Foresight FAQ General Nanotechnology Information

General Information about Nanotechnology
 
  1. What is molecular nanotechnology?
  2. How might this precise control be achieved?
  3. Why would we develop it?
  4. How will nanotechnology improve our lives?
  5. What are the risks of developing nanotechnology?
  6. What precautions can we take to ensure safe development?
  7. What progress is being made today in nanotechnology?
  8. How long will it take to develop molecular nanotechnology?
  9. I would like to have someone speak to my group (or class) about this. Where do I find speakers?
  10. Are illustrations available for public use?
  11. Where is commercial development being done?
  12. Are there jobs available at Foresight?
  13. How do I invest in nanotechnology?
  


1. What is molecular nanotechnology?

Molecular nanotechnology is the name given to a specific sort of manufacturing technology. As its name implies, molecular nanotechnology will be achieved when we are able to build things from the atom up, and we will be able to rearrange matter with atomic precision. This technology does not yet exist; but once it does, we should have a thorough and inexpensive system for controlling of the structure of matter.

Other terms, such as molecular engineering or molecular manufacturing are also often applied when describing this emerging technology.

The central thesis of nanotechnology is that almost any chemically stable structure that is not specifically disallowed by the laws of physics can in fact be built. The possibility of building things atom by atom was first introduced by Richard Feynman in 1959 when he said: "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom."

Scientists have recently gained the ability to observe and manipulate atoms directly, but this is only one small aspect of a growing array of techniques in nanoscale science and technology. The ability to make commercial products may yet be a few decades away. But theoretical and computational models indicate that molecular manufacturing systems are possible ¡X that they do not violate existing physical law. These models also give us a feel for what a molecular manufacturing system might look like. Today, scientists are devising numerous tools and techniques that will be needed to transform nanotechnology from computer models into reality. While most remain in the realm of theory, there appears to be no fundamental barrier to their development.

2. How might this precise control be achieved?

Using macro-manufacturing techniques as a guide, we know that managing fleets of nano machines is no insignificant task. To name just a few essential requirements: we need a location for storing our atom inventory; a method for delivering an atom or molecule from inventory to the manufacturing floor; machines for assembling the various parts; and a way for controlling these processes, to ensure that the right quantity of parts is in the right place at the right time. By creating systems that work together to ensure each atom is properly placed, we will be able to manufacture products of high quality and reliability.

Upon considering these issues, K. Eric Drexler proposed a device called an "assembler", which at first might be little more than a submicroscopic robotic arm. Assuming this arm can be built and is controllable, we should be able to use it to secure and position compounds in order to direct the precise location at which chemical reactions occur. This general approach should allow the construction of large, atomically precise objects by initiating a sequence of controlled chemical reactions.

In order for this to function as we wish, each assembler will require a process for receiving and executing the instruction set that will dictate its actions. We have already created a system that does just that: the computer. Integrating computer technology with nanotechnology gives us a model that will allow the kind of manufacturing proposed. In time, molecular machines might even have onboard, high speed RAM and slower but more permanent storage. They should have communications capability and power supply. In the case of the assembler, we might also develop interchangeable tips that can be placed at the ends of the assembler's arms to allow for expanded functionality.

It would take a lone assembler an eternity to build anything we might hold in our hands, as atoms are so small; and so we must think of a large network of assemblers working together to build our products. Networking machinery is something that we humans have learned how to do, and our understanding of the issues involved is becoming more sophisticated every year. If a computer network is a reasonable guide, there is a vast potential for interconnectivity among nanotechnological devices.

3. Why would we develop it?

Ignoring for the moment that scientists are a curious lot, always pushing the envelope of what can and cannot be done, precision has been mentioned as a benefit of molecular machines and is one of the keys to understanding why we would want to develop this technology.

In this application, precision means that there is a place for every atom and every atom is in its place. Schematics will be detailed, and there will be no unnecessary parts anywhere in the design. We will use machines of precision to create products of equal precision. With this precision, we should be able to recycle all of the waste products produced by the manufacturing processes and put them to good use elsewhere. Manufacturing will also become less expensive as a result.

