4 ms·

Very cool, but I was hoping for something more general purpose, like the Lego equivalent of a molecular assembler. :-( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_a

by jey 19y ago

Very cool, but I was hoping for something more general purpose, like the Lego equivalent of a molecular assembler. :-( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_assembler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_assembler

asdflkj 19y ago
It would be interesting if there existed a medium somewhere between Lego and molecules, in scale and versatility. A sort of programming language for physical stuff, and one that's usable enough to create Things People Want, or at least prototype them.
ph0rque 19y ago
I think that one of the problems that will need to be solved before molecular nanotechnology arrives is how to put together (and take apart) units of atoms using very similar atoms as the dis/assembler. So, if it can be done in Legos using a much smaller number of pieces, it can serve as a model for the molecular dis/assembler.
- jey 19y ago
  I doubt a lego-scale model would help much, the forces and effects involved at the molecular scale are much different. However, K. Eric Drexler, father of the field of molecular nanotechnology, has done some theoretical work to show that it's feasible in his book "Engines of Creation". A newly revised version of it is available for free as an eBook: http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=503 http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=503 A more technically oriented book is "Nanosystems": http://www.amazon.com/Nanosystems-Molecular-Machinery-Manufacturing-Computation/dp/0471575186 http://www.amazon.com/Nanosystems-Molecular-Machinery-Manufa...
  - ph0rque 19y ago
    Hey, a fellow mnt (molecular nanotechnology) enthusiast, cool! Yes, I've read EoC and Nanosystems (well, I skimmed Nanosystems; it's not a very easy read, being so informationally dense), and follow the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN, http://crnano.typepad.com http://crnano.typepad.com) blog regularly. As an entrepreneur, I think a startup that comes up with a molecular assembler would be a truly disruptive one, and I'm looking forward to sufficient advances in technology that this is feasible.

by jey 19y ago

asdflkj 19y ago

It would be interesting if there existed a medium somewhere between Lego and molecules, in scale and versatility. A sort of programming language for physical stuff, and one that's usable enough to create Things People Want, or at least prototype them.

ph0rque 19y ago

I think that one of the problems that will need to be solved before molecular nanotechnology arrives is how to put together (and take apart) units of atoms using very similar atoms as the dis/assembler. So, if it can be done in Legos using a much smaller number of pieces, it can serve as a model for the molecular dis/assembler.

jey 19y ago
I doubt a lego-scale model would help much, the forces and effects involved at the molecular scale are much different. However, K. Eric Drexler, father of the field of molecular nanotechnology, has done some theoretical work to show that it's feasible in his book "Engines of Creation". A newly revised version of it is available for free as an eBook: http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=503 http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=503 A more technically oriented book is "Nanosystems": http://www.amazon.com/Nanosystems-Molecular-Machinery-Manufacturing-Computation/dp/0471575186 http://www.amazon.com/Nanosystems-Molecular-Machinery-Manufa...
- ph0rque 19y ago
  Hey, a fellow mnt (molecular nanotechnology) enthusiast, cool! Yes, I've read EoC and Nanosystems (well, I skimmed Nanosystems; it's not a very easy read, being so informationally dense), and follow the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN, http://crnano.typepad.com http://crnano.typepad.com) blog regularly. As an entrepreneur, I think a startup that comes up with a molecular assembler would be a truly disruptive one, and I'm looking forward to sufficient advances in technology that this is feasible.