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Cornell Nanohelicopters Achieve 8rps
Logic Bomb points to "[a] New York Times article [free reg req] detailing this rather incredible bit of technological progress. From the article: 'This is the first true nano machine,' said Dr. Carlo D. Montemagno, professor of biological engineering at Cornell and senior author of the Science paper.' Nuff said." Well, perhaps not -- surely it's not the first tiny mechanical device.
Stuff That Matters links to this brief ZDNet coverage of the same thing, a bit more breathless.
Dr. Besenbacher said the perspective piece was not meant as a prediction, but to inspire researchers to brainstorm about the newly discovered phenomenon.
I suppose that's what you have to say when you speak without thinking first. Someday humans will realize that Ford Prefect was right-- when a human's mouth opens, his brain stops working. (Thank God \. is all done in the fingertips!)
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Meanwhile, other researchers have been building tiny motors inspired by machinery inside living cells. The so-called biomolecular motors run on adenosine triphosphate, or ATP for short, the same energy-rich molecule that powers chemical reactions within cells.
Why do I have sudden images of AI, spider-like robots crawling around fields of human batteries?... I'm not usualy technophobic, but this idea really frightens me-- robots so small you can't see them zipping around my bloodstream parasitically thriving on my energy. Yikes!
Dr. Montemagno's group grafted nickel propellers onto the central shafts of 400 biomolecular motors. Of those, 395 remained motionless, when immersed in a solution full of ATP. But 5 spun.
I like those odds-- 1.2% chance of an energy sucker. But if they become self-replicating-- well? The story, "Nightmare Number 3" comes to mind (I believe it's by Stephen Vincent Benet?).
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"Every man, without exception, is full of it." -- Athanasius
The article never got around to clearing up exactly how large these "helicopters" are. Are we talking true-nanoscale (each atom individually manipulated into place) or just micro-scale?
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"HORSE."
"HORSE."
-Flaming Carrot
it has been talked about, extensively. see http://www.google.com/search?q=nanotech+evil+discu ssion
"My continuing professional work is on improving the reliability of software. Software is a tool, and as a toolbuilder I must struggle with the uses to which the tools I make are put. I have always believed that making software more reliable, given its many uses, will make the world a safer and better place; if I were to come to believe the opposite, then I would be morally obligated to stop this work. I can now imagine such a day may come." Bill Joy
nanotech is a tool just as a hammer is a tool. tools can be used for good and bad purposes. just because a tool *may* be used to cause harm is no reason not to use the tool. I can beat you over the head with a hammer, but I can also build a house.
you're all figments of my deranged imagination
Yes I can see it now, swarms of nano-helicopters flying off to attack the insurgent mosquito populations amid strains of Wagnor's Ride Of The Valkeries...
... not one stinking mozzie corpse. They slipped out in the night -- but the smell -- that chemical smell -- the whole hill -- it smelled like ...
I love the smell of Raid(tm) in the morning.
One time we had a hill gassed for 12 hours. I walked up it when it was all over; we didn't find one of 'em
victory...
This is especially true since bacteria already use the enzyme to spin their flagella (for example), to move themselves around. Sort of like taking a car, putting paddlewheels on the axles instead of wheels, and proclaiming that you've developed the "first true self-propelled machine."
Cute trick, but the hard part -- the nanomotor -- was already built. Nice publicity, though.
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Politics is about making compromises. Religion isn't. --Michael Horton
http://falcon.aben.cornell.edu/
So, I'm assuming that now Electron Jim and his (slightly heavier) pal Proton Bob can finaly settly their differences to go for a flight together. Ah...the power of nanotubes.
47.5% Slashdot Pure(52.5% Corrupt)
I can see someone misplacing this and then never finding it again.
Herm...Now where did I put that thing.....
The anti-salmon
Now all they have to do is engineer nano - factories into our skin so these suckers can be churned out in the thousands and emitted in a aerosol - like spray from our skin to deflect bullets and intercept rockets....