Technology has never had this kind of precise control; all of our technologies today are bulk technologies. We take a lump of something and add or remove pieces until we're left with whatever object we were trying to create. We assemble our objects from parts, without regard to structure at the molecular level. Precise atomic-level fabrication has previously only been seen in the growth of crystals or in living biological organisms like the ribosome, which assembles all the proteins in living creatures, or DNA, which carries the instructions for creating a living being. If we incorporate similar processes during our development of nanotechnology, we will begin to gain a degree of complexity and control over systems that previously only evolution and nature have had.

Additional benefits arise when we consider the size of devices that we will be able to create. Once we are working on the atomic scale, we can create machines that will go places about which we could once only dream. More information will be packed into smaller and smaller spaces, and we will be able to do much more with much less. Nanotechnology promises unprecedented and efficient control over our environment, but taking advantage of anticipated developments requires forethought and planning. This is a primary aspect of Foresight's mission, and we continue to explore the costs and the benefits of developing nanotechnology.

4. How will nanotechnology improve our lives?

One of the first obvious benefits is the improvement in manufacturing techniques. We are taking familiar manufacturing systems and expanding them to develop precision on the atomic scale. This will give us greater understanding of the building of things, and greater flexibility in the types and quantity of things we may build. We will be able to expand our control of systems from the macro to the micro and beyond, while simultaneously reducing the cost associated with manufacturing products.

Some of the most dramatic changes are expected in the realms of medicine. Scientists envision creating machines that will be able to travel through the circulatory system, cleaning the arteries as they go; sending out troops to track down and destroy cancer cells and tumors; or repairing injured tissue at the site of the wound, even to the point of replacing missing limbs or damaged organs. The extent of medical repair systems is expected to be quite broad, with the cumulative impact being equally large.

Nanotechnology is expected to touch almost every aspect of our lives, right down to the water we drink and the air we breathe. Once we have the ability to capture, position, and change the configuration of a molecule, we should be able to create filtration systems that will scrub the toxins from the air or remove hazardous organisms from the water we drink. We should be able to begin the long process of cleaning up our environment.

Space will also open up to us in new ways. With the current cost of transporting payloads into space being so high (~$20,000/kg), little is being done to take advantage of space. Nanotechnology will help by allowing us to deliver more machines of smaller size and greater functionality into space, paving the way for solar system expansion. Some have suggested that application of medical nanotechnology might even go so far as to allow us to adapt our bodies for survival in space or on other worlds. While this is certainly a long way off, it provides a glimpse of the thorough control that nanotechnology may provide.

Taking all of this into account, it is clear that nanotechnology should improve our lives in any area that would benefit from the development of better, faster, stronger, smaller, and cheaper systems.

More information is available on these topics:

Medicine

Space Development

The Environment


5. What are the risks of developing nanotechnology?

Almost any technology can be abused, and nanotechnology will be no exception. Although nanotechnology is still in the early stages of development, Foresight has encouraged exploration of what dangers might arise if the resulting research were applied to destructive goals. We have developed several papers that explore the threats more concretely, including specific scenarios on the development of biological and chemical warfare and more:

Discussions on how to avoid the dangers of poor implementations of nanotechnology are often carried out on Foresight's discussion website Nanodot. Join us online to find out more from people actively working to develop nanotechnology.

6. What precautions can we take to ensure safe development?

While nanotechnology will facilitate control over the structure of matter, we must ask ourselves who will control nanotechnology? The chief danger may not be a devastating accident, but instead, an abuse of power. We live in a competitive world, and one that is accelerating toward the development of molecular nanotechnology.

This concern about control issues encourages us to argue against secrecy. Combating the dangers will be greatly aided if we all have access to information about progress in the laboratory. If we reduce the number of projects being developed in a military black box, we will probably increase the number of people working on nanotechnology. Having more people involved in the field will mean that we are better able to defend ourselves in an emergency. We might see increases in the number of additional projects working on medicine, manufacturing, and the environment. Openly focusing on projects that aid people should go a long way to ensure that information remains available to the public.

We must also remember that there are dangers from both accidents and deliberate misuse. Much can be done to prevent accidents through the promotion a consistent ethical system and a system of accountability for those who develop and employ new technology. Trust will remain a central issue as nanotechnology research comes closer to deployment in the commercial world.

There are those who propose that trust is in short supply and that development guidelines should take into account that there will always be subversive elements. In this case, steps can be taken to prevent the abuse of nanotechnology through the application of, say, exotic environments, whereby a machine will only operate under specific laboratory conditions; and if applied, a machine released into the "wild" would cease to function.

