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I think people here seriously underestimate how long nanotech will take. Suppose you have a machine which takes atoms and deposits them onto a surface, building it up layer by layer. This is possible with today's technology, but it's a slow process. Consider this: If someone builds a replicator which takes a week to make a copy of itself, every person on this entire planet could have one within eight months. Think about it.
Anonymous wrote: > I think people here seriously underestimate how long nanotech will take. > Suppose you have a machine which takes atoms and deposits them onto a > surface, building it up layer by layer. This is possible with today's > technology, but it's a slow process. Quantum Well Lasers are three atomic layers of gallium indium arsenide, packed between ultra-thin layers of indium phosphide and used in all high speed CDROM drives on the market. The revolution is closer than you think! Vipul -- Powell lingered. "How's Earth?" It was a conventional enough question and Muller gave the conventional answer, "Still spinning." -- "Reason", Asimov. ================================================================== Vipul Ved Prakash | - Electronic Security & Crypto mail@vipul.net | - Web Objects 91 11 2233328 | - PERL Development 198 Madhuban IP Extension | - Linux & Open Systems Delhi, INDIA 110 092 | - Networked Virtual Spaces
nobody@replay.com (Anonymous) wrote: > I think people here seriously underestimate how long nanotech will take. > Suppose you have a machine which takes atoms and deposits them onto a > surface, building it up layer by layer. This is possible with today's > technology, but it's a slow process. > > Consider this: If someone builds a replicator which takes a week to make > a copy of itself, every person on this entire planet could have one within > eight months. Think about it. Let's consider a rough estimate of whether this could actually work. Suppose you have a desktop fab with an ion gun that can put out 1 amp of current, housed in a 10-centimeter cube, and you want to build another cube. Assuming an average ionization energy of 10 eV and supposing this achieved an energy efficiency of 10% that'd be 100 watts. 1 coulomb/second = 6.24 x 10^18 atoms/sec. Assuming an atomic spacing of roughly 10^-10 meters, at that rate it'd take you about 18.5 days to construct one side of the cube with a thickness of 1mm, or almost four months to build another cube. I'd guesstimate another 4 months to build the electronics for it. And then you'd need some way to assemble the pieces. So roughly 8 months just to build one copy, rather than to achieve world domination. :) Still, unless I'm way off on these estimates, it's within the right ballpark. If the cubes were 1 cm, you could make copies in less than a day, assuming it didn't get too hot at that power level. Just figure out how you're going to feed the electricity and raw materials into all those little things... This sort of replicator is not what is usually considered nanotechnology, but if it actually worked, such a device could become quite popular.
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>I think people here seriously underestimate how long nanotech will take.
>Suppose you have a machine which takes atoms and deposits them onto a
>surface, building it up layer by layer. This is possible with today's
>technology, but it's a slow process.
I don't think it's that far away. Decades (or at least
years) ago, the US Navy developed a laser so focused and
controlled it could write messages on one face of a cube
of salt.
Best wishes and fresh-roasted peanut taste,
The Sheriff. -- ***<REPLY TO: sheriff@speakeasy.org>***
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-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----The Sheriff wrote: > >I think people here seriously underestimate how long nanotech will take. > >Suppose you have a machine which takes atoms and deposits them onto a > >surface, building it up layer by layer. This is possible with today's > >technology, but it's a slow process. > > I don't think it's that far away. Decades (or at least > years) ago, the US Navy developed a laser so focused and > controlled it could write messages on one face of a cube > of salt. You can also push atoms around with an AFM. It's just slow. But even if it did take a week or two to make something, it would still be practical. You'd probably have to wait a week to get something delivered by mail-order, so you might as well make it yourself. I wonder what Tim 'copyright is dead' May will think when anyone can make a Pentium clone in their back bedroom. :)