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Oh come on guys, wouldn't it be better to understand who it works before saying this it not going to work. WE have had self-sealing fueltanks in military aircraft since WWII which uses a similiquid to fill the hole and seal if from fuel loss. NASA is (has) developed self healing composites for the skin of aircraft and spacecraft from the nanotechnology research. From an engineering standpoint, when we have new and revolutionary ideas put forth it means someone is thinking and not simply reacting against anything new or different. One of the lessons learned in life is that nothing remains the same, change is the constant. This has been put up before, but for those who want to think a little, here it is again: http://www.nano.gov/.

All of the proposals have merit and need research. I suggest, however, that we do it with knowldge of what is being reserached now. The best sources for gathering all the research together is linked here:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
http://www.nano.gov/
Yes, our government is working on the problem(s), if budget cuts don't go too far, this is one place where our Tax money is well spent.

If you are looking for improved and not perfect transmission there is one solution that people seem to be missing. Sure room-temp superconductors sound great, but until there is a miracle discovery, we might have to settle with carbon nanotube transmission lines instead. They allow for high current transmission at very low losses and the technology is right around the corner. A quick google came up with this article. Not the best link, but it will get you started...

One of my insider mining newsletters that I subscribe to just mentioned how zinc might end up being the most rare material in the coming years.

At least we won't run out of carbon anytime soon. I seriously don't think that running out of copper will be that big of a problem. If anything, it'll give a boost to the kind of long nanotube synthesis that we need to a space elevator.

Communications networks will be silicon or wireless. Power networks will be carbon.

The whole federal government is supporting nanotechnology... and has for years.

The whole federal government is supporting nanotechnology... and has for years.

Full Disclosure: I'm a Senior Associate with the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing http://imm.org/.

I have to say that this article seriously misses the mark.

Recombinant DNA research self-regulation has been in place for 30 years now, and it has worked very well to prevent "Andromeda Strain" style accidents. The most recent full overhaul was in 1994:

http://www4.od.nih.gov/oba/rac/guidelines/guidelin es.html

There are people who are holding debates about similar regulation for molecular nanotechnology already: The National Nanotechnology Initiative http://www.nano.gov/, The Foresight Institute http://foresight.org/, The International Council on Nanotechnology http://icon.rice.edu/, and many others, including the IMM. The intent of these organizations is to establish guidelines for developement of nanotechnology, and to explore applications.

Here is the first set of guidelines which have been established:

http://imm.org/guidelines/current.html

I fully expect that this will be updated, as the technologies involved become more capable.

A good analysis of the actual societal implications is available from NNI here:

http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/society.html

Don't blow things out of proportion until they are actually implemented; the amount of regulation of any technology has historically always been as much or even much more than was necessary at the time.

-- Terry

Full Disclosure: I'm a Senior Associate with the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing http://imm.org/.

I have to say that this article seriously misses the mark.

Recombinant DNA research self-regulation has been in place for 30 years now, and it has worked very well to prevent "Andromeda Strain" style accidents. The most recent full overhaul was in 1994:

http://www4.od.nih.gov/oba/rac/guidelines/guidelin es.html

There are people who are holding debates about similar regulation for molecular nanotechnology already: The National Nanotechnology Initiative http://www.nano.gov/, The Foresight Institute http://foresight.org/, The International Council on Nanotechnology http://icon.rice.edu/, and many others, including the IMM. The intent of these organizations is to establish guidelines for developement of nanotechnology, and to explore applications.

Here is the first set of guidelines which have been established:

http://imm.org/guidelines/current.html

I fully expect that this will be updated, as the technologies involved become more capable.

A good analysis of the actual societal implications is available from NNI here:

http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/society.html

Don't blow things out of proportion until they are actually implemented; the amount of regulation of any technology has historically always been as much or even much more than was necessary at the time.

-- Terry

If you want to know more 'bout this nanotechnology that everyone's talking about: Institute of Nanotechnology and National Nanotechnology Initiative

Short-term greed in our pre-abundance society is already fueling companies, governments, and research scientists to develop nanotechnology. Long-term, this tech will be the great equalizer, with even food and hardware being open sourced. Can't keep the genie in the bottle.

--

nasa's been in the nano game for a long time (since at least 1996)

http://www.nano.gov/2003budget.html will give you an insight into the actual dollars.

