Hello,
Unfortunately we're not quite at the level of nanotechnology described
in the science fiction classic, "The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson,
where nanomachines are used in a variety of functions, from cleaning
our blood of foreign bodies (aka a second "smart" immune system) to a
flying spynet of minicameras no bigger than pollen used for
surveillance and espionage. I highly recommend reading that book for
your enjoyment if this is the subject you're interested in.
Nanotechnology is currently at the bits and pieces development stage.
There are no fully functional machines which have been created to
date, namely parts of machines. Last October, Nature wrote an article
about the smallest motor ever to be created. "The rotating machine can
be turned on and off like a pocket fan - but it is only about 14
millionths of a millimeter across." It is from these pioneering
ventures that the physics of nanotechnology and more importantly the
logistics can be discovered so that more complicated machines can be
created. That's the smallest functional moving parts nanomachine that
I've come across in my research, and as it stands by itself, it's not
very interesting. What is interesting is how the simplest things such
as cogs and gears are being developed in tandem so in the years to
come, maybe they'll have the first motor/gear assembly to demonstrate
mechanical advantage at a molecular level.
Nanoelectronics are also a field of research which is gaining a lot of
momentum, and if you look at the links below, the field is also at its
infancy, with scientists designing structures they believe will become
the building blocks for circuits in nanotechnology. There's also an
article from IBM touting that their latest nanoelectronic transistors
outperform all current silicon-based technologies.
Another recent feat of mention, Japanese scientists last December
created the smallest thermometer, "...measures about 85 nanometers in
diameter and several thousand nanometers in length..." and "...can
measure temperatures between 18 C and 490 C with a 0.25 degree notch."
One of the biggest hurdles in overcoming nanotechnology is designing
tools precise enough to manipulate atoms and molecules to build the
structures needed. Using complex electron scanning microscopes and the
like, scientists are having more and more control over smaller and
smaller objects. As a proof of concept, and partially to kill time, a
university in Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, developed a real-time
game of Tetris which is played under microscope by use of
computer-steered glass microbeads. The videos on the page linked below
illustrate the level of dexterity we're quickly developing over small
structures.
Eventually the self-sustaining/self-replicating/networking machines
you ask about will be possible, but for now, it's science fiction
which is slowly but surely becoming science fact.
Search Strategy:
nanotech* "world's smallest" on Google:
://www.google.com/search?q=nanotech*+%22world's+smallest%22
nanotechnology news on Google:
://www.google.com/search?q=nanotechnology+news
smallest on NanoApex News:
http://news.nanoapex.com/modules.php?name=Search
nanotechnology on Slashdot:
http://slashdot.org/search.pl?query=nanotechnology
Additional Links:
"Molecular wheel gets a brake" (the nanotech motor article):
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:kHw_i6FzMFkC:www.nature.com/nsu/021028/021028-3.html+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
"Guinness calls Japanese thermometer world's smallest":
http://www.technologyreview.com/offthewire/3001_5122002_4.asp
"Computer program reveals optimum microstructure for new materials" on
NanoApex News:
http://news.nanoapex.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2964
"IBM creates highest performing nanotube transistors"
http://www.ibm.com/news/us/2002/05/20.html
"Real Life micro-tetris" (check out the video, it's amazing):
http://www.nat.vu.nl/~joost/complex/index.html
I hope that I've answered your questions to your satisfaction, and I
really encourage you to read that book I mentioned before if you're up
for a good read, and to see what creativity predicts as the future of
nanotechnology.
Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question, if you require
more information, please clarify the question, or if you find this
answer satisfactory, please feel free to rate it. Thank you!
skermit-ga |
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