" descriptions of speculative applications. A fascinating book for any reader intrigued by new technologies."

Programmable Matter: A Retrospective PDF. Will McCarthy - Oct 2000. "The flick of a switch: a wall becomes a window becomes a hologram generator. Any chair becomes a hypercomputer, any rooftop a power or waste treatment plant." FAQ: Quantum Dots and Programmable Matter Version 2.1 / 25 February 2003. Ultimate Alchemy Oct 2001.

See also Quantum dots, programmable matter, and wellstone An interview with Wil McCarthy. June 19, 2003

Nanomedicine Articles By Robert A. Freitas Jr.:

• Clottocytes: Artificial Mechanical Platelets
• Microbivores: Artificial Mechanical Phagocytes
• Volumetric Cellular Intrusiveness of Medical Nanorobots
• Robots in the bloodstream: the promise of nanomedicine IMM Reports & KurzweilAI April 2002
  
• Vasculoid: A Personal Nanomedical Appliance to Replace Human Blood Robert A. Freitas Jr. & Christopher J. Phoenix. April 2002.
• Respirocytes: Artificial Nanomedical Erythrocyte Based on an article originally written by Robert A. Freitas Jr. in 2001. Published on KurzweilAI.net 5/20/2002
  Animation of a respirocyte 6MB/Qicktime5. From Phlesch Bubble Prods.

"Nanotechnology, the ability to inexpensively arrange atoms in most of the patterns permitted by physical law – often called the manufacturing technology of the 21st century – is expected to revolutionize essentially all manufactured products, from computers to medical instruments to solar cells to batteries to planes and rockets. " —Ralph C. Merkle

"It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be." —Isaac Asimov

"We will ultimately have the opportunity to combine the rich, diverse, and flexible powers of human intelligence with the knowledge-sharing, speed, and capacity of machine intelligence. What form will this take? The answer is many different forms. One mode will be fully nonbiological entities with human-like qualities. The more interesting prospect will be expanding our own thinking through intimate connection with machine intelligence. "

"Although I believe the risks are real, I believe that maintaining a free and open society is our best route to developing effective countermeasures. Serious attempts to relinquish broad areas of knowledge will only drive them underground where the less responsible practitioners (i.e., the terrorists) will have all the expertise." —Ray Kurzweil. November 14, 2001. Fortune Article

Applications of Nanotechnology to Aerospace Materials

"Clearly, there would be significant advantages to having materials that are 100 times stronger than we have now. Objects made from these materials could be up to 100 times lighter, using 100 times less of the same substance. By substituting diamondoid composite material this factor could be increased to about 250. As a result, ultralight cars, trucks, trains, aircraft, and spacecraft would use far less energy, especially with atomically smooth surfaces to reduce internal friction and air resistance losses."

"Space transportation costs could be reduced considerably with the products of nanotechnology. Comparing structural components made from titanium versus a diamondoid composite material, McKendree estimated that single stage to orbit transportation costs would drop (in one scenario) from $16,000/kg to $3.54/kg. Substituting diamondoid materials for aluminum, Drexler estimated that a vehicle with a gross lift-off mass of only ~3000 kg could deliver a 500 kg payload (four people with luggage) to orbit. The dry, empty mass of the vehicle would be only ~60 kg. Though the cost per flight savings would not be quite as dramatic with commercial and military aircraft, it would still be considerable." Molecular Manufacturing Development and Technology Planning. —David R. Forrest. 2001