Oh yeah, and I think that simple life forms will be made with this technology and some idiot scientist will think he's all bad-ass, until the damn thing morphs into some wicked, evil thing right out of hell like something in Doom II and it will turn into a three-headed huge dinosaur-like creature, about the size of Godzilla or something, and it'll go stomping around and smashing up all of human civilization until there is literally nothing left in the world except for these things fighting amongst themselves. And that day will be called Armageddon, the end of all things. Oh well. For now, all I need is another Negra Modelo.

If you didn't get what the hell I was talking about in the first paragraph, please allow me to summarize it right here:

The processors in our computers will someday consist of the following technologies, combined as outlined in the aforementioned articles:

• Gate-based logic.
• Quantum computing.
• Biological computing.
• Nanotechnology.

Some interesting information, found at the National Nanotechnology Initiative's site, at http://www.nano.gov/nsetmem.htm, which lists the member participants:

PARTICIPANTS: NSET Members

Chair: M.C. Roco, NSF
Executive Secretary: J.S. Murday, NRL

Members: OSTP: S.N. Pace
OMB: D. Radzanowski
CIA: F.D. Gac
DOA: P. Schwab
DOC: C. Campbell, S. Yun,
DOD: W. Berry, J.S. Murday, G.S. Pomrenke
DOE: I.L. Thomas, R. Price, B.G. Volintine
DOJ: D. Boyd, T. DePersia
DOS: R. Braibanti, R. McCreight
DOT: R.R. John, A. Lacombe
DoTREAS: E. Murphy
EPA: L.A. Friedl, S. Lingle
NASA: S. Venneri, M. Hirschbein, M. Dastoor
NIH: J.A. Schloss, E. Kousvelari
NRC: U.S. Bhachu
NIST: P. Casassa, C.R. Snyder, P. Looney
NSF: M.C. Roco, T.A. Weber, M.P. Henkart.

According to the Nanoindustries site at http://www.nanoindustries.com/, Nanotechnology can provide vast benefits above and beyond what is being experimented with today. For example:

Nanotechnology could save the ozone layer. Whilst experimenting with nanospheres and perfluorodecalin, a liquid used in the production of synthetic blood, researchers at Germany's University of Ulm have stumbled across a phenomenon that could ultimately help remove ozone-harming chemicals from the atmosphere. The perfluorodecalin, against all expectations, was taken up by a water-based suspension of 60 nm diameter polystyrene articles. nanotechweb 1/30/03

For those of you interested in Quantum computing, there is an interesting book by Braunstein... you can find more information about it at http://www.informatics.bangor.ac.uk/~schmuel/book/ book1.html.

With the Bush Administration streamlining services to help U.S. businesses grow, I think I can go ahead and have my Negra Modelo now.

This post has been composed of serious material, funny material, crap, and useful information. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please call us toll free by paying us the sum of One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00 USD) to receive our toll free voice telephone number, or simply email us by using the best email application on the market, Microsoft Outlook.

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It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. And I'm going to have a Negra Modelo. Or two. Or three. Or four. Or five..... I have too much time on my hands.

Oh yeah, and I think that simple life forms will be made with this technology and some idiot scientist will think he's all bad-ass, until the damn thing morphs into some wicked, evil thing right out of hell like something in Doom II and it will turn into a three-headed huge dinosaur-like creature, about the size of Godzilla or something, and it'll go stomping around and smashing up all of human civilization until there is literally nothing left in the world except for these things fighting amongst themselves. And that day will be called Armageddon, the end of all things. Oh well. For now, all I need is another Negra Modelo.

If you didn't get what the hell I was talking about in the first paragraph, please allow me to summarize it right here:

The processors in our computers will someday consist of the following technologies, combined as outlined in the aforementioned articles:

• Gate-based logic.
• Quantum computing.
• Biological computing.
• Nanotechnology.

Some interesting information, found at the National Nanotechnology Initiative's site, at http://www.nano.gov/nsetmem.htm, which lists the member participants:

PARTICIPANTS: NSET Members

Chair: M.C. Roco, NSF
Executive Secretary: J.S. Murday, NRL

Members: OSTP: S.N. Pace
OMB: D. Radzanowski
CIA: F.D. Gac
DOA: P. Schwab
DOC: C. Campbell, S. Yun,
DOD: W. Berry, J.S. Murday, G.S. Pomrenke
DOE: I.L. Thomas, R. Price, B.G. Volintine
DOJ: D. Boyd, T. DePersia
DOS: R. Braibanti, R. McCreight
DOT: R.R. John, A. Lacombe
DoTREAS: E. Murphy
EPA: L.A. Friedl, S. Lingle
NASA: S. Venneri, M. Hirschbein, M. Dastoor
NIH: J.A. Schloss, E. Kousvelari
NRC: U.S. Bhachu
NIST: P. Casassa, C.R. Snyder, P. Looney
NSF: M.C. Roco, T.A. Weber, M.P. Henkart.

