Molecular manufacturing Systems aren't here yet - but are on the drawing boards. These futuristic systems will use precise computer-controlled tools which measure in the billionths of a meter - to make all kinds of products.
With continued miniturization in all fields of physical research, increasingly complex materials and devices are being constructed. Molecular manufacturing systems deal with using nanoscale machines to construct engineered, atomically precise structures by direct manipulation. The ultimate goal of a molecular manufacturing system is to build all sorts of products, both small and large, with atomic precision.
Projected applications for molecular manufacturing would be the development of smart materials - nanoscale items which could perform certain tasks, such as a nanosensor which would react to the environment and change in some fundamental, intentional way.
Another application would be replicating nanorobots. Sufficiently capable nanorobots could construct more nanorobots, but this type of technology might be pushed away due to ethical guidelilnes.
Also, there are medical nanorobots - which might be capable of navigating through the human bloodstream to fight toxins, carry oxygen, and even small enough - correct genetic disorders.
The technology for molecular manufacturing systems indeed can come into fruition quite quickly - but the potential social impacts could be quite disruptive - with concerns about genetically modified plants, inexpensive, lethal weapons of mass destruction, human cloning, and the economic ramifications of evolving quickly from a scarcity-based economy to an abundance-based economy.
Bookmark
www.MolecularManufacturingSystems.com as a great source of information on the emerging world of nanotechnology and its harnessing for economic advantage.
As news items and other relevant articles become available, we will add them to this growing website. Thanks for stopping by.