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Expert: Frank Leeding - 5/5/2009


Question
What do you think/know about nanotechnology? what does it mean to you? Also, What is your perspective about nanoethics and its foundations?

Thank you for your insight!
Alexandria

Answer
NOTE: This is a partial answer and i will add to it later.

short answer: wishing for nanotech is like in star trek "The Search for spock" when Uhura sez to the young cadet:

 Well, you know what they say....
 Be careful what you ask for,
 you might just get it.

ie: i'm not sure a nanobot (etc) might not think that
the human being that its dis-assembling is actually a
rusting bridge - and hence dangerous.
=============== Part 1 ==========  
NOTE: Incomplete (to be updated) post...

eventually the posted info will be

(btw: thanks for asking this qqq - it forced me to
write up some of my notes, etc)

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<head><title>pizoig\nanotech: NanoTech (of machines and genes)</title>
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<h1>NanoTech</h1>

On this page:  {<a href="#nanotech-intro">Intro</a>}
                  {<a nhref"#nanotech-intro-nano-machines">Intro to: Nano Machines</a>}
                  {<a nhref"#nanotech-intro-chemical-machines">Intro to: Chemical Machines</a>}
                  {<a nhref"#nanotech-intro-genetic-engineering">Intro to: Genetic Engineering</a>}
             {<a href="#nanotech-stuff">Stuff</a>}
                  {<a href="#nanotech-nano-ethics">Nano Ethics</a>}
              {<a nhref"#nanotech-nano-machines">Nano Machines</a>}  (main article)


See also:  {<a nhref"#nanotech-nano-ethics">Nano Ethics</a>} (above)
         




<a name="nanotech-chemical-machines"> <!---------------- nanoTech: Chemical Machines --->
<a name="chemical-machines">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Chemical Machines</h2>

(main article)
              {<a href="#nanotech-genetic-engineering">Genetic Engineering</a>}
                  {<a href="#nanotech-bio-ethics">Bio Ethics</a>}
              {<a href="#nanotech-"></a>}
              {<a href="#nanotech-"></a>}
              {<a href="#nanotech-"></a>}
              {<a href="#nanotech-"></a>}
              {<a href="#nanotech-refs">Refs</a>}
              {<a href="#nanotech-links">Links</a>}

 
<a name="nanotech-intro">  <!---------------- nanoTech: intro --->
<a name="intro"> <a name="nanotech"> <a name="nano-tech"> <a name="nano-technology">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Intro</h2>


In this section:  {<a href="#nanotech-intro-intro">Intro - intro to nano ideas</a>}
                 {<a href="#nanotech-intro-nano-machines">Nano Machines</a>}
                 {<a href="#nanotech-intro-chemical-machines">Nano Machines</a>}
                 {<a href="#nanotech-intro-genetic-engineering">Genetic Engineering</a>}

<a name="nanotech-intro-intro">Intro - intro to nano ideas</a>}
                 

First off there are actually (at least) three major
kinds of "nano technology" - nano from the Greek prefix
meaning "reeeealy tiny"; a nano-second is one billionth of
a second or one milli-micro-second, etc.

1. Nano Machines.
2. Chemical Machines.
3. Genetically engineered life.


Following this intro, they are discussed at an
intorductory level per:

     {<a href="#nanotech-intro-nano-machines">Nano Machines</a>}
     {<a href="#nanotech-intro-chemical-machines">Nano Machines</a>}
     {<a href="#nanotech-intro-genetic-engineering">Genetic Engineering</a>}

The idea behind a nano machine was first (among many)
introduced by the physicist Richard Feynman (best
known as the guy who did the science experiment
that showed how the o-ring on the space shuttle
failed due to freezing weather and of course for
some "small works in quarks and electro dynamics"
-- but that's another story).

Anyway Feynman suggested that we could (eventually)
build a robot which was capable of building a smaller
version of itself. And of course, then in turn, this
smaller robot could build a smaller version of itself.
Sort of like "shrinking alice" in Lewis Carool's
-[<a href="../literature/carol-lewis.html#alice" target="_blank">The Adventures of Alice in WonderLand"</a>]-

Three main problems occur (conceptually and physically)
with this process being carried on ad infinitum:

 a) The Law of Scale in structural engineering
 b) Quantum Effects of the small creating robot.
 c) Quantum Effects of the made (smaller) robot and its parts.