According to the Nanoindustries site at http://www.nanoindustries.com/, Nanotechnology can provide vast benefits above and beyond what is being experimented with today. For example:

Nanotechnology could save the ozone layer. Whilst experimenting with nanospheres and perfluorodecalin, a liquid used in the production of synthetic blood, researchers at Germany's University of Ulm have stumbled across a phenomenon that could ultimately help remove ozone-harming chemicals from the atmosphere. The perfluorodecalin, against all expectations, was taken up by a water-based suspension of 60 nm diameter polystyrene articles. nanotechweb 1/30/03

For those of you interested in Quantum computing, there is an interesting book by Braunstein... you can find more information about it at http://www.informatics.bangor.ac.uk/~schmuel/book/ book1.html.

With the Bush Administration streamlining services to help U.S. businesses grow, I think I can go ahead and have my Negra Modelo now.

This post has been composed of serious material, funny material, crap, and useful information. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please call us toll free by paying us the sum of One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00 USD) to receive our toll free voice telephone number, or simply email us by using the best email application on the market, Microsoft Outlook.

• Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
• "Isuzu" is a registered trademark of American Isuzu Motors Inc.
• "Chrysler" is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler.
• "Chevrolet" is a registered trademark of General Motors Corporation.
• "Volvo" is a registered trademark of Volvo Cars of North America, LLC.
• "Linux" is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
• "Lotus" is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation in the United States and other countries.
• "Saturn" is a registered trademark of Saturn Corporation.
• "Nestea" is a registered trademark of Soci,t, des Produits Nestl, S.A., Switzerland. "Evian" is a registered trademark of Groupe Danone.
• "Mitsubishi" is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc.
• "Oldsmobile" is a registered trademark of General Motors Corporation.
• "Nissan" is a registered trademark of Nissan North America, Inc.
• "Acura" is a registered trademark of American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
• "Jeep" is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler.
• "Toyota" is a registered trademark of Toyota Motor Corporation.
• "Hyundai" is a registered trademark of Hyundai Motor America.
• "Plymouth" is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler.
• "Mickey's Avonturen" is a trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc.
• "Cadillac" is a registered trademark of General Motors Corporation.
• "Dodge" is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler.
• "Mazda" is a registered trademark of Mazda Motor Corporation.
• "Honda" is a registered trademark of American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
• "Ford" is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company.
• "Mercury" is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company.
• "Lincoln" is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company.
• "Coca- Cola", "Coca-Cola light", "Cherry Coke", "Sprite", "Fanta", "Aquarius", "Bonaqua", "Kinley", "Minute Maid", "Splash", "Aquana"the design of the "Coca-Cola Contour" Bottle and the "Coca-Cola Red Disc" icon are registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.
• "Subaru" is a registered trademark of Subaru of America, Inc.
• "Kia" is a registered trademark of Kia Motors America, Inc.
• "GMC" is a registered trademark of General Motors Corporation.
• "IBM," the e-business logo, eServer, iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, zSeries, Websphere, DB2, and Tivoli are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and other countries.
• "Red Hat" is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.
• "Red Devil Energy Drink" is a registered trademark of Futuristic Brands S.A., Luxemburg.
• All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. It's time for another beer. And I'm going to have a Negra Modelo. Or two. Or three. Or four. Or five..... I have too much time on my hands.

Just a point of information...

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "biologics", but I'm guessing you mean studying biological, as opposed to man-made and mechanical, structures. If so, then you have a misconception.

I think the popular conception of nanotech is these tiny robots or whatever, but this is a very bad misconception. In reality, most of the successful research in what is called "nano-technology" is really in the realm of biology. Just peruse the NSF's site and you'll see all kinds of biological stuff here at first glance.

One more thing... the plural of virus ain't "virii".

Current US-government research is becoming more heavily funded by the military. The near-term application seems to be sensors for various biological and chemical threats. That makes sense - one tiny nanotechnology unit is useful in that application. There's ongoing interest in a DNA reader, one of the obvious nanotechnology applications. Again, single units, perhaps assembled with a STM, work for that.

Self-replicating nanobots are still a long way off. That's the application that gets everybody excited, but it's hard to do.