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Engines of Creation 2.0: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology
"Some seminal works stand out like beacons in the history of science. Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica and Watson and Crick's A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid come quickly to mind. In recent decades we can add Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation, which established the revolutionary new field of nanotechnology. In the twenty years since this seminal work was published, its premises and analyses have been confirmed and we are starting to apply precise molecular assembly to a wide variety of early applications from blood cell sized devices that can target cancer cells to a new generation of efficient solar panels. We can now see clearly the roadmap over the next couple of decades to the full realization of Drexler's concept of the inexpensive assembly of macro objects constructed at the nanoscale controlled by massively parallel information processes, the fulfillment of which will enable us to solve problems — energy, environmental degradation, poverty, and disease to name a few — that have plagued humankind for eons."
— Ray Kurzweil, inventor, and author of The Singularity is Near, When Humans Transcend Biology
Originally published in 1986, K. Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation laid the theoretical foundation for the modern field of nanotechnology and articulated the amazing possibilities and dangers associated with engineering at the molecular scale. Unique for both its style and substance, the book is today recognized as the seminal work in nanotechnology and has earned Drexler the title of "Father of Nanotechnology."
Engines of Creation 2.0: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology — Updated and Expanded, is an ebook-only version available for free to readers exclusively through WOWIO. In addition to an updated "look and feel" for the ebook, Engines of Creation 2.0 has been expanded to include the first known lecture on nanotechnology by physicist Richard Feynman, the landmark open letter debate between Dr. Drexler and the late nanotech pioneer and Nobel laureate Dr. Richard Smalley, analysis of the debate by Ray Kurzweil, and a number of new additions by Dr. Drexler, including his advice to aspiring nanotechnologists.
— Ray Kurzweil, inventor, and author of The Singularity is Near, When Humans Transcend Biology
Originally published in 1986, K. Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation laid the theoretical foundation for the modern field of nanotechnology and articulated the amazing possibilities and dangers associated with engineering at the molecular scale. Unique for both its style and substance, the book is today recognized as the seminal work in nanotechnology and has earned Drexler the title of "Father of Nanotechnology."
Engines of Creation 2.0: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology — Updated and Expanded, is an ebook-only version available for free to readers exclusively through WOWIO. In addition to an updated "look and feel" for the ebook, Engines of Creation 2.0 has been expanded to include the first known lecture on nanotechnology by physicist Richard Feynman, the landmark open letter debate between Dr. Drexler and the late nanotech pioneer and Nobel laureate Dr. Richard Smalley, analysis of the debate by Ray Kurzweil, and a number of new additions by Dr. Drexler, including his advice to aspiring nanotechnologists.
647 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2007
18 people are currently reading
679 people want to read
About the author
K. Eric Drexler
10 books108 followersK. Eric Drexler, Ph.D., is a researcher and author whose work focuses on advanced nanotechnologies and directions for current research. His 1981 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences established fundamental principles of molecular design, protein engineering, and productive nanosystems. Drexler’s research in this field has been the basis for numerous journal articles and for books including Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (written for a general audience) and Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation (a quantitative, physics-based analysis). He recently served as Chief Technical Consultant to the Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems, a project of the Battelle Memorial Institute and its participating US National Laboratories. He is currently working in a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund to explore nanotechnology-based solutions to global problems such as energy and climate change.
Drexler was awarded a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Molecular Nanotechnology (the first degree of its kind; his dissertation was a draft of Nanosystems). Dr. Drexler is currently (2012) an academic visitor at Oxford University. He consults and speaks on how current research can be directed more effectively toward high-payoff objectives, and addresses the implications of emerging technologies for our future, including their use to solve, rather than delay, large-scale problems such as global warming.
Drexler was awarded a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Molecular Nanotechnology (the first degree of its kind; his dissertation was a draft of Nanosystems). Dr. Drexler is currently (2012) an academic visitor at Oxford University. He consults and speaks on how current research can be directed more effectively toward high-payoff objectives, and addresses the implications of emerging technologies for our future, including their use to solve, rather than delay, large-scale problems such as global warming.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 13, 2012
Fascinating. An complementary work is "Productive
Nanosystems - A Technology Roadmap" to which Drexler contributed as a member of the Technical Leadership team http://www.productivenanosystems.com/...
