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Nanotechnology

S

smp

Diamond Member
Okay.. I did a search, figuring that something like this had to be here, but I didn't find anything.

I have some questions regarding nanotech that maybe some fellow geeks here at AT (no offence, the term geek is one of endearment in my books) could help me out with. I was wondering how nanotechnology will help the production of computers, specifically in relation to Moore's law. I don't really know too much about nanotech, but I kind of understand that we should be able to control things on a molecular level, so instead of moving dirt with bulldozers, we'll be moving it with pinchers </bad SMP analogy>

What are the consiquences?
What current problems will it fix (I'm thinking moore's law here)?
What good will come?
What bad will come?

 
I don't have a clue, but for a mind-bending look at the possibilities of a nanotech world, I could not recommend nore highly:The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson. This technology is going to change the world more than anything ever has.
 
Neil Stephenson is the greatest man of all time. I have not read that book, it is going on my list.




yay snow crash!
 
The spike by Damien Broderick is also very good.

Keep some healthy sceptisim when you read them though, not everbody thinks nanotech will be as rosy a future as stephenson.

There was a good special issue of Scientific American on Nanotech about 2 months ago, go to your local library and have aread, highly reccomended
 


<< There was a good special issue of Scientific American on Nanotech about 2 months ago, go to your local library and have aread, highly reccomended >>


I've read this issue of SA as well. It was a pretty good read 🙂

One of the articles was about how these 'pinchers' wouldn't work, thus no assembling nanomachine would be possible. Of course, the previous article was an interview with a guy who thought it is possible, so who knows?
 
Before nanotech can really take off (and be practical), self-assembly techniques must first be perfected (I worked on a self-assembly research proj here at the UW). do a search for 'MEMS' you should find a lot.
 
allegedly, there's nanoreplacement procedures (i.e. biphoton interferometry) that will be used to replace human biochemical cognitive systems with mechanico-electrical ones...

so, in terms of consequences, u'll see humans with mechanico-electrical brains, whose neuronal cells have been replaced w/ nanodes that resume identical functional roles.

is this all a crock of poop?..is it possible for a machine to maintain a functional-type identity w/ a specified neuronal cell? - given the problem of multiple realizability, i doubt it.
 
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