Era of Micro-Machines
Factory on a kitchen cabinet
NOBEL Laureate physicist Richard Feynman gave a visionary lecture entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" at Caltech in December 1959. He said, "…. our ability to see what we are doing, and to do things on atomic level, is ultimately developed --- a development which I think cannot be avoided." He asked, "Why cannot we write the entire 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia of Britannica on the head of pin?" What he was talking about is nanotechnology. In 1986 Eric Drexler brought the term nanotechnology to public attention by writing an extraordinary book "Engine of Creation". In his book he gave the idea of universal assemblers that form the basis of molecular manufacturing. He writes, "Now imagine something like that factory, but a million times smaller and working a million times faster, with parts and workplaces of molecular size." Drexler says, "Nanotechnology isn't primarily about miniaturizing machines, but about extending precise control of molecular structures to larger and larger scales. Nanotechnology is about making precise things big." Many researchers believe that nanotechnology will soon provide humans the ability to move and combine individual atoms and molecules into microscopically tiny mechanical, electrical, and biological machines that will replace today's production process and tools. Computers based on nanotechnology will be smaller and more powerful than ever. Even without computers, nanotechnology will incorporate a kind of intelligence into materials that will react to and influence their environment in complex and predictable ways, much like biological organisms. For example, nanoscale robots (or nanobots) will be able to operate autonomously to inspect, mend, or destroy targeted substances. Biological nanobots will do the same operating on DNA instructions. Both types of nanobots will be able to replicate themselves Molecular nanotechnology is about constructing shapes, machines, and products at the atomic level putting them together molecules-by-molecules. With parts only a few nanometers wide, it may become possible to build a supercomputer smaller than a grain of sand, weapon smaller than a mosquito, or a self-contained nanofactory that sits on our kitchen counter. Microprocessors and related gear will not only get smaller and more powerful (for example terabits of storage will fit into devices the size of a wristwatch), but they will also become far less expensive to manufacture. In 10 years or so, nanotechnology will begin to appear in sensors and other types of chips, but it will be used to enhance, rather than replace, semiconductors made of silicon. Nanotechnology may be used to make chemical leak detectors or serve as the cache memory on a microprocessor. Even with current established technology, computer processing power is growing at extraordinary rates. Current state-of-the-art microprocessors have more than 40 million transistors. By 2015 they will be increased nearly five billion. This trend will demand a new type of computing machine, known as the nanocomputer, based on nanotechnology. Quantum computing using nanocomputer will increase the power of computers billions of times over what they are now, allowing the development rate of nanoreplicators and assemblers to explode. The future will increasingly be shaped by autonomous, intelligent systems that can access and analyze great amounts of information. Industry leaders believe in 10 to 15 years, the global market for nanotech products will exceed $1 trillion annually. In 2004 United States federal investment in nanotechnology was about $1 billion, more than any other country including the entire European Union. However, Japan, China, and Europe spent $900 million each, with growth rates comparable to U.S. increases. The U.S. spending in nanotechnology is boosted by unparalleled private investment, accounting for nearly half of the $4 billion spent by corporations and venture capital globally.
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