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| From Lecture to Technology The amount of space available to us for information storage (or other uses) is enormous. As first described in a lecture titled, 'There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom' in 1959 by Richard P. Feynman, there is nothing besides our clumsy size that keeps us from using this space. In his time, it was not possible for us to manipulate single atoms or molecules because they were far too small for our tools. Thus, his speech was completely theoretical and seemingly fantastic. He described how the laws of physics do not limit our ability to manipulate single atoms and molecules. Instead, it was our lack of the appropriate methods for doing so. However, he correctly predicted that the time would come in which atomically precise manipulation of matter would inevitably arrive. Prof. Feynman described such atomic scale fabrication as a bottom-up approach, as opposed to the top-down approach that we are accustomed to. The current top-down method for manufacturing involves the construction of parts through methods such as cutting, carving and molding. Using these methods, we have been able to fabricate a remarkable variety of machinery and electronics devices. However, the sizes at which we can make these devices is severely limited by our ability to cut, carve and mold. Bottom-up manufacturing, on the other hand, would provide components made of single molecules, which are held together by covalent forces that are far stronger than the forces that hold together macro-scale components. Furthermore, the amount of information that could be stored in devices build from the bottom-up would be enormous. Since that initial preview of nanotechnology, we have developed several methods which prove that Prof. Feynman was correct in his prophesy. The most notable methods are scanning probe microscopy and the corresponding advancements in supramolecular chemistry. Scanning probe microscopy gives us the ability to position single atoms and/or molecules in the desired place exactly as Prof. Feynman had predicted. Although the limitations of traditional chemistry were criticized in Prof. Feynman's lecture due to its seemingly tedious and random nature, recent advancements have improved its potential uses for nanotechnology. Why Make Nanotechnology? One might ask, 'what exactly are the potential uses of nanotechnology?' In the limited number of years that nanotechnology has been considered possible, a plethora of answers to this question have been presented. Possible answers include quantum computers, long term life preservation and virtually everything in between. It seems that nanotechnology could potentially solve just about any problem that we could think of; thus, a more interesting question is, 'what real problems will nanotechnology solve first?' As of now, it appears that the first revolutionary applications of nanotechnology will be in computer science and medicine. These two fields will most likely be affected first since they both call for molecular scale manipulation of matter in the near future. |
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