Nanosystems - A Technology Roadmap" to which Drexler contributed as a member of the Technical Leadership team http://www.productivenanosystems.com/...
February 24, 2018
Getting a little dated for an MSE student, but hey. No one in my department seemed that interested or excited in what they did, so go Eric!
June 18, 2024
ONE OF THE ‘CLASSICS’ IN THE DISCUSSION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Kim Eric Drexler is an American engineer who is currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute, where his focus is on superintelligence.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1986 book, “The ancient style of technology … handles atoms and molecules in bulk; call it ‘bulk technology.’ The new technology will handle individual atoms and molecules with control and precision; call it ‘molecular technology.’ It will change our world in more ways than we can imagine… We can use the terms ‘nanotechnology’ and ‘molecular technology’ interchangeably to describe the new style of technology. The engineers of the new technology will build both nanocircuits and nanomachines.” (Pg. 4-5)
He explains, “[Some of these] second-generation nanomachines… will serve as improved devices for assembling molecular structures… They will be able to bond atoms together in virtually any stable pattern, adding a few at a time to the surface of a workpiece until a complex structure is complete. Think of such nanomachines as ‘assemblers.’ Because assemblers will let us place atoms in almost any reasonable arrangement… they will let us build almost anything that the laws of nature allow… In particular, they will let us build almost anything we can design---including more assemblers… Assemblers open a world of new technologies.” (Pg. 14) He continues, “The first steps have already been taken, under the names of ‘genetic engineering’ and ‘biotechnology.’” (Pg. 20)
He observes, “Evolution attributes patterns of success to the ELIMINATION of UNSUCCESSFUL changes. It this explains a positive as the result of a double negative… The human mind tends to focus on the visible, seeking positive causes for positive results… we can see that this great principle has changed our past and will shape our future: ‘Evolution proceeds by the variation and selection of replicators.’” (Pg. 26)
He summarizes, “replicating assemblers will copy themselves by the ton, then make other products such as computers, rocket engines, chairs, and so forth. They will make disassemblers able to break down rock to supply raw material. They will make solar collectors to supply energy… Assemblers will be able to make virtually anything from common materials without labor, replacing smoking factories with systems as clean as forests. They will transform technology and the economy of their roots, opening a new world of possibilities. They will indeed be ‘engines of abundance.’” (Pg. 63)
He suggests, “The automation of engineering will speed the pace [of evolution] still more. Computer-aided design will improve, helping human engineers to generate and test ideas ever more quickly. Successors to EURISKO will shrink design times by suggesting designs and filling in the details of human innovations. At some point, full-fledged automated engineering systems will pull ahead on their own.” (Pg. 80)
He proposes, “space itself offers room to live… But planets are … generally offering the wrong gravity, atmosphere, length of day, and location. Free space offers a better building site for settlements… Rotation produces an acceleration equaling Earth’s gravity, and broad mirrors and window panels flood the interior with sunlight. Add soil, streams, vegetation, and imagination, and the lands inside could rival the best valleys on Earth as places to live. With just the resources of the asteroids, we will be able to build the practical equivalent of a thousand new Earths.” (Pg. 89)
He notes, “We will use molecular technology to bring health because the human body is made of molecules. The ill, the old, and the injured all suffer from misarranged patterns of atoms, whether misarranged by invading viruses, passing time, or swerving cars. Devices able to rearrange atoms will be able to set them right. Nanotechnology will bring a fundamental breakthrough in medicine.” (Pg. 99) He continues, “[Cellular] Repair machines will be able to regenerate fresh brain tissue even where damage has obliterated these patterns. But the patient would lose old memories and skills to the extent that they resided in that part of the brain… Loss of information through obliteration of structure imposes the most important, fundamental limit to the repair of tissue.” (Pg. 110) He adds, “Reaching an era with advanced cell repair machines seems the key to long life and health, because almost all physical problems will then be curable.” (Pg. 128)
