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Fortune magazine chose nanotechnology as one of the fields
where future fortunes will be made. John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene in Megatrends
2000 proclaimed nanotechnology one of the hot research areas to keep an eye
on in the years to come. Japanese conglomerates are in a race to develop the abilities
that will make nanotechnology a reality. In short, nanotechnology is one of the
hottest scientific concepts around, and Unbounding the Future is the comprehensive,
easy-to-understand handbook that explains what it is and how it will revolutionize
life in the future. K. Eric Drexler, M.I.T. graduate,
Visiting Scholar at Stanford, and the world's leading expert on nanotechnology,
explains that while we're right on track for making this science a reality, it
involves a fundamental change in how we approach matter. Instead of looking at
it from the top down, as we do now (mountains become rubble, rubble becomes iron,
iron becomes steel, and steel is used for cars, for instance), nanotechnology
will work with matter from the bootom up (manipulating matter at the molecular
level). If advances occur on schedule, we will be able to create machines so small
that they will have to be measured in nanometers (billionths of a meter). Drexler
explains that these machines could be specially programmed to carry out specific
tasks and give us the ability to manipulate matter with atom by atom precision.
The consequences of this technology will be staggering. Unbounding
the Future provides a guided tour of a future where the principles of nanotechnology
have been applied. Drexler envisions the ability to cure diseases such as cancer
and AIDS with medical treatments using millions of molecular machines specially
programmed to repair diseased cells. Nanotechnology would enable us to clean up
toxic waste using molecular machines that would render harmless an array of harmful
pollutants. And K. Eric Drexler explains how molecular manufacturing will produce
products superior to those of today while using a fraction of the labor and producing
no pollution. What is the timetable for these astonishing capabilities? Drexler
is confident they can be attained within our lifetime. Whether
we are ready for it or not, scientists are at the edge of an era that will make
nanotechnology a reality and revolutionize life as we know it today. Unbounding
the Future is the only book that offers this glimpse into the future -- a
glimpse so compelling and exciting that it will change not only the way you think
about the future but also the way you view the present. K.
Eric Drexler is a Visting Scholar at Stanford University and received degrees
in science and engineering from M.I.T. Chris Peterson and Gayle Pergamit have
written on science in the past. They both assisted Drexler on Engines of Creation,
the only other book on this subject. Drexler and Peterson are directors of the
Foresight Institute, based in Palo Alto, California. |
