Molecular Nanotechnology

From: Ashish Gond (m_ashishd_at_rediffmail.com)
Date: 08/28/04 

Date: 28 Aug 2004 16:25:34 GMT

Manufactured products are made from atoms. The properties of those
products depend on how those atoms are arranged. If we rearrange the
atoms in coal we can make diamond. If we rearrange the atoms in sand
(and add a few other trace elements) we can make computer chips. If we
rearrange the atoms in dirt, water and air we can make potatoes.
Today's manufacturing methods are very crude at the molecular level.
Casting, grinding, milling and even lithography move atoms in great
thundering statistical herds. It's like trying to make things out of
LEGO blocks with boxing gloves on your hands. Yes, you can push the
LEGO blocks into great heaps and pile them up, but you can't really
snap them together the way you'd like.
In the future, nanotechnology will let us take off the boxing gloves.
We'll be able to snap together the fundamental building blocks of
nature easily, inexpensively and in most of the ways permitted by the
laws of physics. This will be essential if we are to continue the
revolution in computer hardware beyond about the next decade, and will
also let us fabricate an entire new generation of products that are
cleaner, stronger, lighter, and more precise.
It's worth pointing out that the word "nanotechnology" has become very
popular and is used to describe many types of research where the
characteristic dimensions are less than about 1,000 nanometers. For
example, continued improvements in lithography have resulted in line
widths that are less than one micron: this work is often called
"nanotechnology." Sub-micron lithography is clearly very valuable (ask
anyone who uses a computer!) but it is equally clear that conventional
lithography will not let us build semiconductor devices in which
individual dopant atoms are located at specific lattice sites. Many of
the exponentially improving trends in computer hardware capability
have remained steady for the last 50 years. There is fairly widespread
belief that these trends are likely to continue for at least another
several years, but then conventional lithography starts to reach its
limits.
If we are to continue these trends we will have to develop a new
manufacturing technology which will let us inexpensively build
computer systems with mole quantities of logic elements that are
molecular in both size and precision and are interconnected in complex
and highly idiosyncratic patterns. Nanotechnology will let us do this.

When it's unclear from the context whether we're using the specific
definition of "nanotechnology" (given here) or the broader and more
inclusive definition (often used in the literature), we'll use the
terms "molecular nanotechnology" or "molecular manufacturing."
Whatever we call it, it should let us
Get essentially every atom in the right place.
Make almost any structure consistent with the laws of physics that we
can specify in molecular detail.
Have manufacturing costs not greatly exceeding the cost of the
required raw materials and energy.

There are two more concepts commonly associated with nanotechnology:
Positional assembly.
Self replication.

Clearly, we would be happy with any method that simultaneously
achieved the first three objectives. However, this seems difficult
without using some form of positional assembly (to get the right
molecular parts in the right places) and some form of self replication
(to keep the costs down).
The need for positional assembly implies an interest in molecular
robotics, e.g., robotic devices that are molecular both in their size
and precision. These molecular scale positional devices are likely to
resemble very small versions of their everyday macroscopic
counterparts. Positional assembly is frequently used in normal
macroscopic manufacturing today, and provides tremendous advantages.
Imagine trying to build a bicycle with both hands tied behind your
back! The idea of manipulating and positioning individual atoms and
molecules is still new and takes some getting used to.

Relevant Pages

  • Nanotech Pioneer Calms Fears of Runaway Replicators
    ... NANOTECHNOLOGY PIONEER CALMS FEARS OF RUNAWAY REPLICATORS ... INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON SAFE EXPONENTIAL MANUFACTURING ... founder of Foresight Institute ... UPDATED MOLECULAR NANOTECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS ...
    (sci.nanotech)
  • Moving Closer to a Manufacturing Revolution
    ... Nanotechnology's long-expected transformation of manufacturing has just ... for Responsible Nanotechnology. ... The study, "Molecular Manufacturing: What, Why and How," performed by ... starting with today's technology. ...
    (sci.nanotech)
  • The Nanogirl News~
    ... Nanoscale parts get binding aid. ... Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Naval ... temperature is known to break down on the scale of individual atoms, ... Department of Trade and Industry has given a major boost to Nanotechnology ...
    (sci.nanotech)
  • Re: [Sci.nanotech] Re: Molecular Nanotechnology
    ... These molecular scale positional devices are likely to ... The idea of manipulating and positioning individual atoms and ... > millions of atoms each, in roughly one second per mask ... extreemely specific about individual atoms. ...
    (sci.nanotech)
  • Re: Electron Clouds Collisions
    ... > possibility that two electrons in an orbital could ... > atoms for example. ... then electrions occupy molecular orbitals (at least ... which contribute to the molecular bonds). ...
    (sci.chem)