He argues, “biostasis, to be of use, must be reversible… If biostasis can keep a patient unchanged for years, then those future techniques will include sophisticated cell repair systems.” (Pg. 131) He adds,’ Before considering resuscitation, however, some may ask what becomes of the soul of a person in biostasis. Some people would answer that the soul and the mind are aspects of the same thing… Assume, though, that the pattern of mind, memory, and personality leaves the body at death… With or without biostasis, cell repair cannot bring immortality. Physical death, however greatly postponed, will remain inevitable for reasons rooted in the nature of the universe.” (Pg. 138-139) He concludes, “The first generation that will regain youth without being forced to resort to biostasis may well be with us today. The prospect of biostasis simply gives more people more reason to expect long life…” (Pg. 146)
After acknowledging the ‘limits to growth,’ he suggests, “The resources of the visible universe make even our galaxy seem insignificant by comparison… The solar system seems answer enough to Earth’s limits---and it the rest of the universe remains unclaimed by others, then our prospects for expansion boggle the mind several times over…. In a sense, opening space will burst our limits to growth, since we know of no end to the universe. Nevertheless, Malthus was essentially right.” (Pg. 162)
He admits, “Replicators can be more potent than nuclear weapons: to devastate Earth with bombs would require masses of exotic hardware… but to destroy all life with replicators would require only a single speck made of ordinary elements. Replicators give nuclear war some company as a potential cause of extinction, giving a broader context to extinction as a moral concern.” (Pg. 174) But he concludes, “Nanotechnology and artificial intelligence could bring the ultimate seeds of destruction, but they are not inherently destructive. With care, we can use them to build the ultimate tools of peace.” (Pg. 190)
He states, “To prepare for the assembler breakthrough, society must learn to learn faster. Fact forums will help, but new technologies may help even more. With them, we will be able to spread, refine, and combine our information far faster than ever before.” (Pg. 217) He adds, “With abundant, available, high-quality information, we will seem more intelligent. And this will increase our chances of handling the coming breakthroughs RIGHT. What could be more useful?” (Pg. 230)
He concludes, “If we use fact forums and hypertext to strengthen our foresight, we may nonetheless avoid annihilation and more forward---but toward what? Toward a worldwide transformation which can, if we succeed bring abundance and long life to all who wish them. And this is a prospect that quite naturally stirs dreams of utopia.” (Pg. 231) He adds, “The coming years will bring the greatest turning point in the history of life on Earth. To guide life and civilization through this transition is the great task of our time.” (Pg. 239)
This book (though some of its optimism has not “aged well”) will be of great interest to those interested in the future, nanotechnology, and similar subjects.
Kim Eric Drexler is an American engineer who is currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute, where his focus is on superintelligence.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1986 book, “The ancient style of technology … handles atoms and molecules in bulk; call it ‘bulk technology.’ The new technology will handle individual atoms and molecules with control and precision; call it ‘molecular technology.’ It will change our world in more ways than we can imagine… We can use the terms ‘nanotechnology’ and ‘molecular technology’ interchangeably to describe the new style of technology. The engineers of the new technology will build both nanocircuits and nanomachines.” (Pg. 4-5)
He explains, “[Some of these] second-generation nanomachines… will serve as improved devices for assembling molecular structures… They will be able to bond atoms together in virtually any stable pattern, adding a few at a time to the surface of a workpiece until a complex structure is complete. Think of such nanomachines as ‘assemblers.’ Because assemblers will let us place atoms in almost any reasonable arrangement… they will let us build almost anything that the laws of nature allow… In particular, they will let us build almost anything we can design---including more assemblers… Assemblers open a world of new technologies.” (Pg. 14) He continues, “The first steps have already been taken, under the names of ‘genetic engineering’ and ‘biotechnology.’” (Pg. 20)
He observes, “Evolution attributes patterns of success to the ELIMINATION of UNSUCCESSFUL changes. It this explains a positive as the result of a double negative… The human mind tends to focus on the visible, seeking positive causes for positive results… we can see that this great principle has changed our past and will shape our future: ‘Evolution proceeds by the variation and selection of replicators.’” (Pg. 26)
He summarizes, “replicating assemblers will copy themselves by the ton, then make other products such as computers, rocket engines, chairs, and so forth. They will make disassemblers able to break down rock to supply raw material. They will make solar collectors to supply energy… Assemblers will be able to make virtually anything from common materials without labor, replacing smoking factories with systems as clean as forests. They will transform technology and the economy of their roots, opening a new world of possibilities. They will indeed be ‘engines of abundance.’” (Pg. 63)
