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Nanotechnology: Are Molecular Assemblers Possible?
Roland Piquepaille writes "Two experts in the field of nanotechnology, K. Eric Drexler, Ph.D., cofounder of the Foresight Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., and the person who coined the term "nanotechnology," and Richard E. Smalley, Ph.D., a professor at Rice University and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, exchanged open letters about "molecular assemblers" -- devices capable of positioning atoms and molecules for precisely defined reactions in almost any environment. These letters are making the -- long -- cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News. At the end of this rich exchange of four letters, they still disagree about the issue. Drexler thinks "molecular assemblers" are possible while Smalley denies it. Who is right? Don't count on me to give an answer. This summary contains some forceful quotes from the original letters."
I am certainly impressed with the progress made in the nanotechnology field. Our research lab (which is currently located in south Israel) has been making some studies in the same field. We have invited several world-renowned scientiest to work in our lab. While I'm not actively involved in the said research, I'm responsible for the data warehouse that collects the data into a FoxPro cluster.
One published paper presented the idea of creating a 2.4GHz transmitter in a nanobot which would provide a life feed to the chiropractor when he/she is trying to rehabilitate an athlete. We found that western patients were problematic, since the high content of lead in their bodies scrambled the information sent.
The one thing we are doing is sharing our information. We're currently working on a research portal so that fellow scientist can access our data quickly instead of receiving it on ancient 5.25 floppy disks.
Which is nice.