Irrespective of trust issues, there are also concerns that replication errors may arise. We must work toward the creation of systems that reproduce information with as few errors as possible, ideally with no errors. Some suggest that it is also a good idea to design systems to limit internal evolution.

These elements and more are discussed in the Foresight Guidelines on Molecular Nanotechnology, which were created to begin addressing the need for a coherent plan for developing nanotechnology in a safe way.

Further reading is available on the safe development of molecular nanotechnology as solutions are considered in following documents:

Most nanotechnological systems will have elements of computer technology. It would be a reasonable precaution to develop those systems so that they are internally secure. Two approaches have been suggested: the use of encryption techniques or other security measures. Information specific to security issues is available in these pages:

Given that the dangers of nanotechnology may be almost as broad as the benefits, it is Foresight's primary goal to ensure that these issues are discussed openly, so that we may develop deterrents or solutions before problems arise.

7. What progress is being made today in nanotechnology?

Scientists are working not just on the materials of the future, but also the tools that will allow us to use these ingredients to create products. Experimental work has already resulted in the production of molecular tweezers, a carbon nanotube transistor, and logic gates.

Theoretical work is progressing as well. James M. Tour of Rice University is working on the construction of a molecular computer. Researchers at Zyvex have proposed an Exponential Assembly Process that might improve the creation of assemblers and products, before they are even simulated in the lab. We have even seen researchers create an artificial muscle using nanotubes, which may have medical applications in the nearer term.

Follow progress on Nanodot or become a supporting member of the Foresight Institute and receive the quarterly Foresight Update, which always contains information on the latest developments.

8. How long will it take to develop molecular nanotechnology?

We began our discussion with physics and chemistry and continued with the capture and placement of single atoms using new devices like the scanning tunneling microscope. Shortly thereafter, researchers were able to create carbon nanotubes, which is likely to become our primary structural element in the future. Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Smalley (Rice University) discussed the advances in carbon nanotube manipulation in his 1996 address: From Balls to Tubes to Ropes: New Materials from Carbon. Recent presentations at the Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology highlight that this development continues as we gain the ability to assemble the fibers into sheets and three-dimensional lattices. Dr. Carlo Montemagno of Cornell and his team of scientists have created the first molecular motor, and this gives us an inkling of some of the atom transport systems that may arise.

Computer systems continue to advance as well, with the development of faster, smaller, and cheaper systems that have greater capacity. Assuming that security systems also see improvement, then these should be applicable to molecular machines, once they are developed. These improvements will also impact our ability to model new molecular devices, and help stabilize design parameters before the machines are actually built.

Development in nanotechnology is expected to continue at an accelerating pace, given that funding for these types of research is increasingly available. While estimates range from 15 to 50 years, there is no question that nanotechnology will arrive in the not-too-distant future. We recommend that you read Nanodot or become a supporting member of the Foresight Institute, entitling you to receive the quarterly Foresight Update, which always contains information on the latest developments.

9. I would like to have someone speak to my group (or class) about this. Where do I find speakers?

In the past, Dr. K. Eric Drexler has been a popular speaker at gatherings across the globe. Dr. Drexler is no longer doing interviews or accepting speaking engagements, choosing instead to focus on his research for a time. If this situation changes, we will let you know.

Dr. Ralph Merkle has assumed the mantle of nanotechnology's primary spokesperson, supplementing his role as a Principal Fellow at Zyvex. Dr. Merkle can provide information at all levels of technical expertise in fields related to the development of molecular nanotechnology. We encourage you to contact him at (merkle@merkle.com).

For information on molecular nanotechnology, as it applies to the fields of medicine, we suggest you visit the Nanomedicine web page for some ideas. This page lists a number of leading researchers, and you should be able to find one in your area.

If you have no specific individual or application in mind, we suggest that you post a message to either Foresight's online discussion page or to the Usenet discussion group, sci.nanotech.

10. Are illustrations available for public use?

Illustrations available on the web sites of Foresight Institute and the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing are the property of the respective organizations, but may be provided to a third party upon request. Explicit permission is required.

The commercial use of these illustrations requires the payment of a one-time fee of $200 per image, paid in advance. You are also required to list the name(s) of the individual researcher(s) whose designs you choose to feature, the sponsoring organization(s) and the organization's primary web site URL.

