Issue #10 June 9th - June 22nd, 2006

NanoTechnology Explored
By: Joe Bain

We’ve all seen the magic of a Star Trek replicator on T.V. The characters simply stated the object they needed and the replicator quickly complied. Technology like this has been in the minds of science fiction creators and fans for some time, but it wasn’t until Eric Drexler’s 1986 book, Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, that it seemed possible. In Engines of Creation Drexler outlines what he calls “Molecualr Manufacturing” . He describes it as assembling single molecules together to form normal sized products; ranging from clothes to computers and even building materials. Because of Drexler’s ideas, scientists the world over have been studying and creating tools that could one day build a molecular assembler, also known as a nanofactory.

A molecular assembler is like a factory on the atomic scale, hence the name nanofactory. Individual atoms and molecules come together to form complex parts. Each part is exactly the same down to the atom each time. When you group billions of these little factories together the result is a personal factory the size of a microwave that’s capable of building almost anything!

In theory, there are many types of molecular assemblers. One type that we use everyday is our own cells. Cells are essentially protein factories, and scientists have already figured out how to get bacteria cells to create drugs for us. This is a step, but it is a long way from creating larger objects. Researchers are closer to making nanofactories using carbon. Carbon is a compound found in diamonds, which are known not only for their beauty, but for their molecular strength. Everything made by a carbon nanofactory would be extremely strong and light because it would be made of a substance similar to diamonds called diamondiod.

At the nano level everything moves extremely fast because distances are small and there is little friction. This also means that nanofactories are theoretically very efficient. Small pieces of diamond would be pushed together to form larger uniform building blocks. At each stage in the factory, the blocks would get built into larger blocks by combining the smaller ones. Blocks start small at the bottom and get built into larger blocks as they move up in the nanofactory, towards the factory floor where the product is assembled from the ground up in layers. Each of the blocks can have functions, such as a CPU, battery, solar cell, or display pixel. Eventually it could even build itself. Estimates of how long it would take a nanofactory to build itself vary, but most come in at around 1 hour. You can see a short animation of how a nanofactory might work at http://www.foresight.org/animation_challenge/.

To give you an idea of the scales involved here, one nanometer is one billionth of a meter, a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers (nm) across. The individual parts in the nanofactory are 10 to 100 nanometers in size. It takes trillions of blocks just to make a small object. To get a better idea of the scales involved watch the video, “When Things Get Small” at http://www.ucsd.tv/getsmall/.

When a successful self replicating nanofactory becomes reality, it would be only a few months before everyone in the U.S. had one. In a year, everyone on the entire planet could own one. Through the power of doubling there would be 8 million made on the first day alone. This is assuming that everyone uses their nanofactories to make more nanofactories. A more realistic guess is that it would take about three months for everyone in the U.S. to acquire one. You don’t have to worry about the nanofactories losing control and replicating forever, because they work fixed in place like a factory, not a cloud of self-replicating bots like you see in sci-fi horror movies.

One tool that could eventually enable the building of a nanofactory was created by Vincenzo Balinzani of Bologna University. Balzani created a motor that measures only tens of nanometers across. When struck by a photon of light, the motor extends and retracts an arm that measures about 2 nanometers. At the same time as the extension, the motor also gives off an electron. The mechanical force generated by the motor could turn a nanogear or push a nanolever. The electron produced by it could supply electricity for other parts of the nanofactory. The photon could be provided by something as simple as a laser.

Last month a multi-national research team found that by bombarding carbon nanotubes with electrons they would contract with amazing force, almost as much as is found at the center of the earth. Carbon nanotubes are one of the earliest nano structures discovered. In addition to their high strength to mass ration (30 times that of steel), they have countless other useful properties. This contraction could work as an extruder or hydraulic press. When they replaced the iron with more carbon, it formed diamond. This diamond could be the building block in carbon nanofactories. Nanofactories are a decade away at the very earliest.

These discoveries represent just a few of the key tools scientists and engineers need before they can begin construction. Getting all of the extremely small parts to work together is a huge challenge. Software for controlling what the nanofactory designs and produces still needs to be written. Existing automation and CAD software should provide a starting point, but it will need to get a lot more precise than it is now. There are also the laws and regulations to control what can be made in a free, fair, and open way.

I haven’t gotten into the ethical and economical impacts of molecular manufacturing, but I am sure you have already thought of many. It is a complex issue and for more information I want to point you to the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) at www.crnano.org. Just keep in mind that with this technology we could provide pure water to everyone in the world, mosquito nets to people in malaria infested areas, and sturdy shelter for the world’s poor. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Nanotech might mean more change than any of us have seen in our lives. It might even mean an end to capitalism as we know it.

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