He suggests, “The automation of engineering will speed the pace [of evolution] still more. Computer-aided design will improve, helping human engineers to generate and test ideas ever more quickly. Successors to EURISKO will shrink design times by suggesting designs and filling in the details of human innovations. At some point, full-fledged automated engineering systems will pull ahead on their own.” (Pg. 80)
He proposes, “space itself offers room to live… But planets are … generally offering the wrong gravity, atmosphere, length of day, and location. Free space offers a better building site for settlements… Rotation produces an acceleration equaling Earth’s gravity, and broad mirrors and window panels flood the interior with sunlight. Add soil, streams, vegetation, and imagination, and the lands inside could rival the best valleys on Earth as places to live. With just the resources of the asteroids, we will be able to build the practical equivalent of a thousand new Earths.” (Pg. 89)
He notes, “We will use molecular technology to bring health because the human body is made of molecules. The ill, the old, and the injured all suffer from misarranged patterns of atoms, whether misarranged by invading viruses, passing time, or swerving cars. Devices able to rearrange atoms will be able to set them right. Nanotechnology will bring a fundamental breakthrough in medicine.” (Pg. 99) He continues, “[Cellular] Repair machines will be able to regenerate fresh brain tissue even where damage has obliterated these patterns. But the patient would lose old memories and skills to the extent that they resided in that part of the brain… Loss of information through obliteration of structure imposes the most important, fundamental limit to the repair of tissue.” (Pg. 110) He adds, “Reaching an era with advanced cell repair machines seems the key to long life and health, because almost all physical problems will then be curable.” (Pg. 128)
He argues, “biostasis, to be of use, must be reversible… If biostasis can keep a patient unchanged for years, then those future techniques will include sophisticated cell repair systems.” (Pg. 131) He adds,’ Before considering resuscitation, however, some may ask what becomes of the soul of a person in biostasis. Some people would answer that the soul and the mind are aspects of the same thing… Assume, though, that the pattern of mind, memory, and personality leaves the body at death… With or without biostasis, cell repair cannot bring immortality. Physical death, however greatly postponed, will remain inevitable for reasons rooted in the nature of the universe.” (Pg. 138-139) He concludes, “The first generation that will regain youth without being forced to resort to biostasis may well be with us today. The prospect of biostasis simply gives more people more reason to expect long life…” (Pg. 146)
After acknowledging the ‘limits to growth,’ he suggests, “The resources of the visible universe make even our galaxy seem insignificant by comparison… The solar system seems answer enough to Earth’s limits---and it the rest of the universe remains unclaimed by others, then our prospects for expansion boggle the mind several times over…. In a sense, opening space will burst our limits to growth, since we know of no end to the universe. Nevertheless, Malthus was essentially right.” (Pg. 162)
He admits, “Replicators can be more potent than nuclear weapons: to devastate Earth with bombs would require masses of exotic hardware… but to destroy all life with replicators would require only a single speck made of ordinary elements. Replicators give nuclear war some company as a potential cause of extinction, giving a broader context to extinction as a moral concern.” (Pg. 174) But he concludes, “Nanotechnology and artificial intelligence could bring the ultimate seeds of destruction, but they are not inherently destructive. With care, we can use them to build the ultimate tools of peace.” (Pg. 190)
He states, “To prepare for the assembler breakthrough, society must learn to learn faster. Fact forums will help, but new technologies may help even more. With them, we will be able to spread, refine, and combine our information far faster than ever before.” (Pg. 217) He adds, “With abundant, available, high-quality information, we will seem more intelligent. And this will increase our chances of handling the coming breakthroughs RIGHT. What could be more useful?” (Pg. 230)
He concludes, “If we use fact forums and hypertext to strengthen our foresight, we may nonetheless avoid annihilation and more forward---but toward what? Toward a worldwide transformation which can, if we succeed bring abundance and long life to all who wish them. And this is a prospect that quite naturally stirs dreams of utopia.” (Pg. 231) He adds, “The coming years will bring the greatest turning point in the history of life on Earth. To guide life and civilization through this transition is the great task of our time.” (Pg. 239)
This book (though some of its optimism has not “aged well”) will be of great interest to those interested in the future, nanotechnology, and similar subjects.