These are disucssed briefly, and then there are three
sections on nano machines, chemical machines, and
genetic engineering. This will conclude the intro
to this topic, and then the main aaticles on
nano machines, chemical machines, and genetic engeineering.

<h2>The Law of Scale in structural engineering</h2>

We probably all have (or at least should will) seen the
attack of the giant praying mantiss. Supposedly, once
exposed to the mysterious "n rays" (ie, nuclear fall
out, etc) it grows to enormous size. Oddly enough, it
then decides to start eating humans (as well as other
animals).

The problem is that it won't work. The strength of
a rope (for example) is given by the cross sectional
arad. Of course, it's mass goes up as the volume.
Thus, like Malthus's essay on populations, we are
faced with TWO power forumlas. An excellent discussion
of this is given in Isaac Asimov's rendering of the
superb classic sf film: -[<a href="../literature/sf/asimov.html#fantastic-voyage" target="_blank">"Fantatstic Voyage"</a>]-

If we double the size of the rope in all dimensions,
then the rope is now twice as long and twice as thick.
It's strength has gone up by a factor of R-squared,
but its MASS (weight) has gone up by a factor of
R-cubed. So, such a rope is NOT twice as strong.

In fact this can be continued to the point where
in some classic fantasy and sf stories, a person
is hauled up from down below on a very long
(eg, several miles / kilometres long) rope/cable.
For dramatic effect the rope slips off the pulley
and someone just castually reaches over and puts
it back on the pulley.

Of course the problem is that the weight of the
rope must support not only the weight (presumably
of the person) of the object but all of the
rope below it. Thus, the bottom part of the rope
only has to support the weight of the load, but
the top part of the rope must support the weight
of all of the rope under it.

And as with "growth laws", if we keep doubling
the length of the rope, its mass keeps going up
by a factor of R-cubed and its strength never
catches up - only going up by R-squared.

Hence to make a stronger rope, we'd have to
double its length but increase its width by
a factor of something like R-sqquared PLUS
R - that is, we'd increase its mass/volume
by an R-cubed law and make it a bit thicker
by an R-cubed value as well.

Thus, the monster praying mantiss now has
the mass of a mini-van but its legs are still
just spindly stick-like things something like
broomsticks - and its body weight would crush
its rope-like legs. Of course, if we GENETICALLY
re-engineer the praying mantass to have stockier
legs.....

Similarly, the heat loss law is a function of
body mass and geometry - it's the reason that
an African Bushman is tall and thin - rougly
a thin cylinder - and an eskimo (inuit, alut,
siberian, mongolian, etc) is short and squat
-- esentially a sphere:

 A cylinder radiates more heat per unit
 area than does a sphere - given that
 both have the same volume and mass.

Similarly, as we make thinner and thiner sections of
our robot, the material becomes bulkier in terms of
its necessary width to mass ratio. Thus, we'd have
to program the robot to use thinner cross sections
as it makes its next-smaller stage self.

Also, at some point, the sections become so thin,
that even small air currents will warp and waft
them - similar to small lady bugs as opposed to
say a much larger cricket. And in terms of scale,
we know that:

  "Big birds don't fly"

As an exercise, one could look at genius Howard Hughes'
"Spruce Goose" air plane and compare it with both a
modern fighter and bomber air craft, as well as to
a hang glider. Scaling up and down, requires not only
physical scale changes in keeping with the appropriate
power laws (R-squared for cross sectional strength
and R-cubed for mass/volume), but with the choice of
materials as well. Refer to the film "Space Cowboys"
for a fighter pilot's view that the space shuttle
is a "flying brick" compared with the slinky air
craft that he is used to flying.

<h2>Quantum Effects of the small creating robot</h2>

At some point, more than just scaling factors come
into play. The simplest example is liquid soap
poured onto water - say just a drop. A soap molecule
looks something like this:

  Na - C - C - C - C - C - C - C - C - C - C - C

(i haven't shown the hydrogens and the molecule is
often refered to as a parafin or as a laurate). The
"Na" is a sodium ion and is hydro-PHYLIC (water loving)
and thus goes into solution in the water. The rest
of the molecule - especially as you get further from
the sodium ion - becomes more and more "carbon-organic"
and lis hydro-PHOBIC and in fact wants to find up
things like dirt, gasoline, etc. And of course,
the sodium isn't going to give up the water so,
the "oil or dirt" gets washed away with the water.
Note that in many cases the parafin molecule consists
of 20 or even more carbons - making it very effective
at cleaning up solvents such as gasoline or oil.

