Free government nanotech report
by
Charlie Bess
The National Materials Advisory Board has released a congressionally-mandated report on the National Nanotechnology Initiative, covering the current state and future potential of nanotechnology. Among other things, the report examines the possibility of nanoscale machinery to create materials at the molecular level. You can download a PDF for free or purchase a paperback version for about $40.
The report covers a wide range of observations and recommendations around ethics, regulation, educational impact, funding... but does have a large portion of the contents dedicated to promoting the NNI.
One conclusion of interest was:
“Materials and devices of moderate complexity can be designed and manufactured by molecular self-assembly. Although self-assembly operates on simple and well-understood scientific principles, understanding of the details is far from complete. The ultimate potential of self-assembly processes in nature and in engineered manufacturing systems remains to be explored. Proceeding beyond simple self-assembly, there is experimental evidence that biological systems can be modified to operate in conditions far outside those of the living cell, and therefore, many biotechnologists believe that these systems will form the basis for many future manufacturing processes. Manufacturing trends and research directions in information technology and related fields also suggest the eventual development of manufacturing processes with some capability to pattern structures with atomic precision.”
The study defined nanotechnology as:
- Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels, at a length scale of approximately 1 to 100 nanometers (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter too small to be seen with a conventional laboratory microscope)
- Creation and use of structure, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size, at the level of atoms and molecules
- Ability for atomic-scale control or manipulation
