The winner of the 2009 Foresight Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology (Theory), Robert A. Freitas Jr., has now been granted the first diamond mechanosynthesis patent. This is not just the first DMS patent but also, I believe, the first mechanosynthesis patent that has ever been issued. Freitas is the sole inventor on this patent, which was… Continue reading Freitas awarded first mechanosynthesis patent
One way to reach molecular machine systems is to get really, really good at protein engineering. If that’s your goal, you’ll want to be in Boston on May 17-21 for PEGS 2010, “the essential protein engineering summit”. Not sure if this is your pathway? Just reading the talk titles is educational. And they have great… Continue reading The protein engineering path to molecular manufacturing
Robin Hanson comments on David Brin’s response to a New Scientist editorial. As Brin notes, many would-be broadcasters come from an academic area where for decades the standard assumption has been that aliens are peaceful zero-population-growth no-nuke greens, since we all know that any other sort quickly destroy themselves. This seems to me an instructive… Continue reading Alien Invasion
Rob Freitas has a new paper up: Robert A. Freitas Jr., “Diamond Trees (Tropostats): A Molecular Manufacturing Based System for Compositional Atmospheric Homeostasis,” IMM Report 43, 10 February 2010 Abstract. The future technology of molecular manufacturing will enable long-term sequestration of atmospheric carbon in solid diamond products, along with sequestration of lesser masses of numerous… Continue reading New Freitas paper: Diamond Trees
Back in April, I wrote: Nanotechnology, the revolutionary technology, was always about the power of self-replication and never only about the very small. The ability of a machine system to make more of itself, or more generally, make its own parts and be able to assemble or replace them as needed, is called autogeny. There’s… Continue reading Autogenous or autopoietic?
Metamaterials could reduce friction in nanomachines. from Eurekalert: Ames Laboratory researchers discover repulsive Casimir effect Nanoscale machines expected to have wide application in industry, energy, medicine and other fields may someday operate far more efficiently thanks to important theoretical discoveries concerning the manipulation of famous Casimir forces that took place at the U.S. Department of… Continue reading Metamaterials could reduce friction in nanomachines
In Popular Mechanics, longtime Foresight friend Prof. Glenn Reynolds looks at the future of nanotech and artificial intelligence, among other things looking at safety issues, including one call that potentially dangerous technologies be relinquished. He takes a counterintuitive stance, which we’ve discussed here at Foresight over the years: But I wonder if that’s such a… Continue reading Reynolds advocates faster nano/AI R&D for safety reasons
Ted Greenwald continues his Singularity University executive program coverage over at Wired: These days, though, Merkle is setting his sights much higher. Over the past few years he has put together a theoretical system for building diamond, atom by atom. It involves nine molecular tools and methane/hydrogen feedstock on a diamond substrate. He has analyzed… Continue reading More Merkle at Singularity University
Ted Greenwald posted yesterday at Wired about Foresight member Ralph Merkle’s presentation on nanotechnology at the Singularity University’s first Executive Program, which has just convened over at NASA Ames here in Silicon Valley: From there he skims through a catalog of progress — familiar example of pushing atoms into IBM logos and such on a… Continue reading Merkle on nanotech at Singularity University
Nanotechnology devices: Molecular machines shift into gear. An atomically precise gear, rotated by pushing the teeth one at a time with a STM tip.