Enter the quantum:  The soap molecules stand on-end
                   sticking out of the water like this:



      C       C          C       C  
      |       |          |       |
      C       C          C       C  
      |       |          |       |
      C       C          C       C  
      |       |          |       |
      C       C          C       C  
      |       |          |       |
      C       C          C       C  
      |       |          |       |
      Na     Na         Na      Na
    ------------- water ------------
        the rest of the water in
              the container

How they are spaced side-to side depends on the
soap itself. But, it's like a sort of molecular
fuzz or hair standing on end. At the quantum
level, gravity is almost entirely ignored
and the soap is going purely on molecular
forces (mainly electron-proto attraction,
and the so-called van der Waals forces).

Similarly, making a small (nano) machine means
that these same molecular forces will outweigh
even things like air movements, friction, and
other macro-scopic forces.

Thus, the design and properties of the nano machine
will closely need to studied using quanum mechancial
fordes and effects.


<h2>Quantum Effects of the made (smaller) robot and its parts</h2>

Since each stage of the nano machine is smaller, even a
small eclectrical charge on the parts can play havoc
with its operation. It might be well and good to
have a robot with a bolt holding its arm on, but
as we scale down, the linear strength of the smaller
bolt and arm will begin to feel the effect of quantum
fields of the atoms that make up the components.

Again, a small extra charge (say picked up by air
molecules wisking by and pulling off an electron
here or there could cause the same charge build up
(here a net positive charge) on the bolt and the
arm to build up enough that on a SMALL PHYSICAL
SCALE, would be strong enought to electrically
repell the bolt and arm from each other -- like
the goold foil "leaves" in a Leyden jar.

Thus, at some point we might be scaling down
a shirt for the robot made of polyester, which
is notorious for picking up static cling charges
in the dryer -- and it would be that the shirt
would literally fly off the robot (at the smaller
and smaller scale) if not in fact tear itself
apart due to the charges.

We can think of this as the "other end of
the size spectrum" from tidal forces the limiting
case of which wuould be near a black hole. See
the (i believe Nebula award winner) story
"There is a Tide" and "Neutron Star" by
futurist/mathematician/writer Larry Niven
in his "Known Space" series.

Thus, we might have to use cotton instead of
polyester at a smaller scale. But even this
would be just a stop gap solution. We would
have to engineer the design to have ways to
leak off excess charges - and probably due
to the scale factor problem re-engineer the
actualy structure of the robot entirely.

<a name="nanotech-intro-nano-machines">   <!---------------- nanoTech: intro to nano machines --->
<a name="intro-nano-machines">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Intro to: Nano Machines</h2>

See also:  {<a href="#nanotech-nano-machines">Nano Machines</a>} (main article; below)
          



      
<a name="nanotech-intro-chemical-machines">   <!---------------- nanoTech: stuff --->
<a name="intro-chemical-machines">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Intro to: Chemical Machines</h2>

See also:  {<a href="#nanotech-chemical-machines">Chemical Machines</a>} (main article; below)
 
          


                 
<a name="nanotech-intro-genetic-engineering">   <!---------------- nanoTech: stuff --->
<a name="intro-genetic-engineering">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Intro: to Genetic Engineering</h2>

See also:  {<a href="#nanotech-genetic-engineering">Genetric Engineering</a>} (main article; below)
          





<a name="nanotech-stuff">  <!---------------- nanoTech: stuff --->
<a name="stuff">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>NanoTech - Stuff</h2>

See also:  {<a href="#nanotech-intro-nano-machines">Intro to: Nano Machines</a>} (above)

See also: {<a href="#nanotech-nano-ethics">Nano Ethics</a>}  (below)
         {<a href="#nanotech-bio-ethics">Bio Ethics</a>} (below)



                  
<a name="nanotech-nano-ethics"> <!---------------- nanoTech: Nano Ethics --->
<a name="nano-ethics"> <a name="ethics">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Nano Ethics</h2>

See also: {<a href="#nanotech-stuff">NanoTech Stuff</a>} (above, also see: Intro above)
         {<a href="#nanotech-bio-ethics">Bio Ethics</a>} (below)