July 18, 2020
I learned of this book while reading Racing Toward Armageddon. The author (Britt Gillette) made some fantastic claims about nanotechnology that were difficult to believe. Gillette acknowledge this book as the source for most of those claims. This book is available as a free download.
Nanotechnology is the science whose end goal is to develop molecular-sized machines. These machines form the basis of "factories" that can create products that are incredibly efficient and resilient. These nanobots have incredible promise for medical applications that can cure disease and extend human lifespans significantly. These factories can create fantastic products without any harm to the environment. Indeed they can help clean up the environment. The possibilities are very nearly endless. (I'm doing a poor job summarizing these benefits!)
Dr. Drexler is one of the foremost authorities in nanotechnology. His PhD in Molecular Nanotechnology from MIT was the first such degree awarded. This is a brilliant man who is also wise. Nanotechnology, in the wrong hands, can be even more deadly then nuclear weapons. He describes built-in safeguards that can be integrated into these machines. He also describes the process by which nano-developers can collaborate and hold each other accountable so that these development of these products don't go down evil roads.
Fascinating read. If I was a physicist, I might give this book 5 stars.
There was a cost for this free book. This is a pdf document that can be sent to Kindle. However, in doing so, you lose a lot of the features of the Kindle. The font was a little too small for my taste and you couldn't really change it. Most frustrating is the inability to make highlights, notes, and bookmarks. You can pretty much only progress in a linear fashion. You lose those great Kindle navigational capabilities. Too bad. There is a lot of content I would've liked to highlight and revisit.
Nanotechnology is the science whose end goal is to develop molecular-sized machines. These machines form the basis of "factories" that can create products that are incredibly efficient and resilient. These nanobots have incredible promise for medical applications that can cure disease and extend human lifespans significantly. These factories can create fantastic products without any harm to the environment. Indeed they can help clean up the environment. The possibilities are very nearly endless. (I'm doing a poor job summarizing these benefits!)
Dr. Drexler is one of the foremost authorities in nanotechnology. His PhD in Molecular Nanotechnology from MIT was the first such degree awarded. This is a brilliant man who is also wise. Nanotechnology, in the wrong hands, can be even more deadly then nuclear weapons. He describes built-in safeguards that can be integrated into these machines. He also describes the process by which nano-developers can collaborate and hold each other accountable so that these development of these products don't go down evil roads.
Fascinating read. If I was a physicist, I might give this book 5 stars.
There was a cost for this free book. This is a pdf document that can be sent to Kindle. However, in doing so, you lose a lot of the features of the Kindle. The font was a little too small for my taste and you couldn't really change it. Most frustrating is the inability to make highlights, notes, and bookmarks. You can pretty much only progress in a linear fashion. You lose those great Kindle navigational capabilities. Too bad. There is a lot of content I would've liked to highlight and revisit.
September 8, 2015
This is another must read book by Dr. Drexler...
November 15, 2021
great book but don’t read it if u don’t have a big vocabulary cause you won’t understand jack shit. I know from personal experience. 😋😋
October 8, 2018
Boring and vague. I don't think I learned a lot from it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews