Share
Nanomachine

Drextech
Image from Anders Sandberg

Generic term for a microscopic or molecular mechanical (non-biotic) device, for example a hylonanite or nanobot. It is important to note that nanomachines (and indeed nanites in general) do not have to be nanoscale; they may simply be microscale machines that can manipulate nanoscale objects.
 
Related Articles
  • Autotopia
  • Biostasis
  • Drex
  • Drexler
  • Nanite
  • Nano-ecology, Nanecology - Text by Anders Sandberg
    A distributed system of nanodevices and the structures constructed by them that self-organizes in a bottom-up manner without any central control; analogous to an ecology. Sometimes used to denote the entire nanosphere of a world, even when parts of it are under top-down control.
  • Nano-flywheels
  • Nanobar
  • Nanodesign - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    The design of materials and goods using nanotechnology.
  • Nanodust - Text by Anders Sandberg
    Layers of dead nanomachinery sedimenting in the dust, on the bottom of lakes and elsewhere. Ideally nanodust should self-destruct, but there are always bugs in that. Micro- and biotech scavengers collect them, but there are always places they miss. So the puddles on a roof collect diamond dust which blows away when they dry out, which can both erode shiny facades, irritate people and catch fire.
  • Nanoengineer - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    One who designs or programs assemblers or nano-devices, or designs functional structures on the atomic scale. Nanoengineering is based on applications from quantum mechanics, applied thermodynamics, chemistry, MEMS, mesotech, robotics, and swarm theory. Most nanoengineers are cyborgs or vecs who incorporate extensive pragmatic nanoborg augmentations, and generally work in a specific field of application, or as dedicated sophonts for a higher toposophic. Contrast with nanohacker.
  • Nanofacture - Text by Geoff Dale in Anders Sandberg's Transhuman Terminology
    The fabrication of goods, especially but not necessarily macroscale items, using nanotechnology. Fabrication may occur on a large industrial scale, or from a small personal autofab unit.
  • Nanoforge - Text by Stephen Inniss
    An alternative name for an autofab.
  • Nanomedicine
  • Nanometallurgy - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    Using industrial and assembler nanotech to manufacture specific alloys or metallic configurations on the molecular scale. Although nanometals do not have the strength and lightness of diamondoid, they are excellent conductors of electric current, are malleable, do not catch fire as easily as carbon-based nano, and can easily be installed with shape-memory features.
  • Nanorot
  • Nanosome - Text by Anders Sandberg, in Transhuman Terminology
    Generic term for any nanodevices (whether hylo or bio) existing symbiotically inside biological cells, doing mechanosynthesis and disassembly for it and replicating with the cell.
  • Nanosphere - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    Generally, the part of a — usually nanoindustrialised or nanodeveloped — world (or more rarely habitat) that is pervaded or saturated by nanodevices — the realm of nano-interaction. Typical angelnets for example constitute a nanosphere.
  • Nanotechnology Side-effects
  • Nanotransistor - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    A molecular-sized transistor.
  • Quantum Impeller
  • Quantum Levitation
 
Appears in Topics
Drytech/HylotechMiddle Tech / MidtechNanotech
RoboticsSyntech/Synanotech
 
Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev and Pran Mukherjee
Initially published on 09 December 2001.

 
 
>