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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Month: December 2000

Author Damien Broderick on future of work, fun & learning

from the nanoenthusiasm-from-down-under dept.
Senior Associate Dave Sag (davesag) writes "Damien Broderick, author of The Spike which discussed the predicted tangential upcurve in technology leading to a singularity in an upbeat and enthusiastic way which got him quite some press, has been interviewed on an Australian educational site called Learnscope. It's weird. He disses the International Space Station but seems convinced that nanotech will really be the duck's nuts (to coin a phrase). He speculates on the future of work, fun and learning. It's a shame there isn't a nanodot category called 'pop-sci good times'."

10 nm ion beam + carbon gas = Nano Wine Glass

from the not-much-of-a-party dept.
A reader brings to our attention this piece from The Register: " NEC boffins have built a wine glass 200,000 times smaller than normal…Researchers built the glass from carbon with an external diameter of 2750nm, approximately 200,000 times smaller than a normal-sized glass. NEC hopes the success of the new technique will open the way for the production of ultra-miniature devices such as biosensors, high-performance optical communications devices, and control switches. The technology could also have applications in the fields of nano-electromechanics, nano-optics, nano-magnetic devices, bio-nanochips and sensors, says the company…The newly developed technique used to construct the wine glass is based on the use of a gallium-focused ion beam with a diameter of 10nm and a computer controlled electro-magnetic deflection system capable of building the target object in realtime in a gas containing the base material. The combination of the focused gallium ion beam and construction from the base material in gaseous form, controlled by a 3D CAD system, permits an accuracy better than (below) 100nm."

Respected science journalist ignorant of nanotech?

from the chemistry-isn't-technology? dept.
David Coutts writes "I'm just finishing "Genome: The autobiography of a species in 23 chapters" by respected science journalist Matt Ridley…Genome is a good book, and I can recommend it…What prompted me to post to Nanodot.org was the chapter on Self Assembly (Chapter 12, featuring developmental genes from Chromosone 12). Ridley opens the chapter by highlighting useful human analogies for most things we find in nature. Examples given are bats using sonar, the eye is a camera, natural selection is trial and error etc. However, Ridley states that there is no such analogy for self assembly. Nature can grow a human (or other creature) from a single cell, but there is "no human analogy at all" in our technology for self assembly. Hmm – how about nanotechnology? I found this a useful reminder that the concept of nanotechnology is both unfamiliar and alien to the vast majority of people." Read More for David's full post. CP: One could argue that synthetic organic chemistry technology is entirely based on self-assembly. The structures made are often not found in nature.

Modulating electrical current using nanotubes

from the nanodimmer-switch dept.
Foresight's Tanya Jones writes "(Reported by Science Daily) Researchers at NC State and UNC have discovered that turning a carbon nanotube may act as a dimmer switch to regulate the flow of electric current. Dr. Marco Buongiorno Nardelli, a research associate in physics at NC State, says being able to do this gives nanoscale-device designers a controllable, continuous means of converting mechanical signals into electrical signals.
story at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001204071425.htm
Original press release: http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/univ_relations/news_services/press_releases/00_12/292.htm"

Three-atom-thick transistor achieved by Intel

from the Intel-makes-science-fiction-into-reality dept.
From an Intel press release: "Intel Corporation researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough…The transistors feature structures just 30 nanometers in size and three atomic layers thick…Scientists expect such powerful microprocessors to allow applications popular in science-fiction stories — such as instantaneous, real-time voice translation — to become an everyday reality…Also significant is that these experimental transistors, while featuring capabilities that are generations beyond the most advanced technologies used in manufacturing today, were built using the same physical structure as in today's computer chips." The Forbes.com coverage puts a nanotech spin on the story.

Now you can model solar system population online

from the more-people-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at dept.
David Coutts brings to our attention SolarPop, a program for modeling solar system demographics in the third millennium, now available as a Java applet. This follows up our earlier piece on the game 6 Billion, which David points out is now listed at number 9 its category in Games Magazine's Games 100 buyers guide. Read More for David's full post.

First cyborg professor & cyborg-to-be spouse

from the those-wacky-English dept.
eamon writes "CNN.com reports Professor [Kevin Warwick] to wire computer chip into his nervous system.The head of the Cybernetics Department at the the University of Reading in the U.K…Surgeons will connect the chip to his nervous system through nerve fibers in his left arm, and the chip will exchange signals between his brain and a computer…If the experiment is successful, Warwick's wife Irena will also receive a silicon chip implant to explore how movement, thought and emotion can be transmitted from one person to another."

Navy query on Brownian motion, Maxwell's Demon

from the don't-need-a-PhD-to-answer-this-one dept.
Waldemar Perez writes "A small Navy project is at stake because a 74 Years old PhD is arguing to management that research in nano machines is ridiculous and a waste of money. He has seen only recently some of Drexler's designs on the web and also read the recent article that Mr. Daniel Goldin from NASA published in Mechanical Engineering magazine on Molecular Nanotechnology. He claims that Mr. Goldin does not know what he is talking about and that he feels sorry for him because he has embarrass himself by publishing this article. Some of his questions are familiar to anyone in the field: 1. The construction of molecular machines of the kind proposed by nanotechnology does not take into account Brownian Motion and the famous Maxwell's Demon. 2. How we can assemble a robotic arm for example, manipulating atoms and how we can "clamp" such a structure to another object. Is there any particular section of Nanosystems or scientific papers out there that address the Brownian Motion and Maxwell's Demon issues. I really appreciate any help to answer some of his questions. Thanks"

California NanoSystems Institute gets $100 million

from the California-state-tax-dollars-at-work-(finally) dept.
UCLA professor Gary Axen reports this announcement from UCLA: " The California NanoSystems Institute — a wide-ranging research enterprise poised to make a major impact in areas ranging from information technology and household lighting to medical treatment — was named today as one of the three research efforts statewide to receive $100 million in state support to help propel the future of the state's economy…The Institute will explore the power and potential of manipulating structures atom-by-atom to engineer new materials, devices and systems that will dramatically change virtually every aspect of our technology, including medical delivery and health care, information technologies, and innovations for the environment." Read More for the full text including video link, since the announcement URL we're using looks temporary.

Trends in NanoTechnology: free weekly email

from the explosive-tech-news dept.
Tim Harper writes "TNT Weekly, a weekly round up of whats hot in the nanotech world has just gone live at www.cientifica.com — follow the links to TNT Weekly. Any comments, suggestions, questions or anything else, please let us know. thanks" From their website: "TNT Weekly is a free weekly e-mail newsletter providing links and introductions to articles and press releases that have appeared on the web in the last week on the subject of nanotechnology. Click here to view the week 45 sample issue, or here to view the week 48 issue…Our mission is twofold: To inform researchers in all disciplines relevant to Nanotechnology, a field where, like no other in history, multidisciplinary collaborations will bear the greatest fruit; To provide lay and business readers with access to the latest and most relevant information on research and existing and upcoming businesses poised to capitalise on the vast potential of nanotechnology. A key advantage of our editorial team is the ability to cut through the nanotechnology hype." CP: The company is based in Spain, and the site has a European focus.

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