Nanotechnology and Meaning Ralph C Merkle www merkle

Nanotechnology and Meaning Ralph C. Merkle www. merkle. com 1

Seventh Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology October 15 -17, 1999 Santa Clara, CA www. foresight. org/Conferences 2

Three historical trends in manufacturing • More flexible • More precise • Less expensive 3

Approaching the limit: nanotechnology • Fabricate most structures consistent with physical law • Get essentially every atom in the right place • Inexpensive manufacturing costs (~10 -50 cents/kilogram) http: //nano. xerox. com/nano 4

It matters how atoms are arranged • Coal • Sand Diamonds Computer chips 5

Today’s manufacturing methods move atoms in great thundering statistical herds • • • Casting Grinding Mixing Lithography …. . 6

A modern manufacturing facility 7

Possible arrangements of atoms. What we can make today (not to scale) 8

The goal: a healthy bite. . 9

Two more fundamental ideas • Self replication for low cost • Positional assembly of molecular parts 10

Complexity of self replicating systems (bits) Von Neumann's universal constructor about 500, 000 Internet worm (Robert Morris, Jr. , 1988) 500, 000 Mycoplasma capricolum 1, 600, 000 E. Coli 9, 278, 442 Drexler's assembler 100, 000 Human 6, 400, 000 NASA Lunar Manufacturing Facility over 100, 000, 000 http: //nano. xerox. com/nanotech/self. Rep. html 11

Self replication can be very low cost • Potatoes, lumber, wheat and other agricultural products are often roughly a dollar per kilogram. • Nanotechnology will let us make almost any product for about a dollar per kilogram, independent of complexity. (Design costs, licensing costs, etc. not included) 12

Positional assembly of molecular parts is new • Self assembly: stir together molecular parts that spontaneously self assemble into desired structures. • Positional assembly: put molecular parts exactly where we want them, vastly increasing the range of molecular structures we can make. 13

Moving molecules with an SPM Gimzewski, IBM Zurich 14

A proposal for a molecular positional device 15

Classical uncertainty σ: k: kb: T: RMS positional error restoring force Boltzmann’s constant temperature 16

A numerical example of classical uncertainty σ: k: kb: T: 0. 02 nm (0. 2 Å) 10 N/m 1. 38 x 10 -23 J/K 300 K 17

If we can make whatever we want what do we want to make? 18

Diamond Physical Properties Property Diamond’s value. Comments Chemical reactivity Hardness (kg/mm 2) Thermal conductivity (W/cm-K) Tensile strength (pascals) Compressive strength (pascals) Band gap (ev) Resistivity (W-cm) Density (gm/cm 3) Thermal Expansion Coeff (K-1) Refractive index Coeff. of Friction Extremely low 9000 20 3. 5 x 109 (natural) 1011 (natural) 5. 5 1016 (natural) 3. 51 0. 8 x 10 -6 2. 41 @ 590 nm 0. 05 (dry) CBN: 4500 Si. C: 4000 Ag: 4. 3 Cu: 4. 0 1011 (theoretical) 5 x 1011 (theoretical) Si: 1. 1 Ga. As: 1. 4 Si. O 2: 0. 5 x 10 -6 Glass: 1. 4 - 1. 8 Teflon: 0. 05 Source: Crystallume 19

A hydrocarbon bearing (theoretical) 20

A bearing made of H, C, N, O, and S. The shaft has 17 fold symmetry, the sleeve 23 21

Memory probe 22

Neon pump 23

A planetary gear 24

Fine motion controller 25

Drexler’s assembler http: //www. foresight. org/UTF/Unbound_LBW/chapt_6. html 26

Products Produc Core molecular Products manufacturing Products capabilities Products Today Overview of the development of nanotechnology Products Products Products Products Products 27 Products

The impact of nanotechnology depends on what’s being made • Computers, memory, displays • • Space Exploration Medicine Military Energy, Transportation, etc. 28

Displays • Molecular machines smaller than a wavelength of light will let us build holographic displays that reconstruct the entire wave front of a light wave • It will be like looking through a window into another world • Covering walls, ceilings and floor would immerse us in another reality 29

Computer generated reality • Vast computational power will be needed to model a 3 -D “reality” in real time and generate the full optical wavefront (ten trillion samples per square meter every 10 milliseconds) • Nanotechnology will give us vast computational power 30

Powerful computers • In the future we’ll pack more computing power into a sugar cube than the sum total of all the computer power that exists in the world today • We’ll be able to store more than 1021 bits in the same volume • Or more than a billion Pentiums operating in parallel • Powerful enough to run Windows 2015 31

Easier methods? • Optic nerve – has ~1, 000 nerves – can carry only a few megabytes/sec • Human brain – 1013 to 1016 operations/sec • A sugar cube computer – over 1018 operations/sec 32

Easier alternatives • Track eye location, generate only that portion of the wavefront actually seen (which is also low power) • Directly stimulate the retina • Directly stimulate the optic nerves (involves implantable nanodevices) 33

Swallowing the surgeon. . . it would be interesting in surgery if you could swallow the surgeon. You put the mechanical surgeon inside the blood vessel and it goes into the heart and “looks” around. . Other small machines might be permananetly incorporated in the body to assist some inadequately-functioning organ. Richard P. Feynman, 1959 Nobel Prize for Physics, 1965 34

Mitochondrion Molecular bearing 20 nm scale bar Ribosome Molecular computer (4 -bit) + peripherals 35

“Typical” cell Mitochondrion Molecular computer + peripherals 36

Medical nanodevice power and signal • Oxygen/glucose fuel cells can be scaled to molecular size and provide electric power, producing H 2 O and C 02 • Megahertz acoustic signals are safe and can transmit data to devices that are tens of nanometers in size 37

Resting potential: ~-0. 65 volts Nerve cell membrane Acoustically activated nanodevice (large) 38

An alternative to displays • Direct stimulation of human nerve cells via nanodevices will be feasible • High-bandwidth externally derived input, augmenting or replacing ordinary input from the eye, ear, nose, skin, etc. • Safe for long term use if desired 39

Nanomedicine Volume I • A comprehensive survey of medical applications of nanotechnology • Extensive technical analysis • Volumes II, III and popular book planned • Author: Robert Freitas • http: //www. foresight. org/Nanomedicine 40

Types of medical treatment • Surgery: intelligent guidance, crude tools • Drugs: no intelligence, molecular precision • Medical nanodevices: intelligent guidance, molecular precision 41

A revolution in medicine • Today, loss of cell function results in cellular deterioration: function must be preserved • With medical nanodevices, passive structures can be repaired. Cell function can be restored provided cell structure can be inferred: structure must be preserved 42

Cryonics Temperature 37º C Restore to health Freeze -196º C (77 Kelvins) Time (many decades) 43

Would you rather join: The control group? (no action required) or The experimental group? (see www. alcor. org for info) 44

National Nanotechnology Initiative • Interagency (NSF, NASA, NIST, NIH, DOD, . . See http: //www. nsf. gov/nano) • Favorable congressional hearings • Government funding expected to double • Academic interest increasing • Private funding increasing (existing companies, startups such as Zyvex) 45

There is a growing sense in the scientific and technical community that we are about to enter a golden new era. Richard Smalley http: //www. house. gov/ science/smalley_062299. htm 46

Nanotechnology offers. . . possibilities for health, wealth, and capabilities beyond most past imaginings. K. Eric Drexler 47

How long? • The scientifically correct answer is I don’t know • Trends in computer hardware suggest the 2010 to 2020 time frame • Of course, how long it takes depends on what we do 48

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. Alan Kay 49