Nanotechnology: Immortality Or Total Annihilation? :: essays research papers

      engineering attainment has evolved from ideals once seen as unbelievable to common everyday instruments. Computers that commitd to come to an entire room ar now the size of notebooks. The human endure has always pushed for technological advances operative at the most efficient level, perhaps, the molecular(a) level. The developments and progress in artificial intelligence and molecular technology pee-pee spawned a new form of technology Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology could give the human public life eternal life, or it could cause total annihilation.     The idea of nanotech was conceived by a man named K. Eric Drexler (Stix 94), which he defines as "Technology based on the consumption of individual shares and molecules to build structures to complex atomic specifications (Drexler, "Engines" 288)." The technology which Drexler speaks of will be undoubtedly belittled, in fact, nano- structures will only measure 100 nanometers, or a billionth of a meter (Stix 94).     Being as small as they are, nanostructures require fine particles that can only be seen with the STM, or Scanning Tunneling Microscope (Dowie 4). Moreover the STM allows the scientists to not only see things at the molecular level, but it can pick up and move atoms as well (Port 128). Unfortunately the one device that is giving nanoscientists something to work with is in like manner one of the many obstacles restricting the development of nanotech. The STM has been regarded as too big to ever produce nanotech structures (Port 128). Other scientists have stated that the purpose of atoms, which nanotech relies on, ignores atomic reality. Atoms simply dont fit together in ways which nanotech intends to use them (Garfinkel 105). The problems plaguing the progress of nanotech has raised many questions among the scientific community concerning its validity. The moving of atoms, the conclave of information, th e restrictions of the STM, all restrict nanotech progress. And until these questions are reactioned, nanotech is regarded as silly (Stix 98).     But the nanotech optimists are still out there. They contend that the progress made by a team at IBM who was able to write letters and draw pictures atom by atom actually began the birth of nanotech (Darling 49). These same people answer the scientific questions by replying that a breakthrough is not needed, rather the science gained must be applied (DuCharme 33). In fact, Drexler argues that the machines exist, trends are simply working on building better ones ("Unbounding" 24). Drexler continues by stating that the machines he spoke most in "Engines of Creation" published in 1986 should be