arlan@inuxc.att.com (Arlan Keith Andrews) (09/01/89)
One possible use for nanotechnology, a little more mundane than many so far proposed, is speculated upon in a short story entitled "A Visit To The Nanodentist," in the May 1989 AMAZING, by *ahem* yrs trly. (AKA, Jr., the dentist, says that the title should be "...Nanodontist", but then no one else would have known what it means.) As to Tim Maroney's inquiries about how we might ever design and build such devices, why, Tim, seems to me I used to read similar objections by knowledgeable folks complaining about those sci-fi spaceships, not to mention genetic engineering, test tube babies, death rays. (And even the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Empire by the widespread use of certain advanced technologies...) Let's have easy fun NOW with the ideas of nanotech, along the way inspiring some fans, and in the next generation, THEY will do the hard work of bringing our dreams to fruition. Worked real well for Heinlein. --Arlan Andrews (BTW, there are really nasty other uses for nanotech, and if promised publication occurs, at least one will appear in the above-mentioned SF magazine later.)