Unbounding the Future:
the Nanotechnology Revolution
Glossary
Some terms used in discussing nanotechnology
and other anticipated technologies:
Assembler: A general-purpose device for molecular manufacturing
capable of guiding chemical reactions by positioning molecules.
Atom: The smallest unit of a chemical element, about
a third of a nanometer in diameter. Atoms make up molecules and
solid objects.
Atomic
force microscope (AFM): An
instrument able to image surfaces to molecular accuracy by
mechanically probing their surface contours. A kind of proximal
probe.
Automated
engineering: Engineering design
done by a computer system, generating detailed designs from broad
specifications with little or no human help.
Automated
manufacturing: As used here,
nanotechnology-based manufacturing requiring little human labor.
Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms, about one micrometer
(one thousand nanometers) across.
Bulk technology: Technology in which atoms and molecular are
manipulated in bulk, rather than individually.
Cell
pharmacology: Delivery of drugs by
medical nanomachines to exact locations in the body.
Cell surgery: Modifying cellular structures using medical
nanomachines.
Cell: A small structural unit, surrounded by a membrane,
making up living things.
Disassembler: An instrument able to take apart structures a few
atoms at a time, recording structural information at each step.
DNA: A molecule encoding genetic information, found in the
cell's nucleus.
Ecosystem
protector: A nanomachine for
mechanically removing selected imported species from an ecosystem
to protect native species.
Enabling
science and technologies: Areas of
research relevant to a particular goal, such as nanotechnology.
Enzymes: Molecular machines found in nature, made of protein,
which can catalyze (speed up) chemical reactions.
Exploratory
engineering: Design and analysis of
systems that are theoretically possible but cannot be built yet,
owing to limitations in available tools.
Gray goo: See Star Trek scenario.
Immune machines: Medical nanomachines designed for internal use,
especially in the bloodstream and digestive tract, able to
identify and disable intruders such as bacteria and viruses.
Limited
assembler: Assembler capable of
making only certain products; faster, more efficient, and less
liable to abuse than a general-purpose assembler.
Molecular
electronics: Any system with
atomically precise electronic devices of nanometer dimensions,
especially if made of discrete molecular parts rather than the
continuous materials found in today's semiconductor devices.
Molecular
machine: Any machine with
atomically precise parts of nanometer dimensions; can be used to
describe molecular devices found in nature.
Molecular
manipulator: A device combining a
proximal probe mechanism for atomically precise positioning with
a molecule binding site on the tip; can serve as the basis for
building complex structures by positional synthesis.
Molecular
manufacturing: Manufacturing using
molecular machinery, giving molecule-by-molecule control of
products and by-products via positional chemical synthesis.
Molecular
medicine: A variety of
pharmaceutical techniques and therapies in use today.
Molecular
nanotechnology: Thorough,
inexpensive control of the structure of matter based on
molecule-by-molecule control of products and byproducts; the
products and processes of molecular manufacturing, including
molecular machinery.
Molecular
recognition: A chemical term
referring to processes in which molecules adhere in a highly
specific way, forming a larger structure; an enabling technology
for nanotechnology.
Molecular
surgery or molecular repair:
Analysis and physical correction of molecular structures in the
body using medical nanomachines.
Molecular
systems engineering: Design,
analysis, and construction of systems of molecular parts working
together to carry out a useful purpose.
Molecule: Group of atoms held together by chemical bonds; the
typical unit manipulated by nanotechnology.
Nano-: A prefix meaning one billionth (1/1,000,000,000).
Nanocomputer: A computer with parts built on a molecular scale.
Nanoelectronics: Electronics on a nanometer scale, whether made by
current techniques or nanotechnology; includes both molecular
electronics and nanoscale devices resembling today's
semiconductor devices.
Nanomachine: An artificial molecular machine of the sort made by
molecular manufacturing.
Nanomanufacturing: Same as molecular manufacturing.
Nanosurgery: A generic term including molecular repair and cell
surgery.
Nanotechnology: see Molecular nanotechnology.
Positional
synthesis: Control of chemical
reactions by precisely positioning the reactive molecules; the
basic principle of assemblers.
Protein
design, protein engineering: The
design and construction of new proteins; an enabling technology
for nanotechnology.
Proximal probes: A family of devices capable of fine positional control
and sensing, including scanning tunneling and atomic force
microscopes; an enabling technology for nanotechnology.
Replicator: A system able to build copies of itself when provided
with raw materials and energy.
Ribosome: A naturally occurring molecular machine that
manufactures proteins according to instructions derived from the
cell's genes.
Scanning
tunneling microscope (STM): An
instrument able to image conducting surfaces to atomic accuracy;
has been used to pin molecules to a surface.
Sealed
assembler lab: A general-purpose
assembler system in a container permitting only energy and
information to be exchanged with the environment.
Smart
materials and products: Here,
materials and products capable of relatively complex behavior due
to the incorporation of nanocomputers and nanomachines. Also used
for products having some ability to respond to the environment.
Star Trek
scenario: Someone builds
potentially dangerous self-replicating devices that spread
disastrously.
Virtual
reality system: A combination of
computer and interface devices (goggles, gloves, etc.) that
presents a user with the illusion of being in a three dimensional
world of computer-generated objects.
Virus: A parasite (consisting primarily of genetic material)
that invades cells and takes over their molecular machinery in
order to copy itself.
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