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IP: Nanotechnology article by Dan Gillmor
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Sat, 06 Nov 1999 08:41:27 -0500
From: Tee Toth-Fejel <ttf () erim org> Another excellent article from Dan Gillmor at http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/columns/gillmor/docs/dg101599.htm He called me smart and talented! Imagine that! :-) The only thing of note that he missed was the release of Robert Freitas new book "Nanomedicine", which I suspect is destined to become a classic. Check out http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/Respirocytes.html to get a small hint of what nanotechnology is about. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Nanotechnology: from science fiction to fact BY DAN GILLMOR Mercury News Technology Columnist WHAT if we could manipulate atoms or molecules, one by one, and put them together in precise patterns of our choosing? Well, consider a 747-sized airplane weighing 5 percent of the current model but just as sturdy as the original craft. Or data-processing power equal to millions of today's desktop computers in a box the size of a PC. Or a machine so small it could individually find and repair damaged human cells. This is the promise of molecular manufacturing and nanotechnology, a logical extension of current trends that will surely revolutionize materials science and could effectively redefine much of our environment, if not our very lives. From science fiction a generation ago, nanotechnology is moving squarely into the heart of plain old science. I raise the subject because some smart, talented people are gathering in Silicon Valley today through Sunday to discuss the state of the science at the Palo Alto-based Foresight Institute's annual Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology. While the papers being delivered represent high-end thinking about the physical potential of this emerging field, the conversations will also inevitably move into metaphysical planes as well, because molecular engineering raises massive legal, economic, ethical and even moral questions. K. Eric Drexler is chairman of the Institute (www.foresight.org), a non-profit organization. (I've donated a small amount of money.) He's also the author of many articles and several books on nanotechnology, including the pathbreaking 1986 volume, ``Engines of Creation.'' Drexler is first to acknowledge that the idea of nanotechnology didn't leap from his brain. Perhaps the greatest visionary on the subject was the late Richard Feynman, among the great physicists of the 20th century. In 1959 Feynmann proposed building matter molecule by molecule, or even atom by atom. (A highlight of the conference, being held in Santa Clara, will be the announcement of the winner of this year's Feynman Prize in nanotechnology.) Molecular manufacturing and nanotechnology are about miniaturization. When we can manipulate individual molecules, even atoms, we can create new (or at least better) materials. But we will also be able to create the tiniest machines that could do all kinds of things we can't even consider today, and some of those tiny nano-machines will create more versions of themselves in preparation for building something bigger. Some of the most intriguing, and certain to be controversial, uses of nanotechnology will be in the medical arena. The ability of tiny machines to repair damaged cells, among other feats, strongly suggests the potential for an indefinitely long human life span. The questions this raises are almost limitless. The more I study this, the more I wonder whether I should follow the example of some extremely smart people. They've decided that the potential of tomorrow's nano-medicines makes it sensible today to be, in effect, flash-frozen upon death (a process also known as cryonics), then brought back to life in a healthy body and mentally no worse for wear than, perhaps, mild amnesia. The notion of an extremely long life span is somewhat worrisome if population control matter to you, among a host of moral and ethical issues. But if we're to colonize other solar systems -- something I believe humanity must do to ensure the survival of the species -- there seems to be little choice. There's even a terrestrial benefit, however, as Ralph C. Merkle, a research scientist at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and major booster of nanotechnology, observed at a Foresight conference earlier this year. When you expect to live indefinitely, he said, you tend to care more about protecting the environment. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= Tihamer "Tee" Toth-Fejel Member of Technical Staff (734) 623-2544 http://www.anteater.ann-arbor.mi.us/ttf/ Center for Electronic Commerce, ttf () erim org Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
_____________________________________________________________________ David Farber The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems University of Pennsylvania Home Page: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~farber Email: farber () cis upenn edu Home: +1 610 274 8292; Cell and Office: +1 215 327 8756; Fax: +1 408 490 2720
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- IP: Nanotechnology article by Dan Gillmor Dave Farber (Nov 06)