Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is a manufacturing technology that allows for precise control and assembly of molecule-sized building blocks. It differs from nanotechnology, which focuses on phenomena at the nanoscale. MNT could revolutionize manufacturing, medicine, and more, but the technology is still in the research stage. The idea was first proposed by Richard Feynman in 1959, and K. Eric Drexler popularized it in the 1980s. An “assembler” capable of creating a wide range of molecular structures is needed to start an MNT revolution, and experts predict its arrival between 2010 and 2030.
Molecular nanotechnology (“MNT”) is an advance manufacturing technology that would enable the precise control and positional assembly of molecule-sized building blocks through the use of nanoscale manipulator arms. Molecular nanotechnology is generally considered distinct from the more inclusive term “nanotechnology”, which is now used to refer to a broad range of scientific or technological projects that focus on phenomena or properties at the nanoscale (about 0.1-100 nm). Nanotechnology is already a blossoming field, but molecular nanotechnology – the goal of manufacturing machine systems on a molecular scale – is still in the preliminary research stage.
Nanotechnology was first introduced in 1959, in a speech by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, entitled “There’s a Lot of Room Behind.” Feynman proposed using a conventionally sized set of robotic arms to build a replica of themselves, but one-tenth the original size, then using that new set of arms to fabricate an even smaller set, and so on, until reach the molecular scale. If we had many millions or billions of such molecular-scale arms, we could program them to work together to create macro-scale products built from individual molecules – a “bottom-up manufacturing” technique, as opposed to the usual cutting-down technique. until you have a complete component or product – “top-down manufacturing”.
Feynman’s idea went largely unchallenged until the mid-1980s, when MIT-educated engineer K. Eric Drexler published “Engines of Creation,” a book to popularize the potential of molecular nanotechnology. Since MNT would allow manufacturers to manufacture products from the bottom up with precise molecular control, a very wide range of chemically possible structures could be created. Since MNT systems could put each molecule in its specific place, molecular manufacturing processes could be very clean and efficient. Furthermore, because every tiny bit of matter in a molecular nanotechnology system would be part of a nanoscale manipulator, nanotechnology systems could be much more productive and maintain a much higher yield than modern manufacturing techniques, which use macroscale manipulators to manufacture products.
To start an MNT revolution would require an “assembler,” a reprogrammable nanoscale manipulator capable of creating a wide range of molecular structures, including a complete copy of itself. Early assemblers will only work effectively in controlled laboratory environments, such as a vacuum. The advent of self-replicating molecular nanomachines could rapidly lead to ‘desktop nanofactories’, tabletop devices that consume modest amounts of energy and contain the software needed to manufacture an exciting array of useful products. The arrival of the MNT would revolutionize large sectors of human activity, including manufacturing, medicine, scientific research, communication, information technology and warfare. It is currently unknown when true molecular nanotechnology will arrive, but some experts predict its arrival between 2010 and 2030.
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