Chris Dragan's Corner

Nanotechnology is one of the technologies of the future which we will develop and embrace. The idea of nanotechnology was pioneered by Eric Drexler who in his book “Engines of Creation” described the potential and many uses of this technology.

The whole idea is centered around the ability to manipulate individual atoms for various purposes, such as creating new materials, creating entire devices from scratch with unparalleled precision or modifying molecules in living organisms, including fixing human bodies.

In the recent years we’re seeing incremental progress in the ability to manipulate individual atoms, with or without the help of carbon-based nanotubes. However we are still very far from mastering the technology, we still need one or more breakthroughs.

There is a lot of debate concerning nanotechnology, also related to its feasibility or dangers. But nanotechnology is already everywhere around us – we and all lifeforms are its creation. Nanotechnological devices lie at the basis of all living cells and are nanomechanical parts of all organelles.

When nanotechnology finally arrives, it will change our world more than cars or computers did. We will be able to manufacture goods at home, we will just have a pot or a chamber filled with a medium, we will download designs from the internet, throw in raw materials such as dirt, wait and take out a TV or parts of a car to assemble. Just like we have paid and free software, we will eventually have paid and free designs of devices to assemble at home.

Carbon and Silicon will become the most common materials used, but surely people will still want to use wood and other common materials, but they will be more expensive and less durable.

A lot of people will lose low paid jobs, esp. in manufacturing and distribution, but more intellectual jobs will open instead. After all we’re good at thinking, we should let robots and computers do the mechanical jobs. There will still be demand for food, but the production of food has already been automated to some extent.