<a name="nanotech-nano-machines"> <!---------------- nanoTech: Nano Machines --->
<a name="nano-machines">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Nano Machines</h2>

(main article)

See also:  {<a nhref"#nanotech-intro-nano-machines">Intro to: Nano Machines</a>} (above)

See also:  {<a nhref"#nanotech-nano-ethics">Nano Ethics</a>} (above)
         




<a name="nanotech-chemical-machines"> <!---------------- nanoTech: Chemical Machines --->
<a name="chemical-machines">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Chemical Machines</h2>

(main article)

See also:  {<a nhref"#nanotech-intro-chemical-machines">Intro to: Chemical Machines</a>} (above)

See also:  {<a nhref"#nanotech-nano-ethics">Nano Ethics</a>} (above)


         


<a name="nanotech-genetic-engineering">  <!------------  nanoTech: Genetic Engineering --->
<a name="genetic-engineering">  
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Genetic Engineering</h2>

See also:  {<a nhref"#nanotech-intro-genetic-engineering">Intro: to Genetic Engineering</a>} (above)







<a name="nanotech-bio-ethics"> <!---------------- nanoTech:  --->
<a name="bio-ethics"> <a name="bioethics"> <a name="ethics-of-artificial-life">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Bio Ethics</h2>

See also: {<a href="#nanotech-genetic-engineering">Genetic Engineering</a>} (above)




<a name="nanotech-refs">  <!---------------- nanoTech: refs --->
<a name="">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Refs</h2>

              
<a name="nanotech-links">  <!---------------- nanoTech: links --->
<a name="">
<hr color="#009900" width="42%">
<h2>Links</h2>
 

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=============== Part 2 ==========
sci am (may/june issue)
NOTE: Incomplete (to be updated) post...

considers a new kind of computational device...

this-file:  pkda2001/nanotech/nanotech-random-walk.txt

Primary ref:

 "How to Builidl NanoTech Motors"
 by Mallouk and Sen, Sci Am 2009-05, Pp. 72-77.

 Gamow, George (?date?).  One, Two, Three, ... Infinity.
        avail as Dovert RePrint.


Mallouk and Sen describe a molecular monorail that is
being developed by David Leigh and company at Univ
Edinburg.

The guts of the idea are this:

A backbone monraile consists of an essentially
linear molecule that has "stubs" on the top of
it to which the "trolly car"  can attach.

Due to Brownian (random) motion the trolly car
move forward and backward along the monorail.
The *only* "fuel" is the random jostlngs of
the liquid medium into which the entire
assembly has been placed.

Thus, the trolly car does a "random walk". As
likely to move to the left as the right.

Into this some "stop bits" which are molecules
that can be introduced and attach themselves
to the monorail at the back of the trolly car.
They call these stop bits "road blocks", and
the trolly car is assymetric so that a roadblock
molecule can NOT attache itself directly in front
of the of where the trolly car is on the monorail.
I'm not sure, but i think that they can't just
plop down on the monorail but can only attach
at the back of the monrail on the space to its
rear. (If not, my "thought experiment" below
won't work.)

As they point out, if you think you're going to
get free energy for nothing - ie, dirriving
directional energy out of a purely random energy
source) think again. To clear the road block
molecules and reset the monorail, they haave
to flush it with a releasing reagent - and the
entropy of "forgetting" is (like the calassical
Maxwell's Demon "gotcha") is very hihg energy
and hence information wise.  

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Frank Leeding

Expertise

I can (possibly) answer questions regarding art history, technique, theory, and the occasional quandry. In addition to drawing and painting (mainly with acrylics these days), i know a bit about printmaking: Intaglio (etching), relief, offset, transfer and some things about photography. I also use a welding torch to "draw" in metal and then pound the sheets flat and print them. I pretty much "live" in 2D (and much 4D (time); but, 3D is just sort of "thick" version of 2D to me;)

Experience

As an artist I [sic] have shown my art work in both open and juried shows. I have an extensive background in both studio and cultural studies in art and related areas. I currently hold bachelors and master degrees in art and technology. In addition, I write extensively on "art theory". And I'm fairly good at mixing paint.

Education/Credentials
BSCS, University of North Texas, Denton. MA (ATEC), University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.

Awards and Honors
First place, TIPA: "Brookhaven College - The First 25 Years" (shared with my editor Ivana Corsalle.

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