IP: Nanotechnology article by Dan Gillmor

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> 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

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