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The Nanotech Nose: Towards A Smaller Future

Posted by michael on from the bigger-and-better dept.

Farrax writes "One of the first steps to nanotechnology, either strong or weak, is the ability to even talk about materials on this scale with precision. Thursday, with the successful test of a nano-tech "nose," that step was achieved: weight fluctuations of 5.5 femtograms were detected on a bar of gold. The dream of nano-technology moves forward: maybe we'll see it by 2020 after all."

5 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Excellant Article on Nanotech by Michael's+a+Jerk! · · Score: 5, Informative

    is Here

    magine a world where microscopic biomechanical devices are used to cure diseases, control our computers, and power the vehicles we drive. In this brave new world, minuscule techno-agents would have incredible computational power--power that is completely imperceptible to the human eye. Devices like these could become commonplace over the next fifty years as new innovations in molecular engineering--also known as nanotechnology--may help establish a new molecular age.

    --

    I'm not Seth.

    1. Re:Excellant Article on Nanotech by $alex_n42 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Google spake thusly:
      Scientific American nanotechnology articles: linky.
      Richard Feynmand's famous talk: linky
      Ralph C. Merkle's Small World article: linky

      Some more google results: linky

      Just though I'd share.

  2. Reading a wee bit too far into this, are we? by klasikahl · · Score: 5, Informative

    Maybe it's the fact that I am reading this at 0330 (MST). However, I think a lot of the /.ers commenting on this article are reading into the potential just a little bit too far. People are talking about stuff anywhere from losing their jobs to nanotechnology all the way to robots taking over the world. This article is about a nano-scale being able to weigh ~122 atoms of gold. This article is not talking about a nano-scale that was able sense the weight, then reflect about it in its /. journal or develop a mastermind scheme on how it will take over the world.

    And unless this ity-bity scale was merely crafted by engineers and never programmed (thus being able to program itself), then I think the human race has nothing to worry about. That's right, /.ers, save your conspiracy theories; they have no weight in comments about being able to measure gold.

  3. Re:how small is too small? by kfg · · Score: 3, Informative

    People don't use nanotech in the sense that they use a phone. If anything nanotech would be used on people.

    A grain of sugar is too small to use. . .unless you ingest it. Then it manages to power your body.

    Your body does this by using nanotech machines, called enzymes. You couldn't call your girlfriend on an enzyme, but you'd be in deep shit without them and I wouldn't advise not using them because they're too small.

    KFG

  4. Re:Size by Melchior_of_wg · · Score: 3, Informative

    You got it right. A billion over there is 10^9 (or a Giga). Femto is 10^-15. Which means that the original 'explanation' is off by a factor of one thousand...So, I guess someone has mixed grams and kilograms (which you generally base it on, for whatever reason).