Studying MM Capabilities

Yesterday we began a renewed look at CRN's Thirty Essential Nanotechnology Studies. These are the preliminary conclusions that form the basis of our provisional answers to each study:

• Programmable positional chemistry, with the ability to fabricate nanocomponents, can be the basis of an extremely powerful manufacturing technology. The importance of this is substantially unrecognized.
  
• Development of molecular manufacturing may be imminent, depending on whether any of several actors has begun investigating it already. We believe that a program started today, even outside the United States, could finish in under a decade, including development of a substantial product design capability.
  
• Development activity may be very difficult to detect.
  
• Several considerations, including economics and product sophistication, point to MM being a transformative, disruptive, destabilizing, and potentially dangerous technology.
  
• Although the technology may be quite dangerous, avoidance and prevention are not viable options. Simple attempts to dominate or control the capability will also be unworkable.
  
• MM will also have many productive uses, and policy must account for the global-scale problems it can solve as well as a possible high level of civilian demand/utilization.
  
• Policymaking and preparation will be complex and difficult, and will require substantial time.

The Thirty Studies are organized in five sections. The first section (described yesterday) covers fundamental theory: insights that may be counterintuitive or unobvious and need explanation, but that can be double-checked by simple thought. The second section, studies 3-6, addresses technological capabilities of possible molecular manufacturing technologies.

Section Two: Capabilities of Molecular Manufacturing Technologies

Molecular manufacturing (MM) is the use of programmable chemistry to make programmable products, including duplicate manufacturing systems. Programmability implies automation, and duplication implies low capital cost. MM may drastically reduce the cost of both products and manufacturing capacity. In addition, precise control of chemistry should produce very strong structure and very compact functionality. High performance products imply high performance manufacturing. Quantifying these advantages is necessary to understand the impact and desirability of MM.

3. What is the performance and potential of diamondoid machine-phase chemical manufacturing and products?
4. What is the performance and potential of biological programmable manufacturing and products?
5. What is the performance and potential of nucleic acid manufacturing and products?
6. What other chemistries and options should be studied?

We are actively looking for researchers interested in performing or assisting with this work. Please contact CRN Research Director Chris Phoenix if you would like more information or if you have comments on the proposed studies.

Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog

Comments

[jim moore]

Your answer to #6 needs to be updated,
Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane need to be added to the list of potential raw materials. These are literally molecular building blocks. Imagine a molecule that has a core that is cube like, at each of the eight corners is a silicon atom, an oxygen bridges the corners of the cage. Each silicon atom can make four bonds three of them go to making the cube like cage, the fourth bond goes directly out from the cage in the form of a silicon - carbon bond. That carbon has three remaining bonds it can make that allow for a wide variety of functional groups to be attached to the cage.

On each corner of the building block you have places to attach handles, or positioners, or linkers. Combine the building blocks with mechanical positioning and a post curing and we may have a general system for making nano-scale objects.

[michael vassar]

It seems to me that Silicon Crystals should be considered as well as diamondoid. It's less optimal for the function, but our techniques for working with it are more developed. I think that some people think carbon nanotubes and associated technologies also deserve consideration.

[Mike Treder, CRN]

Previous long comment (from AYTQ) deleted for being totally off-topic.

[Dan S]

Silicon crystals are unlikely candidates for MM. Si-Si bond is highly unstable especially in oxydizing atmosphere. Silicates might be a better alternative but Si-O-Si bond angle bending stiffnes is poor. Anyway these materials belong to "diamomdoid" class.

[michael vassar]

Even if Si-Si bonds are highly unstable in O2, they might easily be worth using during the bootstrapping process, where it's practical to work, say, under an inert atmosphere or at deeply cryogenic temperatures.

[Phillip Huggan]

I keep tabs on CNTs and am presently retracing some of the late R. Smalley's work, because CNTs give one dimension to aid in metrology. CNTs are a very expensive feedstock and novel methods for joining them together would have to be found. A CNT pathway seems more like a way to make molecular computers than a general purpose manufacturing technology.

[Chris Phoenix, CRN]

Jim, Tee Toth-Fejel and I suggested POSS in our NIAC work about a year ago. I have some concerns about stiffness, though.

Dan, silicates are interesting to me because their deposition can be catalyzed via protein (R5, silicatein). This implies a possible protein->covalent-solid-lattice bridge.

Phillip, I saw some work a few years ago on growing templated branched CNT structures. That might be a way to start to get mechanical structure. I agree, novel joining would have to be found; DNA-binding has been used to make topological joins (e.g. for transistors) but I suspect it wouldn't be stiff enough for a nanomachine.

We'll be updating the answer to the first subquestion of study 6.

Chris