Nanofuture

by HALL, J. STORRS PHD

• ISBN13: 9781591022879
• ISBN10: 1591022878
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-06
• Publisher: Prometheus Books

Summary

Flying cars, space travel for everyone, the elimination of poverty and hunger, and powerful new tools to combat disease, and even ageing. These are some of the amazing predicted developments of nanotechnology, the coming science of designing and building machines at the molecular and atomic levels. Will this new scientific revolution be for better or worse? Some commentators have described utopias; others have prophesied disaster. Dr Hall -- a leading researcher on the frontiers of nanotechnology who has designed for NASA -- describes nanotechnology in a very accessible way, so that anyone can understand what it's about, what it could do, and what it can't do. He puts it into historical context, explaining how previous technological developments have affected us, how nanotechnology fits into the historical trends for technologies ranging from motors to medicine, and how the continuation of these trends, with nanotechnology as a strong determining factor, will have a profound impact on the future. In a straightforward, balanced manner, Dr Hall analyses the benefits as well as the potential risks.

Table of Contents

Foreword	9	(2)
K. Eric Drexler
What Is Nanotechnology? And Why Is There So Much Confusion about It?	11	(16)
A Handle on the Future: Can You Take These Predictions Seriously?	27	(18)
Current Nanotechnology: Laboratory and Life---and How to Get to the Real Thing from Here	45	(18)
Designing and Analyzing Nanomachines: Theory, Current Tools, and the Future	63	(12)
Nuts and Bolts: The Basics of What a Mature Nanotechnology Will Look Like	75	(16)
Engines: Making Molecular Machines Go	91	(10)
A Digital Technology: Atoms Are the Bits of the Material World	101	(14)
Self-Replication: Mechanical Motherhood	115	(16)
Food, Clothing, and Shelter: A Day in Your Life in the Age of Nanotech	131	(12)
Economics: How Much Is This Going to Cost?	143	(14)
Transportation: It's a Very Small World, Indeed	157	(14)
Space: Where a Much Larger World Awaits	171	(14)
Robots: For Whatever Work There Is to Be Done	185	(12)
Artificial Intelligence: Closer Than You May Think	197	(18)
Runaway Replicators: Playing with Fire	215	(12)
Real Dangers: The Same Old Bad Guys, with Nastier Toys	227	(14)
Nanomedicine: Fixing What's Wrong	241	(16)
Improvements: A Perspective on Transhumanism	257	(14)
The Human Prospect: Living Happily Ever After	271	(18)
Notes	289	(16)
Bibliography	305	(8)
Glossary	313	(14)
Index	327