View the illustrations at http://www.foresight.org/NanoRev/ImageReqForm.html and establish whether the available high-resolution versions are suitable for your project. If so, submit your request via the web form.

We regret that transparencies and slides are no longer available.

If none of the currently available illustrations are adequate to your purposes, please do not hesitate to contact us with more specific information. Additional illustrations may be available, but not yet online.

11. Where is commercial development being done?

Much of the work being done in nanotechnology is taking place in universities across the globe; however, commercial companies are beginning to emerge as the time horizon for nanotechnology narrows. One of the early entries into the race to build a molecular assembler and product assembly process was the Texas-based corporation, Zyvex Corp..

The U.S. Government has also recently become interested in promoting the development of nanotechnology, and has created the half-billion dollar National Nanotechnology Initiative to meet some of the challenges. Their website includes a list of industry participants.

12. Are there jobs available at Foresight?

Foresight is not hiring at this time. You may feel free to forward your resume for our files, and we will let you know if our employment situation changes.

When we have job announcements to post, they are usually publicized widely within the Foresight community. Our Senior Associate group usually hears of them first. You may also wish to monitor our news and discussion site, Nanodot for postings. Finally, Nanospot is a website that is considering starting a nanotech job site.

13. How do I invest in nanotechnology?

Foresight does not specifically offer investment advice, though we do offer several sources of information that you may use to locate investment opportunities.

Public and private institutions involved in nanotechnology research and development often present their recent results at Foresight's annual technical conference on molecular nanotechnology. Information on the nature of conference presentations is available at http://www.foresight.org/conference, and the affiliations of each speaker and author is listed within the abstracts and papers. We can also recommend that you examine the list of corporate sponsors and exhibitors.

Additional information is available in the "Recent Progress: Steps Toward Nanotechnology" column of our quarterly publication, the Foresight Update. Electronic copies of the back issues are available on the web, and print copies may be obtained from Foresight, at a cost of $5/per issue. This publication has been tracking the industry closely since 1987.

Perhaps the best source of information on investing opportunities comes from within Foresight's Senior Associate Program. Most of our Senior Associates are quite entrepreneurial, and they share information about their efforts at our semi-annual Gatherings. The quarterly Senior Associate Letter also occasionally contains information about various ventures and advances within the community and the surrounding associations.


Introduction:

What it is and who knows about it.

1) What is nanotechnology?

The prefix "nano-" is used in the SI system of scientific units to denote "one billionth" (1nm = 10^-9 m), but has come to mean "anything much smaller than our current standard capabilities." Hence aerospace engineers speak of "nanosatellites" that mass a few kilograms -- even though that's merely one one-thousandth ("milli-") of current ton-scale satellites.
Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo science University first defined the term "nanotechnology" in 1974 (N. Taniguchi, "On the Basic Concept of 'NanoTechnology'," Proc. Intl. Conf. Prod. Eng. Tokyo, Part II, Japan Society of Precision Engineering, 1974).
Its meaning was soon diluted, however, so Eric Drexler introduced "Molecular Nanotechnology" through his book "Unbounding the Future" in 1991 to reinforce their essential molecular precision, and "Molecular Manufacturing" to portray their use in tiny assembly lines (not so different from those in Detroit, or on the surface of an intracellular membrane). To build macroscopic products like steak tartar, artificial hearts or automobiles, a great many manufacturing lines would have to pool their products, creating progressively larger subassemblies; this he called "convergent assembly." To go from a single replication-capable ur-nanomachine to the billions needed to staff those assembly lines, Ralph Merkle added the term "Exponential Manufacturing" in [[date?]]. In the scientific literature, you'll find reference to Nanoparticles, Nanolithography, Nanites, and Nanprobes.

2) What is the difference between Drexlerian Nano and Non-Drexlerian?

Before Drexler, there was a talk by the physicist Richard Feynman ("There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom") where he envisioned the possibility of building things with atomic precision. He didn't flesh out the implications of self-replicating assemblers, as has since been done by Drexler and others. Feynman did imagine a path for getting to a working nanotechnology. He imagined building a set of machine tools (lathes, mills, drills, etc.) which could be used to build a second set of machine tools, one-tenth the size of the first set. You'd also need to build controls that would allow you to operate the second set of machine tools, either manually or with computer automation. Then you'd use the second set to build a third set, one-hundredth the size of the first set, along with any necessary controls. You continue this until you get tools that can directly push atoms around, and make and break chemical bonds.
(However,) some things scale linearly, some quadratically, and some as the cube or even the fourth power. So as you shrink a design, things that could be neglected at one scale grow to dominate, and you have to use new principles. However, in many industries, this is a well understood engineering problem, and is usually dealt with by building a small prototype plant, getting the bugs out, building one several times the size, dealing with the new problems, then scaling up again. Common examples include oil tankers, power plants both nuclear and fossil fueled, etc. {WW} and {RIE}

3) What is the relationship of pico or femto engineering to nanotechnology?

