Nanotechnology: Immortality Or Total Annihilation? :: essays research papers

     Technology has evolved from ideals once regulaten as unbelievable to common everyday instruments. Computers that employ to occupy an entire room are now the size of notebooks. The world race has al slipway pushed for technological advances take a leaking at the most economic level, perhaps, the molecular level. The developments and progress in artificial intelligence and molecular engineering science have spawned a new form of technology Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology could give the pitying race eternal life, or it could cause total annihilation.     The idea of nanotech was conceived by a man named K. Eric Drexler (Stix 94), which he defines as "Technology based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to build structures to complex atomic specifications (Drexler, "Engines" 288)." The technology which Drexler speaks of lead be undoubtedly small, in fact, nano- structures will only measure degree cent igrade nanometers, or a billionth of a meter (Stix 94).     Being as small as they are, nanostructures require fine particles that can only be seen with the STM, or Scanning Tunneling Microscope (Dowie 4). Moreover the STM allows the scientists to not only see things at the molecular level, but it can pick up and give out atoms as well (Port 128). Unfortunately the one device that is giving nanoscientists something to work with is also one of the many obstacles restricting the development of nanotech. The STM has been regarded as too big to ever produce nanotech structures (Port 128). Other scientists have state that the manipulation of atoms, which nanotech relies on, ignores atomic reality. Atoms exclusively dont fit together in ways which nanotech intends to use them (Garfinkel 105). The problems plaguing the progress of nanotech has raised many questions among the scientific community concerning its validity. The wretched of atoms, the gathering of inform ation, the restrictions of the STM, all restrict nanotech progress. And until these questions are answered, nanotech is regarded as silly (Stix 98).      scarcely the nanotech optimists are still out there. They contend that the progress made by a team at IBM who was able to write letters and put one over pictures atom by atom actually began the birth of nanotech (Darling 49). These same flock answer the scientific questions by replying that a breakthrough is not needed, quite an the science gained must be applied (DuCharme 33). In fact, Drexler argues that the machines exist, trends are simply working on building better ones ("Unbounding" 24). Drexler continues by stating that the machines he round about in "Engines of Creation" published in 1986 should be