Atomically precise rendering of proposed nanomachines is rapidly growing more sophisticated. Less than two years ago, images such as those shown here would not have been possible. This is the work of a young company called Nanorex, founded by Mark Sims.
The SRG-IIb (above) is a parallel-shaft speed reducer gear created by Mark Sims. It was designed and modeled completely from scratch using nanoENGINEER-1 (Alpha 6), the software modeling program his firm is developing.
"The goal of the SRG-II was to create a robust nanoscale gear complete with a casing and extended connector shafts," says Mark. "As you can see, the SRG-II looks every bit like a speed reducer gear."
This belt drive assembly, designed by Ninad Sathaye, is still under construction. The animation sequence shows partial results of an early version of the drive.
Above is a molecular pump design by K. Eric Drexler.
The SRG-III, above, is the third parallel-shaft speed reducer gear created by Mark Sims. A hybrid of the SRG-I and SRG-II, it is the first molecular gear train ever designed. With 15,342 atoms, the SRG-III is the single largest nanomechanical device that has been modeled in atomic detail.
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In a few more years, with computer speed and power continuing to grow exponentially, far larger simulations will be made, enabling designers to study highly complex devices with atomic precision. This is an important step on the road to building a desktop nanofactory.
With technical progress moving ahead so rapidly, it becomes ever more urgent to understand and prepare for the transformative impacts of advanced nanotechnology.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
Nice pictures, I like the colours!
Has any thought been given to how you might make these things? Could mechanosynthesis reach in and stick atoms on the inside of the gears, or would they be built in parts and snapped together, or made by traditional chemistry processes? Any ideas at all?
Do the people who design these machines use any rules to guide them as to what atoms can be stuck where and in what order? Or is the process more a combination of papier mache and colouring in?
Do you know what speed the parts are moving in the simulations?
Posted by: Monty | February 22, 2006 at 03:23 AM
I would like to see machines made with only carbon and hydrogen. Carbon and hydrogen are (currently) the only two types of atoms that we have good reason to believe can be used in mechanical synthesis. Until we have an accurate simulation of other types of atoms being added to a work piece at precise locations with very high reliability I don't think that you can count on being able to use them when you are designing nano-machines.
Posted by: jim moore | February 22, 2006 at 06:06 AM
It appears that at some point it was possible to download and install this (per the poll question) but I don't see any way to do this now - am I missing it?
Posted by: Tom Craver | February 22, 2006 at 05:55 PM
sir that was really nice...
i want to know more about this concepts ...
pls help me...
Posted by: karthick venkatesh | August 28, 2006 at 10:10 PM