These are scales 1000 (picotechnology ~= 10^-12 m)to 1 million (femtotechnology = 10^-15 m) times smaller than atomic sizes. These would probably deal with nuclear and quark physics, respectively. Because of the disparities of the energies involved, there is no direct relationship.
Neither violate the laws of physics. We don't yet know if either are possible or if possible whether they are technically useful. Even so, rest assured beyond our nanotech future there lie additional realms of possibility! - {JoSH} and {WMK}}

4) When is nanotechnology going to happen?

Obviously only guesses can be made. It also depends on what one considers the defining moment for nanotechnology. At the current time estimates quoted in the usenet group range from 5 to 150 years for the first working devices of nanotech dimensions. Dates for actual assemblers range from 50 to 200 years. {AJ}

5) What is the current state of nanotechnology?

The field of nanotechnology is so wide and currently undergoing a period of expansion that any answer to this question is sure to be outstripped quickly. The Nanotechnology Opportunity Report as of November 2001 is the best and most up to date overview and development map of the state of fairly recent activities. For an older perspectives there is the WTEC reports from early 2001. We are keeping a record of the current development state of the Universal Assembler. {AJ} and {CM}

6) What molecular nanotechnology products exist today?

None. At least, no molecular "Drexlerian" nanotechnology products.

7) How can I evaluate nanotech claims for plausibility?
    What are sure signs that the speaker doesn't know Fact One about nanotechnology, and should be handled cautiously?

To tell when someone does not understand anything you have to know a fair bit about that subject yourself. Nanotechnology is no different. The reading materials listed on the newbies page will give you enough understanding to identify those who don't know anything, although not enough to make you an expert either.

                                 i.            "There are a million nanometers in a meter" - There are a billion, (a nm is -10^9 m).

                               ii.            "it doing things smaller than atoms" - its doing things WITH atoms (via molecules).

                              iii.            "nanotechnology started when Democritus proposed the concept of the atom" - atoms are not functional and therefore not a technology.

                              iv.            "You could just scan an object, record the locations of the atoms, then rebuild it with an assembler" - at present there is no known way to identify the atomic coordinates of every atom in a solid object that does not possess perfect long range order, such as a perfect crystal. BUT this one is also quite tricky as some more advanced theories dealing with mature nanotechnology and MNT use this as one of the assumed future developments. Mostly though the experts link it with some proposed system whereby the object being scanned is pulled apart in the scan (or something like that).

                                v.            "assemblers can place atoms in just the right places to build any structure imaginable" - not without violating the quantum physics that governs what bonding arrangements can take place. Atoms are either inert (He, Ar) or inherently sticky, and hence the promising pathway is through chemical synthesis - assemblers will only be able to build structures which obey the laws of chemistry and quantum physics. You may hear an expert use a similar phrase but they will not use the words "anything imaginable". They will say "anything physically possible" or similar wording placing limits on their sentence.

{SL} and {CM}

8) Who are the respected authorities in nanotech?

Some recognized authorities (not a comprehensive list by any means):

¡P         Drexler, K. Eric
Author of the seminal works "Engines of Creation", and "Nanosystems". First person to obtain a Ph.D. in nanotechnology from MIT 1991. Founder of the Foresight Institute, considered the father of modern nanotechnology.

¡P         Merkle, Ralph.
Author of many technical papers on nanotechnology. Founder of the Nanotechnology group at Xerox PARC. Currently working for Zyvex Inc.

¡P         Freitas, Robert A. Jr.
Author of the reference set "Nanomedicine", and considered the world's expert on the applications of nanotechnology to medicine.

¡P         Smalley, Richard
1996 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry for his work with fullerene tubes. Although not directly related to MNT per se, these fullerene tubes are considered very important because they most likely will form the structural components of most molecular nanotechnological devices.

