John's Nanotechnology Apology Page . . . or Can you See This Stuff?
- Last Edit 12/16/97
Gears at a molecular scale? Don't blame anyone else,
I did this model myself!
NANOTECHNOLOGY (and related) LINKS
- Sandia MEMS: About MEMS
- Self Replicating Systems
- NanoLink
- Brad Hein's Nanotechnology Page
- Xerox on Nanotechnology
- Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering
What/why/when/wherefore Nanotechnology?
Lucky You! Just when you thought Moon Shots and Computers and Bill Gates
were all you were going to have to deal with in this lifetime, now along
comes Nanotechnology to deal with, for it will surely deal with you!
If you are like me (as is approximately one in each ten million people)
then you already have a working knowledge of relativistic and quantum physics,
unified field theory, how to rewire your hard-drive, and how to adjust the solid
lifters on a '69 Chevy Camaro 396 (the one with 425 Horsepower) as well as
knowing when to allow a cow give birth by herself or to
go get the puller. Even so, trooper, you may not know all there is to
know about Nano-Nano (shut up, Mork!). I call this page an Apology in
the original meaning of a justification or a defense. There is a lot of
hype about Nanotech, and it may soon pass, fad-like, into the mists if
a lot of people do not start paying attention. We must all get out there
and demand really tiny stuff!
Short Form: The word NANO is a measurement prefix, like micro-. A nano
meter is one billionth of a meter, a nanosecond one billionth of a second (or
the time it takes for light to go about a foot); times and distances that
matter in computer chip manufacture especially.
It would be a little strange to talk about
machines as small as a computer chip component as micro-machines; the name is
already taken by a line of tiny toy cars and planes. So, when we talk about
teeny tinies the size of transistors on a chip, they are called nanomachines.
These are machines, like a Chevy, with motors and solenoids and switches and gears so small that
comparing them to a human hair is like comparing your wristwatch to a redwood
tree. That is the WHAT of nanotechnology.
Note: Since writing the above, I have found the Sandia National Labs site, (linked above) where
they talk exclusively about micromachines. Go figure.
Stay with me a few sentences more, and we will touch on the WHY. Why should
you care about Nanotechnology? Well, I have two great reasons for you. First
of all, power. The Nanotech revolution, when it gets here, may be as big as
computers or a flop like the Comet Khahoutek. If there is a chance it will be
big, you want to know about it!
The second reason to care is simple, also. Do you remember Artificial
Intelligence? Much venture capital went down the drain on that one.
Right now, when the technology of AI might finally be beginning to mature,
the term has been hyped right out of respectability. Theorists may love it, but
will you be able to get it to market?
As a result of the failed promises and spooked investors, AI is a bad word.
An example of a Good Word is Windows 95. Try to buy a computer without it!
Now, try to buy some AI. Not so easy, is it?
Whew! Do I sound like a nut yet?
No? Well, hang on, we'll get there!
To be continued......
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