What is a nanorobot? Why is nanoresearch receiving increased funding? Is it a new revolution in science and technology? What opportunities it may open for us? Or what dangers it may bring about?
Indeed, the breakthrough which is in the offing in research labs is likely to affect practically all facets of our life – from food production to engineering and military applications. The ability to manipulate atoms and molecules just as easily as we manipulate machine parts or grow plants will open the way to fundamentally new processes, techniques, devices, medical systems, etc.
The idea to move individual atoms assembling them into superminiature mechanisms or making molecules with new useful properties came about several decades ago. For example, to transform graphite into diamond or to make sugar directly from water and carbon dioxide.
It will only be necessary to develop an appropriate software and to provide "food" (such as metals, chemicals and other components), and these microscopic mechanisms will start working for us producing goods, medicines, sophisticated devices, even automobiles. Nanorobots will be able to produce what we currently manufacture at factories and plants, though instead of cogs and nuts they will operate with elementary particles – atoms and molecules. All what is needed is to fabricate such "submicro tools" and develop software to control and operate them.
Incidentally, the very same technology is successfully used by our Mother Nature to grow plants and living organisms. Each cell of a living organism periodically divides in two, and then each of the two halves uses its "vacant bonds" to capture necessary molecules from the surrounding nutrient broth. In a human organism, for example, such processes are continually taking place and involve trillions of cells; nutrients, formed by the digestion of food, are supplied to the cells by blood circulation. It surprises nobody that an organism weighting many kilos and possessing a sophisticated locomotor system and consciousness grows out of a microscopic fertilized ovum. The "miracle of life" is the result of a program recorded in primordial cell plus appropriate nutrition, breathing (oxygen), comfortable temperature, gravity and other conditions.
Now we want to employ a similar process for microfactories to produce various kinds of goods, food, medicine and other things for us. Nature is able to produce millions of various plants and animals and most complicated substances, and now humans are trying to use the same approach and idea to fabricate things of metal, organic and inorganic substances.
Though the idea may seem fantastic, the recent research results demonstrate that quite a lot is feasible. As always, success here depends on work intensity and, most importantly, talent, funding and management.
In trying to evaluate the effect such technology might possibly have on the life of the world community, it is necessary to understand that in addition to providing a better quality goods and medicines, it will obviously open the way to the production of new, more powerful means of destruction. Such as, for example, selectively-acting weapons targeted at certain ethnic groups or geographic areas. Also, substances detrimentally affecting the vital functions of human organism, for example, reproduction, may possibly be fabricated, and their intentional or accidental release might have grave consequences.
A large scale use of nanorobots may be possible even without sophisticated production facilities and structure of management and it will not require any sizable funding. Therefore, the threat will be contained in the know-how. Such a device produced in one single copy will be self–sufficient, and will have a potential for self-replication and self-perfection along the programmed direction. Having obtained, by crook or as a result of an information leak, the secret know-how of nanorobot fabrication, a small group of people or even a sole terrorist will be able to produce and use nanorobots for their purposes.
Unfortunately, there are reasons to suspect that the present-day boom of nanoresearch is to a considerable extent stimulated by their possible military applications. Given that such research is being performed at many locations throughout the globe and that it is performed under a thick veil of secrecy, it cannot be ruled out that mankind finds itself in a situation even more dangerous than that during the past Cold War.
