The Mega-impact of Nanotechnology

Perspective, Potential, Progress, Priority, Infinity

I paid $3 for an app recently. I never pay for apps. It was the best $3 ever spent. It’s called Universe and is a joint project between waitbutwhy and kurzgesagt, which is basically a visual illustration of the many things that we know make up life from the tiniest neutrino to the whole observable universe. That’s it, you literally just zoom in and out and see cartoon representations of different matter (which you can click on to learn more of).  And it’s the best thing ever. It’s an app that gives you perspective. What a delightful gift.

Perspective is power. The application of perspective is power. Perspective is the key to any good decision. The key to happiness, perhaps. It’s also tricky. Our goal should be to consider as many perspectives as we can in a situation, yet perspective has a magnetic quality that lures you in and repels all the others. Once you grab on to a single perspective, it hinders your ability to consider alternatives.

Like how humans always think only in human scale and ignore the nano and mega scales that exist in parallel. You know, how we jump at a street cat and ignore the raging ball of fire in the sky or the armies of germs on and around us. I mean it makes sense for us to do that, we have to be practical. Or is that the magnet speaking?

We often feel powerless over these alternate scales, but are we in fact powerless? If there weren’t any humans at all looking at the nano and mega scales, wondering about space and germs, would we be able to be living in the most comfortable period in human history? No. Technology transformed our world in sanitation, transportation, health, agriculture, manufacturing, entertainment, opportunity, freedom and pretty much everything else. That would not be possible if scientists and engineers did not look into the make up of life’s basic elements or the way our solar system operates, and believe in their power over them. Someone has to care about this stuff for the advancement of society.

But everyone has to care about this stuff for the advancement of ourselves. Why? Because, if through acquired knowledge you are able to apply multiple perspectives in every situation, you will own every situation, you will know how best to act by having a more holistic perspective and choosing the optimal path. You will optimize your journey through life. That is power.

This is why everything happening with Space now is SO EXCITING. Because it humbles our egos, unites us, and it will improve our lives in ways we can’t even think of yet. The simplest proof of that is launching satellites that introduced us to mother internet (see what I did there? 🙂 ). It’s been getting a lot of well-deserved attention now, and that is great for its progress. But what about the opposite side of the spectrum? The nanoscale side?

Nanotechnology deals with matter on the nanoscale, usually not more than 100nm in size. That’s about 1000 times smaller than what we can see with the naked eye. Probably why the majority of people know nothing about it. Yet.

Eric Drexler, the father of nanotechnology, and the one who coined the term, describes what he calls “atomically precise manufacturing” or APM. Basically, he is describing a manufacturing process that can assemble atoms and molecules, using machine-guided motion, into a seemingly unlimited array of materials/products. To better understand this, let’s quickly run through some nano-history.

Nanotechnology was popularized in the 1980’s after Eric Drexler published his book Engines of Creation describing a model of molecular assemblers that inspired many others after him to explore the nano world of possibilities. In essence, nanotechnology as described by Drexler requires the use of programmable machines that are fast, inexpensive, and extremely flexible. Think of it as a super complicated and advanced 3D printer for atoms- but of course way, way, more powerful. It can print anything you want, whenever you want- with speed and precision. It is basically a “factory in a box”.  Inside the box, small machines arrange molecules together by using artificial intelligence to guide molecular bonding to make nanoscale parts, then larger machines put those parts together into larger parts, and eventually normal-sized machines make products from those parts- all with relatively no waste.

APM enables the production of very strong materials and high-performance devices. Using life’s most abundant elements – hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, silicon, aluminum, and others as input, nanomachines can have an endless variety of outputs. Basically, APM can produce the full range of materials used in technology today with atomic precision and optimal structures- i.e. a better version of them. It can produce truly durable products- they don’t break, loosen, crack or weaken- and are low in cost.  Meaning I won’t have to change my iPhone screen every month, and it will stop doubling in price 🙂 The process outputs both products as well as by-products, thereby eliminating hazardous waste from regular manufacturing processes. Energy conversion is excellent with losses to friction and resistance under 0.1%. For reference, typical energy losses from a coal-fired electrical plant is 62%! A nanomachine can typically produce its own mass in products in 1 second, and with self-replication, big parts can be produced in record times.

And that’s not even the best part. As has been the case every time in the past, the most significant impact will come from that which we don’t know yet. APM will not only enhance what we already know, more importantly, it will enlighten us by introducing us to a world of new sensations and experiences, via the genesis of new materials and compositions. One of the first simple materials constructed is carbon nanotubes, which have been replacing silicon in transistors, helping support Moore’s law. That’s not even the tip of the iceberg though – I can’t imagine what more we’ll find, but I cannot wait.

The field of nanotechnology stayed true to custom, experiencing a period of theory and no action as scientists and engineers figured out how to execute. Cynics spread what Drexler would consider Fake Nano News, delaying progress and adoption. Similar to the Fake Crypto News bitcoin and blockchain would experience in the 2010’s, which only now have begun to intrigue the critics (BTC currently holding strong at $22,600!).

Today, what was once the dream of nanotechnology has become its embryonic beginnings. With the development and help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Drexler’s vision of many tiny nanotech assemblers has been achieved and new uses and products are being discovered everyday. Nanotronics – a nanotech company founded by Matthew Putman, has become a platform for everyone to build anything they want. They help companies that manufacture semiconductors for chips, create water purification solutions, and a host of other essential solutions that use nanotech. They recently adapted their nano-factory to produce medical devices in a cheaper, faster, lighter, and more efficient way. Using AI and processes inspired by Drexler’s vision, they designed a noninvasive ventilator (BiPAP) to help ease the suffering caused by the spread of the coronavirus, which as of today has infected over 70 million people around the world. This device is cheaper, lighter, and more efficient than anything else on the market, getting FDA approval within 3 months, and this was just an emergency reaction by the company to current events. How incredible is it that this factory can be readjusted to produce something completely different temporarily, then easily go back to whatever it was doing? Just think of all the things we could do with this sort of power.

That’s why investing in and supporting the development of nanotech is so important- the problems it can (and hopefully will) solve are existential in nature. I’m talking decreasing energy waste and our carbon footprint, water and air purification, ending poverty, dealing with resource depletion and biothreats, and general security and technological advancement. The implementation of nanotechnology’s potential will create a foundational shift towards the digital, abundant future. It seems to be such a simple improvement that brings about such a profound effect.

Decreased demand for petroleum threatens our economies here in the Middle East. With nanotechnology, we can build ourselves new advantages as well as reduce our reliance on other economies. This is the foundational shift we’ve been looking for – we should be the first ones jumping into it!

The mRNA vaccines for the coronavirus from Pfizer, Moderna, and others all use nanotechnology. Lipid nanoparticles are being used to package and transport mRNA through our bodies to the targeted cell. Nanotechnology was central to the efforts of bioengineers with the vaccine, and underlies the entire process of making proteins to fight the coronatruder. This is a fundamental shift in biotech and medicine, one of many fundamental shifts nanotechnology promises to provoke.

It’s easy for us to notice the continuous progress of the Digital Age, as it opened up a world of communication, trade, and accessibility that no one in the Industrial Age could have imagined. The effects of progress in computation will continue to be felt over the future decades with possibly no clear end in sight. And that’s great for us. But what about the effects from the Industrial Age? Have they died out?

When we think of progress in the last 3 decades, most of what comes to mind relates to the digital revolution. Our industrial era progress seems to have stagnated. Just look at the results of that era. Our transportation and manufacturing processes are still similar to what they were a century ago, with only minor advancements and no real fundamental improvement. With the digital revolution, there’s a fundamental improvement every decade. Think of it- computers, the internet, the smart phone, the cloud, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and much more.

Robotics could definitely be considered an important shift in manufacturing, but that just replaces the humans, the process is still similar. Nanotechnology will cause the most impactful shift in manufacturing processes the world has ever seen. The way we manufacture things will change. Using progress from the digital era, namely AI and machine learning, nanotech will reignite the remaining effects of the industrial era and propel it to a new domain. When the main ingredients required for input are the most abundant elements in life, then the barriers and inefficiencies of today’s industry will vanish, and manufacturing becomes nonlocal. You can pretty much make anything, anywhere in the world, with little to no waste.

“What computer systems have done for processing information, APM systems will do for processing matter… Conventional manufacturing begins with machines that shape materials to make parts; APM begins with machines that move molecules, where the molecules themselves are the parts.”

Eric Drexler

In this sense, nanotechnology’s physical processes will spread at the speed of digital processes, like sharing an image over the internet. The endless supply chains the manufacturing industry uses today will become obsolete. So why have we not yet doubled down on it? Why doesn’t every country in the world have a program supporting research and development of nanotechnology? Why isn’t it a priority?

This shift will threaten the jobs of millions of people in the manufacturing supply chain, as well as economies all over the world. This will also allow anyone to produce anything, which means bad actors can utilize it for their sinister intentions. But doesn’t that sound familiar? Can the same thing not be said about every other technological innovation? Robots replaced factory workers, AI replaced bookkeepers, and “software is eating the world”. Yet all the jobs replaced by technology, are compensated with even more jobs that are better. Based on a report from Gartner, AI-related job creation will reach 2 million net new jobs by 2025. In terms of risk-reward, I’d say we’ve managed it quite well in the past. Let’s not forget there are at least 440 nuclear reactors in the world that could wipe us out at any moment – us humans have our ways.

This is the case with any technology. We enjoy the benefits and try to find solutions to the new problems that develop. Our entire history has been one of innovation to solve a problem, and new innovations to solve the new problems introduced by the older innovations (introducing more progress and yet more complicated problems). We’re evolving to become ever more complicated beings.

Technology and progress is never about isolated missions. It’s about discovering new innovations and learning new knowledge by combining and building off of other innovations. Nanotechnology alone is great, but nanotechnology mixed with AI and machine learning, blockchain, and other tech will bring ever exponential growth to our world. If we plan on going to space, we’re going to need nanotechnology to produce all of our basic needs, all of them – like the air we breathe, the spacecraft that shelters us, the power we use, and the water we drink. Who knows what else we’ll need in an unknown world? Who knows what else we’ll need in our own world tomorrow? With nanotechnology though, we’ve got a stronger set of tools with which to face that vast unknown.

It’s about perspective. Do we want to merely improve what we already have and know? How long can we last by staying relatively static? Or do we want to leap into the unknown, and accelerate our ascent into the mysteries of the universe? We can stay within the limits of the human scale, and possibly survive a few decades/centuries. Or we can all embrace our curiosities, trust in the power of human knowledge and its growth, and open ourselves up to a world of extreme consciousness.

The choice is ours.

“This is Earth. Not the eternal and only home of mankind, but only a starting point of an infinite adventure. All you need do is make the decision [to end your static society]. It is yours to make… [With that decision] came the end, the final end of Eternity, and the beginning of Infinity.”

Isaac asimov