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Dawn of the Nano-Age
by: Jae Kim
November 1, 2004
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Page: 1 2 3 4
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(Crystal City, VA) - The
Foresight Institute held its First Conference on
Advanced Nanotechnology in
Crystal City, near Washington DC, on October 22-24, 2004. Topics covered during
the three days were nanotechnology research, applications, and policy.
| | (Eric Drexler, by Foresight.org)
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The Foresight Institute is a non-profit founded by Eric Drexler, who originated the
term nanotechnology in his 1986 book, Engines of Creation. The
Institute's purpose is to help guide the development of nanotechnology and to
foster the acceptance of advanced "nanotech" into mainstream industry and
society.
Application of the term nanotechnology has expanded beyond Drexler's original notion that
molecular assemblers and nano-factories involved direct manipulation of
atoms. Although the scientific community was originally awed by the concept,
many have begun to doubt its feasibility, and the meaning of the term has
broadened over the past decade. Today, it is a more general term used to
describe an area of science where work is done on a scale of 100 nanometers or
less. [A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.]
Nanotech does not encompass a single scientific or engineering discipline.
Rather, nanotech is an approach to solutions, regardless of discipline or
industry, as long as the work is done on nano-scale. Think of nanotech as
molecular engineering. And since we are dealing with atoms, the basic building
block of matter, nanotech is a province affecting many fields including:
biology, chemistry, material science, and physics.
Perhaps the "arrival" of the concept of nanotechnology came about in physicist
Richard Feynman's landmark 1959 lecture called There's Plenty of Room at the
Bottom. "The principles of physics … do not speak against the
possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom … it has not been done because we
are too big." Today, nearly a half century later, Feynman's theories are being
embraced.
If you ask the American public today, chances are that you will find almost total
ignorance of nanotechnology. But that will change by the latter part of this
decade as nanotech-based applications begin to find their way into commercial
use and receive mass media attention. So far, we have seen modest applications:
wrinkle free and water repellent clothing; stronger tennis balls; and advanced
sunscreens. But we in the midst of a nanotech prelude in industrialization. In
2-3 years, this prelude will transition into an allegro and likely
introduce the next generation flat panel TVs, advanced low cost solar panels,
chemical and bio-sensors, and nano-medicine. And these actualizations will be
only the first movement of a nanotech symphony. We are about to witness the
realization of decades of steadily intensifying scientific labor.
Nanotech will progress in phases. Today's powerful microscopes, such as the AFM
and STM, provide a window through which we see the world at an atomic level.
Using these microscopes, we have the ability to move, albeit painstakingly,
individual atoms. Certainly there are limitations at present. For instance,
atoms can now be moved around only on a flat surface. Current technology does
not give us the ability to pick up an atom and place it on top of another atom,
and create a stack. But even so, discoveries and advances continue.
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