¡P         Reed, Mark.

{IFO} and {JS}

9) Who will control nanotechnology? Can it be controlled? Should it be?

There is no answer for any of these question at the current time

Hypothesis:

Limitations and Capabilities of nanotechnology

1) Is there anything nanotechnology can't do? What are its limits?

It must work within the limits of physical laws. Available matter, available energy, heat generation, relativity, and quantum mechanical uncertainty all set limits on what can be done.

2) Is nanotechnology the last technology?

The subtitle to K. Eric Drexler's book "Engines of Creation" is "Challenges and Choices of the Last Technological Revolution". The implicit assumption being no other technologies will follow with equivalent impact. Is that a reasonable assumption? Perhaps, perhaps not. At a smaller scale and larger energy range are nuclear technologies. Or additional dimensions. The exact physical laws for this scale have yet to be worked out in full detail. At very large scales (planetary and solar system size and up) there has only been speculation on possible technologies. The same is true for attainment of high relativistic speeds. Breakthroughs in these realms might lead to technologies as revolutionary as nanotechnology.

3) Doesn't Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle forbid the possibility of nanotechnology?

Technical: Assume that we want to place a carbon atom on a specific previously-positioned atom. We need to position it to within roughly a bond length in order to have it bond to the right atom. A typical bond length is around an Angstrom, 0.1 nm or 10^-10 meters.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle says:

sigmaX * sigmaP >~ hbar/2 (eq. 4.12, Nanosystems)

Here, sigmaX = 10-10 meters, hbar/2 = 5.3 * 10-35 Joule*seconds (or kg*m2/s) so deltaP >~ 5.3 * 10-25 kg*m/s.
Our carbon (12) atom has a mass of 2 * 10-26 kilograms, so the uncertainty in its velocity is 5.3 * 10-25 / 2 * 10-26 = 26.5 m/s.
To put it another way, the zero-point energy it must have in order to be confined in this space is roughly sigmaE = ½*m*v2 = ½*2*10-26 kg * (26.5 m/s)2 = 7 * 10-24 J, which is 500 times less than thermal energy, 4 * 10-21 J, at room temperature. So thermal oscillations generate a greater positional uncertainty than quantum uncertainty does. {JS}

Less Technical: The uncertainty principle states that particles can't be pinned down to an exact location for any length of time. It limits what molecular machines can do, just as it limits what anything else can do. Nonetheless, calculations show that the uncertainty principle places few important limits on how well atoms can be held in place, at least for the purposes of nanotechnology. The uncertainty principle makes electron positions quite fuzzy, and in fact this fuzziness determines the very size and structure of atoms. An atom as a whole, however, has a comparatively definite position set by its comparatively massive nucleus. If atoms didn't stay put fairly well, molecules would not exist. One needn't study quantum mechanics to trust these conclusions, because molecular machines in the cell demonstrate that molecular machines work well. {KED}

4) Won't thermal fluctuations damage nanomachines?

As mentioned in the answer above, room temperature thermal energy will jiggle atoms around on average by about 4 * 10-21 Joules. But atomic bond energies are on the order of 1 electron volt (eV). If we translate all the mentioned energy units to electron volts, so smaller exponents come into play, we get this set of energy ranges: * ~ 0.00004 eV QM sigmaE for carbon confined to 1 Angstrom. * ~ 0.025 eV average thermal energy at room temperature (~293 K). * ~ 1 eV order of magnitude for typical molecular bond strengths. So the average fluctuations would not break a typical molecular bond. However, because some fluctuations are well above the average, some damage will occur. Further details on the rate at which this damage occurs may be found in K. Eric Drexler's text "Nanosystems". Generally the rate would be low enough to be tolerable for many systems and self-repair mechanisms would be needed for systems where damage is less tolerable.

5) Can nanotechnology be used to do nuclear transmutation?

Not directly. Chemical reactions are on the order of a few electron volts. Nuclear reactions are on the order of a few hundred thousand to millions of electron volts.

6) What alternatives are there to carbon or diamonoid materials?

Silicon oxides have been proposed. They have the advantage that the Earth and its moon contain large quantities of silicon. See http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT05/Papers/Gillett1/.

7) How fast would a carbon nanotube computer be?

