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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
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
The ATP-fueled motors, of course, are just F1-ATPase enzyme, straight from bacteria... and the enzyme is indeed nanoscale, at ~8 nm diameter and 14 nm length. But Montemagno didn't build it, just co-opted it.
(The article linked will probably require a paid subscription... sorry 'bout that)
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Politics is about making compromises. Religion isn't. --Michael Horton
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
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.
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
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