Nanomachines
The Science of molecular size machines and its engineering designs and constructions until late 1980s were not considered practicable. Nanotechnology, according to the leading exponents of that time were neither feasible nor viable, due to the fact of total structural difference of the constituent of nano-molecular device i.e. Atoms from the mechanical objects of every day life. The essential components of engineering mechanics i.e. cogwheels, gears or motors could not be imagined to have formed by means of atoms, that are characterized by fuzzy and unsubstantial contents having no definite location position. Edwin Schrdinger, a leading quantum theoretician, regarded the particles as not permanent entity but an instantaneous event and derived the conclusion that atoms could no longer be regarded as "identifiable individuals." Werner Heisenberg, with extreme pessimism described atoms as "a world of potentialities or possibilities" rather than "of things and facts." (Is the future nano?)
Such ideologies succeeded making the scientists of that time convinced to view nanotechnology as an unattainable objective. During the second half of the 20th century some scientists however, ventured to explore the prospects of the subject. The efforts began with coinage of the terminology of molecular engineering by Arthur Von Hippel, an electric engineer of Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during 1950s and with his optimistic predictions for possibilities of the constructing nano-molecular devices. Contemporary Nobel laureate and physicist, Richard Feynman revolutionized the concept through his lecture "There is plenty of room at the bottom." (Is the future nano?) K. Eric Drexler, set up the organization "Foresight Institute, Palo Alto at California, in 1986 for popularization by the concept of building materials and products with atomic precision. Presently, scientists consider it as the pioneer organization for development of nanotechnology.
Questions still arise in the present scenario with regard to the progress of development of nano-technology. Even though much has been achieved in the field, the dreams have not yet been fulfilled till now. However, developments and intensive research in the field have given rise to revealing of new features of atoms, such as robustness of atoms to exist independently, facilitating isolation and counting in units. This feature of atoms gives strength to construct reliable parts of working nano devices. Currently, we have the capability to make the atoms move around so as to place them in desired locations. These achievements in less than past two decades have led to Nobel Prize winning contributions in the field. The remarkable contributions of Dehmelt of University of Washington in Seattle, revealing stability of even subatomic particles enabling its isolation within magnetic traps for months together is noteworthy. (Is the future nano?)
Table 1. Prizes for elucidating atoms and subatomic particles
Nobel prize
Winners
Achievement
Gerd Binnig, Heinrich Rohrer
Scanning tunnelling microscope
Hans Dehmelt, Wolfgang Paul
Traps to isolate atoms and subatomic species
George Charpak
Subatomic particle detectors
Clifford Schull,
Bertram Brockhouse
Neutron diffraction techniques for structure determination
Steven Chu,
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji,
William Phillips
Methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light
Source: Is the future nano?)
Devices constructed from individual atoms are called Nanomachines. According to some researchers; in future, to combat disease, nanomachines will be able to enter living cells. Nanomachines, which can reorganize atoms in order to make new objects, can be built in future, according to the researchers. Nanomachines, if the researchers succeed, can be used to get rid of poverty by obviously converting dirt into food. Nanomachines are incredibly small devices, as the terminology indicates. They are constructed from individual atoms and their size is measured in nanometers. (Nanomachines: Nanotechnology's Big Promise in a Small Package)
There is no macroscopic analogue for Nanomachine. By atomic scale "pick and place," nanomachine would make any structure, including itself, that is, a set of nanoscale pincers would pick individual atoms from their surroundings and place them where they should go. (Nanotechnology: Nanomachines) Futurist and visionary K. Eric Drexler made famous the capability of nanomachines during the 1980's and 1990's. K Eric Drexler coined the concept of nanotechnology during 1986, and made public in his publication of Engines of Creation. Drexler visualized the possibilities of efficient construction of objects at molecular level with the help of microscopic machines which were predicted to be the solutions for many ailments of the present world. (Book Review: Unbounding the Future: The Nanotechnology Revolution by K. Eric Drexler and Chris Peterson with Gayle...
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