Nanotechnology today and the molecular nanotechnology of tomorrow
When people speak of “nanotechnology” today, they usually mean nanoscale materials and devices: graphene, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles in cosmetics and sunscreens, drug delivery systems, semiconductor chips with features measured in nanometres, and advanced coatings and sensors. This applied nanotechnology is already a multi-billion-euro industry transforming electronics, medicine, energy and materials science.
However, the most transformative vision of the field — and the one that originally captured the public imagination through K. Eric Drexler’s 1986 book Engines of Creation — remains largely on the horizon. This is molecular nanotechnology (MNT), also called molecular manufacturing or atomically precise manufacturing (APM): the prospective ability to build macroscopic objects atom by atom using molecular machines and mechanosynthesis. Such a technology would enable products specified down to the position of every atom, with unprecedented strength, low cost, and zero waste. Its mature form is sometimes described as a “nanofactory” capable of producing nearly anything from raw atoms and a digital blueprint.
Molecular nanotechnology is still primarily a theoretical and laboratory pursuit. Individual atoms have been moved with scanning probe microscopes since 1989, and significant progress has been made in DNA nanotechnology, molecular machines (recognised by the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), and tip-based atomically precise fabrication. But a general-purpose nanofactory remains decades away, and the field has progressed more slowly than its pioneers hoped. Nevertheless, the underlying physics has not been refuted, and serious work continues at organisations such as the Foresight Institute, the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, and Zyvex Labs. We consider this technology one of the most consequential possibilities of the 21st century — for both its enormous potential benefits and its serious risks.
Online
- Wikipedia: Molecular Nanotechnology
- Wikipedia: Nanotechnology
- Wikipedia: Drexler–Smalley Debate on Molecular Nanotechnology — The foundational 2001–2003 debate on whether molecular assemblers are physically possible.
- Foresight Institute — Non-profit organisation founded in 1986 by K. Eric Drexler to advance beneficial nanotechnology and other transformative technologies. The leading think tank in the field.
- Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) — Palo Alto-based non-profit dedicated to research on molecular manufacturing and nanomedicine. Home of Robert Freitas as Senior Research Fellow.
- Effective Altruism Forum: Atomically Precise Manufacturing — Collection of papers and analyses on APM as a global priority, including 80,000 Hours’ assessment and Open Philanthropy’s research.
- K. Eric Drexler’s website — Articles, papers and resources from the founder of the field.
- Engines of Creation: Online Edition — Free online access to Drexler’s foundational 1986 book.
- Robert A. Freitas Jr.’s website — Personal site of the author of Nanomedicine, with technical papers on medical nanorobotics and molecular manufacturing.
- Nanomedicine book series — Freitas’s multi-volume technical reference on medical applications of molecular nanotechnology, freely available online.
- Ralph Merkle’s website — Personal site of the cryptography pioneer turned nanotechnology and cryonics researcher. Includes seminal papers on molecular manufacturing and brain repair.
- Zyvex Labs — Founded in 1997 in Richardson, Texas. The first commercial molecular nanotechnology company, working on atomically precise manufacturing through tip-based nanofabrication.
Books
- Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, by K. Eric Drexler — The foundational 1986 book that defined the field of nanotechnology.
- Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization, by K. Eric Drexler — The 2013 follow-up exploring how atomically precise manufacturing could transform civilisation.
- Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation, by K. Eric Drexler — The technical 1992 work providing the physics and engineering basis for molecular nanotechnology. For specialised readers.