Assembler (nanotechnology)
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In the futuristic research field of molecular nanotechnology, an assembler is a conjectured construction machine that would manipulate and build with individual atoms or molecules. One of the prime goals of long-term molecular nanotechnology research is the production of a programmable self-replicating assembler. This is a conjectured device which could make a complete copy of itself given raw materials and energy. After sufficient quantities of assemblers were available, they would then be re-programmed to produce something else useful. In science fiction literature, such assemblers have been called matter compilers.
Nature abounds with biological self-replicating assemblers called bacteria, which can be reprogramed to perform some types of tasks by genetic engineering. Some progress has been made in this area, where researchers have inserted genes for a particular protein into a bacterium. One of the first examples of this is the immune-system hormone interferon.
See Also
External links
- Molecular Assembler website (http://www.MolecularAssembler.com)
- Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines (http://www.MolecularAssembler.com/KSRM.htm) online technical book: first comprehensive survey of molecular assemblers (2004) by Robert Freitas and Ralph Merkle
- http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/nano4/merklePaper.htmlde:Assembler (Nanotechnologie)