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Even nano robots need a place to unwind and read the newspaper! Yes, that really is a nano toilet. All kidding aside, nano technology is still in its infancy, but good progress is being made. Really, it’s just a matter of time before we can start building things on the nano scale - in mass. Once that happens in a scalable, cheap, and commercial way, there will be no telling what we can screw up! Jokes aside, there will be many innovations that come online, but there is always the rule of unintended consequences for technology. It’s hard for people to understand just how revolutionary such nano factories can be, so let’s go through it.
So, why in the world should you care about nano factories or molecular manufacturing, as it is also called? The answer is simple. It will revolutionize this world. Right now, many product already incorporate nano materials. But that’s not we are talking about when we speak of nano factories. No, these factories will be able to build materials with incredible precision (can you say, atomic precision?) because they will build the materials from the ground up - from molecular materials. This video will give you a good idea of how revolutionary this process will be:
Now, imagine a factory whose job it is to manufacture other factories. That would allow an incredible scaling for the manufacturing process. Of course, there are many hurdles to get over before this type of factory could be developed, but the building blocks are there. Some things that come to mind are error, repairs, quality assurance, etc. But I do believe it’s coming. Now, let’s consider some possible ramifications from such a technological leap.
The development of such a device will be of utmost national security interests. My guess is that it will become a highly coveted and funded project for many nations. They will intrinsically see the highly creative and destructive nature of such an invention. Just consider the impact of developing something that can not only replicate itself, but also create highly destructive (and small) weapons. This could range from nano bots that could silently assassinate their intended targets to large scale weapons that could cause incredible devastation. Nano espionage and reconnaissance will assuredly take place. Despite the difficulties of bringing such things to reality, I do believe it will come to pass. And the nation that does first will be able to make some rules.
The entire manufacturing process will be upended. And the rules around labor will also be upended. And how in the world do you work on such machines? I’m assuming you have nano bots to fix things. But what impact that would have on typical worker roles is pretty uncertain. I’m sure it will change things radically. The mantra will be what it has always been - you have to change as the world changes. But what about pricing or even business? What happens when consumers are able to have their own nano factory? Well, that would completely change the rules. And I have no idea what that would mean.
This really shouldn’t surprise us that something like this can take place. Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics, postulated such things in the 50’s:
“I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . .The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.”
The possibilities in medicine are staggering. Nano bots could help surgeons do surgery from the inside out with minimal invasion. Nano materials could be used to heal all sorts of ailments. Hernias could be mended, organs could be fixed, cancer could be targeted. The list goes on and on, but you get the point.
I’m sure that this will be a reality at some point. It will be a matter of taking care of the problems of creating such a small factory. When that happens, this world will have changed forever.
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