At present no analysis for nanotube based optoelectronic, moltronic, spintronic or molecular quantum computers has been brought to our attention.
Drexler's original work did cover rod-logic computing systems in his book Nanosystems. Chapter 12 covers the technical aspects of such devices and comes to the conclusion;
"Nanomechanical computing systems can be implemented using logic systems based on sliding rods having switching times of ~0.1ns, with energy dissipation &082; kT300 per gate. Register cells can be constructed that approach the theoretical minimum energy dissipation of ln(2)kT. Logic rods and registers can be joined to build register-to-register combinatorial logic systems that achieve four register-to-register transfers in ~1.2ns; this performance suggests that nanomechanical RISC machines can achieve clock speeds of ~1GHz, executing instructions at ~1000 MIPS [in bus speed to compare with an Intel Pentium this would be a ~4GHz CPU]. Fast carry chains, RAM, Tapes and I/O systems all appear feasible.
A CPU-scale system containing 10e6 transistor-like interlocks can fit within a 400nm cube. Compatible systems for clocking, power supply, and cooling have been described and analyzed. The power consumption for a 1GHz, CPU-scale system is estimated to be ~60 nW, performing >10e16 instructions per second per watt."

8) Can nanotechnology be used to recycle trash and landfills? And if it can, how will it?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

9) How can MNT manufacture food? Will it taste good? Will it be good for you?

Although not strictly MNT, one of our members has proposed a workable nanotech based food synthesizer. Details on its workings, and the quality of its output are available.

10) How fast can nanites construct a house? Car? Steak dinner? Island?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

11) Can nanotechnology be used to extract gold from sea water?

There are about 10 micrograms of gold per ton of sea water. At current prices (rough estimate) 10,000 tons of water contains a dollar's worth of gold. At the prices I pay, a dollar's worth of electricity is not enough to pump that much water more than a couple of inches (with pumps a lot more efficient than the one I've got now). The magnesium in a given volume of sea water is worth a lot more than the gold in the same volume. So is the salt. In the future, it may also become worthwhile to recover the deuterium. {Posted by JoSH in November of 1992}

12) What can a nanotech-enhanced human body do? What can't it do?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

13) How invincible is a nanotech-enhanced human body?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

Impact: Side-effects nanotechnology.

1) What dangers does nanotechnology pose?
        SUB: What is the "gray goo" doom scenario?

Nanotech poses several dangers from uncontrolled expansion to social upheaval.
Ecophagy ("gray goo") is the scenario in which self-replicating nanomachines capable of digesting the organic feedstock of a planet undergo unrestricted exponential growth.
Future shock is the term used to apply to the psychological response of individuals and social groups to a great advance in technology. It has a varied nature and wide range of possible effects. As such it still comes under discussion regularly in the sci.nanotech group and is still showing surprises. {AJ}

2) What safeguards can prevent nanotechnology horrors?

The problem of ecophagy, commonly termed "gray goo", is one that has been known from the early days of nanotechnology. It has been studied in detail and effective methods of combating it have been produced.
Future shock is altogether a much harder problem. The best ways to prevent this appear at present to be through education, allowing the general public to approach the change through a gradually built confidence in the technology. The possibilities made available to us through this new technology are "mind-numbing" to put it simply, reducing the shock is a prime candidate for sociological study at present. However it is a tricky subject and no perfect solutions may be possible, the change is vast and the future possibilities are even more so. {AJ}

3) How will nanotechnology affect society?

The interdependency we have in today's society comes from the mega centralization of manufacturing and capital. However, it seems clear that nanotech will make a much more decentralized manufacturing possible, perhaps even decentralized o your basement. If that is the case we should see a sharp change. In prehistory we were dependent on ourselves and our family, then we move to tribal organization, then to micro states, then to major states, then to today, where we are dependent of a large multinational industrial economy for our way of life. However, with the introduction of nanotech we can see a sharp reversal of that, all the way back to the family, in a few short years, because we won't need all these mega-corps or governments to provide our lifestyle. Talk about future shock! {IFO}

4) How will the economy work when we have mature Nanotechnology?
        Will there be a need for money when we can use nanotech devices powered by free solar energy to turn garbage into whatever we want?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

5) What industries will be most affected by nanotechnology and how will they be?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

6) What industries will nanotechnology eliminate?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

7) What industries will be least affected by nanotechnology and why?

There is no answer to this question at the current time.

Opportunities: How can I get involved?

