kqb@ho3cad.UUCP (KEVIN Q. BROWN ) (01/06/87)
"Nanotechnology" is the term K. Eric Drexler uses in his book "Engines of
Creation" (Doubleday, 1986) to describe a technology that can manipulate
substances an atom at a time. This technology has not been developed yet,
but Drexler gives several arguments for why we should expect it to be
developed eventually. (For example, molecular-scale machines already exist
in our own bodies; we call them enzymes, antibodies, etc. Nanotechnology
encompasses a lot more than just protein machines, though.)
The molecular-scale machines that he envisions include machines that can
recognize and fix damaged parts of a person's body. The section on biostasis
has a pleasant surprise; today's freezing technology, although it causes lots
of damage to an organism, preserves enough structure that tomorrow's
(nano)technology will be able to fix whatever damage occurred. A consequence
of this is that people who die today can be preserved and restored to health
(and youth) tomorrow. I know this sounds too good to be true, but read the
book and decide for yourself.
Kevin Q. Brown
...ihnp4!ho3cad!kqb
PS: The Nov. 1986 issue of OMNI had a good article on nanotechnology. (I hear
that Drexler had "editorial privilege" on the article and ensured that the
quality of the article was good.) This article did not, however, discuss
Drexler's thoughts on biostasis.