News is getting around about the British IDEAS Factory results, and its implications for the rapid development of molecular manufacturing:
If, in fact, full-blown nanotechnology erupts into our lives in 20 years, instead of 50, the results are likely to be as disruptive as the first century of the Industrial Revolution, but compressed into a much shorter time period. And, given that it might, it is the duty of those of us who would prefer an unimaginable future to an unthinkable one to take seriously the responsibility of handling nanotechnology carefully.But it's also important to remember that we have a huge advantage that our ancestors lacked as they struggled with the first Industrial Revolution: we have a history of technology, and we understand that what technologies are adopted and how they are used is a matter of societal choice. We have the power to imagine, to anticipate and ultimately to steer the development of nanotechnology.
How might we go about that? The first step must be more research -- on that, nearly all the thinkers worth hearing agree.
We need to better understand the possible paths by which molecular manufacturing and other nanotech applications might develop. CRN, for example, has proposed "Thirty Essential Studies" which it believes will illuminate the way forward.
That's from a long and well-written article on nanotechnology at the WorldChanging site. I encourage you to read the whole thing, and leave your comments there as well as here.
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
i am pursuing B.E from IPS academy Indore India.i am in 2nd year chemical engg.i want to do masters in nanotechnology.please let me know the good institutes offering the same,job prospects & various companies placing the nanotechnologists.
Posted by: Dhruv Anand Gupta | January 31, 2007 at 06:42 AM