The name's Denton, J.C. Denton
Deus Ex Cheats Page"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
But rogue machines turning amok aren't so dangerous. Nanomachines are extremely fragile, they only survive in their very specific environment. Haven't you read or heard the sentence "biodiversity is endangered"? The potential dangers of nanotech are being considered by the technical people involved, and have been discussed since the nanotech idea was first proposed. Read Eric Drexler's "Engines of Creation", chapter 11, "Engines of Destruction", for instance.
The concept that scientists and engineers are unaware of the dangers of their research comes from people who get a lot of attention and a steady income by sending alarms to the sensationalist tabloids.
The most pressing issue that needs to be considered regarding nanotech is the economic changes that will come when you can manufacture anything you need for free at home. The entire manufacturing sector of the economy will disappear, only intellectual property will remain. The only economic product will be software, and we have a lot of people willing to give software away for free. Can you imagine a world like that? I cannot.
It's very good that they have a working motor, but how are they planning to steer these sorts of things? You could just make a whole bunch (easy enough) and let them spread, but then they don't need to be self-propelling.
WHat I am worried how would these devices be controled when inject in the blood stream.
You can see video of the nanocopters on the Cornell site here
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Not trying to be a troll or anything, but there have been a lot of Nano technology stories posted on Slashdot. Shouldn't their be a specific Nanotech topic for posting, instead of them always falling under Science.. :)
Technically everything on Slashdot related to technology can fall under Science
Just a suggestion..
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Put me down for a 1000. Maybe I can array them together to harvest all my fat cells. Look out Ricky Martin!
http://partners.nytim es. com/2000/11/25/science/25NANO.html
Reality has a liberal bias
...right here.
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The real Raunchola isn't cool enough to have any imposters
I looked at the video. Where's the tail rotor to keep this thing from counterrotating?
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
Although it always seems to be a good sign when we achieve smaller forms of existing technologies they always raise other questions. Some of which I ponder is first, if they will be able to dynamically program them to be able to do other tasks? I know that would undoubtedly be expensive at first but they seem like they'd be expensive to produce now.
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| aim: | bagel is back |
| icq: | 158450 |
( o ) one could say I'm rather baked
I'm already paranoid enough about the black helicopters that keep circling me everywhere I go, now I have to worry about inhaling nano black helicopters.
Please stop the insanity.
J
"Now doctors can perform complicated surgery with the reliablility of the Windows (R) platform," Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced in a press conference today. "Provided that they pay the appropriate license fees, of course."
Microsoft has plans to license the OS on a per-machine basis, for a low price of $10.00 a nanomachine. Industry speculators predict that the sheer number of nanomachines required for many surgeries will provide Microsoft with a very large profit margin. Microsoft officials would neither confirm nor deny rampant rumors that license fees would be charged for the future children of users whose lives are saved by these operations.
Microsoft also announced its plans to market the .NET version of Windows NE, which would allow users to rent Windows NE on a monthly basis. "All we are asking for is a small fee every month for saving a number of lives," Gates told reporters. "Of course, if said fee is not paid, then said life will automatically be revoked by the advanced licensing system of Windows NE."
However, some of Microsoft's competitors were very vocal in their opposition to Microsoft's announcement. Larry Ellison lambasted Microsoft's announcement, stating that "Microsoft isn't thinking about the future. In the future, medical operations won't be limited to just computers and nanomachines -- ordinary household pens will be able to drill into your skin to perform routine surgery." Not coincidentally, Oracle announced today its intent to develop an OS to power ink, which it plans to market primarily to tattoo parlors worldwide.
Please, /. crew, could you give these 'partners' URLs instead of the ones
requiring registration? I know this might cause suspicion at NYTimes, but
there
are quite a few of us who switch to the 'partners' URL anyway. You kind of
miss the point of /. if there's that cumbersome reg stuff between /. and
the /.ed article.
Cheers,
TeknoHog
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Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.