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Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology
Author K. Eric Drexler
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date 1986
ISBN ISBN 0-385-19973-2

Part of a series of articles on
Molecular
Nanotechnology

Molecular assembler
Mechanosynthesis
Molecular machine
Productive nanosystems
Nanorobotics
K. Eric Drexler
Engines of Creation
Grey goo

See also
Nanotechnology
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This article is about the book on molecular nanotechnology by K. Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955 in Oakland California) is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of Molecular Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Molecular nanotechnology (MNT is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale A molecular assembler as defined by K Eric Drexler is a "proposed device able to guide chemical reactions by positioning reactive molecules with atomic precision Mechanosynthesis in Chemistry is any Chemical synthesis that takes place by mechanical forces alone A molecular machine has been defined as a discrete number of molecular components that have been designed to perform mechanical-like movements (output in response to specific stimuli The Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems defines " productive nanosystems " as functional Nanometer -scale Systems that make Atomically Nanorobotics is the technology of creating machines or Robots at or close to the microscopic scale of a Nanometres (10-9 Metres. Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955 in Oakland California) is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of Molecular Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving Molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of Applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an Atomic and Molecular Eric Drexler. For the Joe Satriani album, see Engines of Creation (Joe Satriani album). Engines of Creation is an Album by Joe Satriani which was an experiment in fusing the "analog" Instrumental Electric guitar

Engines of Creation is a seminal molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler in 1986. Molecular nanotechnology (MNT is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955 in Oakland California) is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of Molecular Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The foreword is by Marvin Minsky of MIT. Marvin Lee Minsky (born August 9, 1927) is an American cognitive scientist in the field of Artificial intelligence (AI co-founder Minsky states, "Engines of Creation begins with the insight that what we can do depends on what we can build. This leads to a careful analysis of possible ways to stack atoms. " Thus far, Engines of Creation has been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Chinese. [1]

Engines of Creation is unique for its style and substance. It makes oblique literary references while delving deep into theoretical science. Examples being the section on hypertext references the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem Xanadu: The Ballad of Kubla Khan while discussing the concepts first developed by the Project Xanadu while never mentioning Coleridge by name. Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher Project Xanadu was the first Hypertext project Founded in 1960 by Ted Nelson, the project contrasts its vision with that of paper "Today's popular software A section on life extension is entitled "Worlds Enough And Time" but never names the Andrew Marvell poem from which the phrase is adapted ("To His Coy Mistress"). Life extension refers to an increase in maximum or average lifespan, especially in humans by slowing down or reversing the processes of aging. Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of Synopsis Written in the point of view of a gentleman who is trying to persuade a woman to engage in sexual intercourse with him although she is allegedly acting coy

The substance of Engines of Creation is extraordinary. Various science fiction writers have used the concept of tiny machines and Drexler brings their wild tales to shame. He extrapolates a world from the bottom up where we can build atom by atom. Similarly and inspirationally, physicist Richard Feynman discussed the concept of recursive miniaturisation in his 1959 speech There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom. Richard Phillips Feynman (ˈfaɪnmən May 11 1918 – February 15 1988 was an American Physicist known for the Path integral formulation of quantum There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom is the title of a famous lecture given by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting But only Drexler came up with the idea of using molecular machinery for large-scale fabrication. Drexler sees a world where not only can the entire Library of Congress fit a chip the size of a sugar cube, but "universal assemblers" (tiny machines that build atom by atom) will be used for everything from medicinal robots that help clear the capillaries to environmental scrubbers that clear pollutants from the air.

Engines of Creation (Chapter 10, Limits to Growth) takes a realistic Malthusian view of exponential growth within limits to growth. Thomas Robert Malthus FRS (13 February 1766 – 23 December 1834 was an English political economist and demographer who expressed views Exponential growth (including Exponential decay) occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value Limits to Growth is a 1972 book modeling the consequences of a rapidly growing World population and finite resource supplies commissioned by the It also promotes space advocacy arguing that, because the universe is essentially infinite, life can escape the limits to growth defined by Earth. Space advocacy can be described as the general position supporting pleading or arguing forthe idea or cause of space exploration and settlements Additionally, Engines of Creation supports a form of the Fermi paradox, arguing that as there is no evidence of alien civilizations:

"Thus for now, and perhaps forever, we can make plans for our future without concern for limits imposed by other civilizations"

It is in this book Drexler first published his famous prediction of what might happen if a molecular nanotechnology were used to build uncontrollable self-replicating machines - the "gray goo" scenario. The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving Molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter

With the publication of Engines of Creation Drexler founded the first group for preparing society for molecular nanotechnology. Drexler took the unusual step of securing permission from the publisher to include the post office box for the Foresight Institute, a group that did not yet exist. The Foresight Nanotech Institute (formerly Foresight Institute) is a Palo Alto California -based Nonprofit organization for increasing awareness about the Drexler is no longer with the Foresight Institute.

Engines of Creation is often abbreviated "EOC" in online discussions.

In addition, Drexler's 1992 book, Nanosystems: molecular machinery, manufacturing, and computation, (ISBN 0-471-57518-6) is a much more technical treatment of similar material. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Nanosystems addresses chemical, thermodynamic, and other constraints on nanotechnology and manufacturing. The Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems defines " productive nanosystems " as functional Nanometer -scale Systems that make Atomically

Engines of Creation 2.0, which includes more recent papers and publications, was published as a free ebook on February 8, 2007.

Organization

External links

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