Transhuman Mailing List>>>>>>>True, because of the duality of human existence solutions to metalstateproblems are only half the answer, and solutions to physical existenceproblemsmust be found. Through some combination of machines, robots, computers, and/orother technologies, Humanity will have the ability to provide for all materialneeds and desires, and Humanity can thereby make and/or create any environmentdesired. Humanity will be able to build perfect places.Nanotechnology is the most revolutionary of currently conceived futuretechnological abilities. Nanotechnology is simply molecular manufacturing. Ananometer is one billionth of a meter, so nanomachines would exist at aninfinitesimal scale. All matter (gases, liquids, and solid objects) iscomposedof molecules, and molecules are just specific combinations of atoms. Molecularassemblers, microscopic machines, would build molecules by putting atomstogether. Just give this machine any type of matter, such as water, and it canrearrange the atoms to make anything else, such as an apple, or gold. Thesenanomachines can even make copies of themselves, so that once one is built,Humanity can have all the nanomachines it wants. Every home could have amachine, consisting of a very large quantity of these microscopicnanomachines,to provide for all material needs. For example, if you want a glass of orangejuice simply tell the machine and it can use water from a water lineconnectionto make a glass filled with orange juice. When you are finished drinking thejuice, just put the glass in the machine, and the machine will turn the glassback into clean water and send the water down the drain. People will neverhaveto shop again. New clothes, caviar, lobster, no problem, just tell the machineto make whatever is wanted. These nanomachines will build miniaturesuper-computers, and robots of any desired size. People will not have to workbecause these robots, computers and machines, will be able to perform any taskthat needs to be done, or is desired to be done. However, if one desires towork, these production methods can be used to create any work environment onedesires. Material poverty will be eliminated. Money, a medium of exchange formaterial goods and services, will become obsolete, because every individualcanhave all of their material needs and desires fulfilled by this unlimitedproduction capability. Taxes are no longer necessary. Nanomachines can patrolthe human body killing viruses, deleting any cancerous growths, andregeneratingdamaged cells so that one never ages or gets sick. Pollution will not resultfrom this molecular manufacturing process, and these nanomachines can beunleashed to clean up any preexisting pollution. There is no need to harvesttrees, or other natural resources, because nanomachines can make anythingdesired. Animals will not have to be raised for slaughter to feed humans orprovide clothes, because nanomachines can make anything desired. Thisunlimitedproduction system just needs matter and energy to function These machines canmake solar panels and energy storage devices so efficient that the energy fromthe sun will be the only power ever needed. The only other thing needed to runthe machines is some type of matter, which can be air, water, dirt, oranythingelse that is plentiful. Fantastic engineering feats are possible, such assee-through domes over cities to eliminate weather concerns, and an extensivewater piping system to eliminate drought and floods. Extraordinary amusementparks and entertainment centers could be built with this technology. Spaceexploration and colonization would be easily feasible with this technology.Whole planets can be encased in a protective see-through shield and a vacationparadise or living space can be created on them. Etc...<<<<<<<This version of a nanotech created paradise seems a little far fetched.  There are two important limitations which should be mentioned:First, while nanomachines may one day be able to rearrange atoms, theycannot create new one.  They could not, for instance, change an apple in togold because there are no gold atoms in the apple to work with.  Similarly,pure water, with its 2 hydrogen atoms and its 1 oxygen atom, can only bemade it things which have only oxygen and hydrogen atoms in them, namelywater or hydrogen and oxygen gas.  While turning water into hydrogen andoxygen may be useful for something, its hardly revolutionary and isprobably done in thousands of High School Chemistry lads across the countryevery day.  As for turning a water molecule into a water molecule. . .Secondly, nanomachines will still require energy to power them.  The amountvaries drastically depending on the atoms involved and how you rearrangethem, but are always considerable simply because of the number of atomsinvolved.  Suppose you wanted to break Cardon-Dioxide (CO2) into carbon andoxygen.  (A plausible example as Carbon is major building block in anythingorganic)  It would take 393,500 joules, or about enough to energy to boilfour cups of water, to break apart a single Carbon-Dioxide atom.  True,that's not a lot, but that's only one atom.  When you consider there are10^22 atoms in a single penny you can see how much energy it would take toconstruct even the smallest object.  With these kind of energies involved,it unlikely that nanotech will be useful for building anything bigger thena paper clip, if even that.  I think it can safely be said that anything onthe planetary scale is well out of the question even in the very verydistant future.Even on a smaller scale, power is still an issue. Classical motors, eitherelectric or combustion, cannot be constructed small enough so convertingenergy into work is problem.  Finding a way to deliver energy, evenassuming it can easily be converted to work, to millions of individualnanomachines may also prove challenging.  Does anyone know of any theoriesin these areas?I think nanomachines will probably be relegated to the task of creating thevery tiny, and will probably find there home in bio-tech and electronics.That's not to say we won't have robots capable of large scale constructionprojects, just not nanomachines.-Andre the realist**************************************************************************** If you need to unsubscribe, send email saying "unsubscribe transhuman"  ** to majordomo@logrus.org, without the quotes, from the SAME email address** as the one you subscribed under! Yes, it is case-sensitive. 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