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Programmable Matter: The New Alchemy

Posted by michael on from the lead-from-gold dept.

Anonymous Kamath writes "IEEE Spectrum recently published an interview with aerospace-engineer-turned-science-fiction-author Wil McCarthy who's just written his first non-fiction book "Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms" proposing the application of quantum dot technology on a large scale thereby allowing one to control properties of materials at will. Another science fiction author laid down the principles of geostationary satellite communication half a century ago."

5 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Rebadge required by Timesprout · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The editors seem to have realised nobody actually reads the articles anymore, posters just write whatever springs to mind. So far today we had the earlier $95 dollar Gartner report and now members only access to the article.

    Are we seeing the birth of a new site, SlashGossip, made up stuff for nerds to post shit about??

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
    1. Re:Rebadge required by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      I thought Taco claimed "nobody reads the comments"?!!

      Looks like nobody reads the articles! (As anyone that's read with a threashold below 1 knows all too well!)

      I guess /. corporate policy is to now just post incindiary blurbs for the trolls to bitch about.

      I approve!

  2. Re:Arthur C. Clarke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, and a broken clock is right twice a day. Given how many SF authors there are, it is inevitable that some of them will make guesses that turn out to be reasonable facsimiles of the future.

  3. nanotech by MikeFM · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The first time I heard of this was along with nanotechnology and the twins have haunted my view of the future since. The current battle about genetics looks like kids stuff when you compare it to nanotechnology and programmable matter. Imagine if you could create an implant that'd let you manipulate individual atoms and add in your own quasi-atoms. It'd be especially cool if you could hack your own body with that technology. It makes most of our concepts of magic sound like nothing at all. :)

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  4. Re:I've just finished reading this book and... by JimDabell · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ohh, and the last section of the book (actually and appendix) is all about the patent he filed for a device he came up with over the course of writing the book called a quantum well. It makes me a little nervous when someone's already trying to patent stuff that isn't realizable for years and years. Not a call to arms, but something to think about.

    Well if it's years off, the patent will have expired by then - and the Patent Office will have no choice but see the prior art when somebody gets around to trying to patent it again.