1) I'm not a scientist. What can I do to help bring about the nano-revolution?

There is no absolute answer to this question at the current time. The most work is presently research so the current best way to help is to become a scientist, student or investor.

2) Where can I invest money in nanotechnology?

For small groundwork contributions checkout Foresight Org or Institute for Molecular Manufacturing.
Some consultant and investor services have started appearing to direct potential investors towards hopeful developments and research groups in need of funding. These include Ardesta Microsystems, Investment broker for "small tech" as they bill themselves for microtech and smaller areas, nAbacus Nanotechnological Consultants, An Asian-Pacific based consultancy on nanotechnology).
While Zyvex was set up to pursue Drexlerian nanotechnology, it is a private company and one must be a qualified investor (as defined by the US SEC) with significant assets before one can invest in it.
Some public companies (such as Nanophase Technologies Corporation [Nasdaq: NANX] and Nanometrics Incorporated [Nasdaq: NANO]) have "nano" in their name, but their products would generally not be considered directly related to Drexlerian nanotechnology.
The journals posted in the Publications section often carry news of funding and investment threads pop up occasionally in most forums.
Which route you take is up to you, as with any investment its a risky business and those in the know around here are keeping the cash-cows to themselves.

3) What college level coursework or major would best prepare me for working in nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology overlaps with a wide range of the existing sciences so which ever field of Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science or Biology (Biomedical) you specialize in you will be able to find some degree of involvement. Degrees spread over several of these however have a greater bearing on Nanotechnology. Degrees that seem at present to have the most direct and constructive involvement with Nanotechnology are:

¡P         1) Optical and Quantum Physics

¡P         2) Molecular Biology

¡P         3) Biomedical Engineering - Through genetics and MicroBio

¡P         4) Electrical Engineering - Through MEMS systems

¡P         5) Software Engineering - Through AI, Communication and Information Systems

Degrees in Nanotechnology are starting to appear and those known are listed in below. And a Briefing on Nanotechnology and Education can be found at Foresight for some very useful advice.
Whatever program you choose make sure you get good math preparation (through calculus and differential equations), computer modeling (physics systems, molecular biology, etc.). Try to get some machine shop experience. As an experimental scientist (even though I do a lot of mathematical modeling) I have to design and build my own instrumentation. Last I suggest courses in electronic instrumentation. You need the ability to design electronic instruments and know how to interface electronic circuits to computers. If you look on the web you will only see a handful of nanotech companies. The majority of the research is done at universities. To play the game you will have to do graduate work (MSc., Ph.D preferred) You are talking about 12 years of school : BSc (4 yrs), MS (3 yrs) and Ph.D. (4 yrs). {FRU}

4) What universities currently offer degrees in Nanotechnology?

BSc in Nanotechnology

Flinders University

Adelaide, Australia

MSc in Microsystems and Nanotechnology

Cranfield University

Cranfield, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

Post Graduate Studies in Nanotechnology

University of Washington

Washington, USA

5) Where can I go to find work in nanotechnology?

Opportunities are somewhat limited but opening up. Places to check are Zyvex or follow some of the links in Foresight's Jobs Section.

Miscellaneous:

1) What fields can MNT be applied to, but are *not* fruitful topics of discussion on sci.nanotech?

Like "computers," "nanotech" will probably be applied to every field of human endeavor, making obsolete certain techniques and automating others, augmenting existing capabilities and creating entirely new ones. The range of applications is so broad that it's not particularly useful (in y2000) to speak of specifics, particularly not in sci.nanotech, a newsgroup devoted to the technology itself. It would be like asking "how can computers affect art?" in comp.graphics.algorithms, comp.os.research or sci.engr.semiconductors. {PET}.

2) Is there a 2nd edition of "Engines of Creation" planned and how would it differ from the 1st edition?

There is a second edition planned and it needs help. Go to www.foresight.org and see if you can contribute.

3) What do all those abbreviations mean?

For those new to the group there will be a fair amount of abbreviation used by regulars to the net that may not be understood. Here a a few of the more common encountered in sci.nanotech.

BOTE

Back of the Envelope (Rough estimate calculation)

FWIW

For What It's Worth

IAC

In Any Case

IANAD

I Am Not A Doctor

IIRC

If I Recall Correctly

IMO

In My Opinion

IMHO

In My Humble Opinion

IOW

In Other Words