Nanofuture: What's Next For Nanotechnology

by J. Storrs Hall

Nanotechnology is the science of designing and building machines at the molecular and atomic levels.Dr. Hall - a leading researcher on the frontiers of nanotechnology who has designed for NASA - describes nanotechnology in a very accessible way, so that anyone can understand what it's about, what it could do, and what it can't do. He puts it into historical context, explaining how previous technological developments have affected us, how nanotechnology fits into the historical trends for technologies ranging from motors to medicine, and how the continuation of these trends, with nanotechnology as a strong determining factor, will have a profound impact on the future.Together with its sister science of biotechnology, nanotechnology has the potential to alter the very human race, change who we are. Can this possibly be good? Should it be encouraged or opposed? No one knows for sure, but the basis for informed thought can be found in these exciting, stimulating pages, which will open the doors of the future to you.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Futurism, Physics

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really great for these reasons:
1. It explains why and how machines made w/ molecules as their constituent parts are possible.
2. It shows how the progression of nanotechnology will occur if we can make it happen, and speculates on the amazing ramifications of this.
3. Its historical overview of engines and explanations of concepts like entropy and information theory are the best and most understandable I've ever read.

This is a book whose author is not afraid to think big but grounds it all within a historical perspective.

[Brian Bohenek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on a complex subject.

[Solveig Singleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine and readable exploration of a future in which molecules are shaped into useful machines. Tends towards optimism, and helps explain why concerns that nanotechnology will melt the world into grey goo are overstated. My chemistry is college-level (albeit very good college-level : p) and I am able to follow most of the technical explanation most of the time; I suspect I could get all of them if I slowed down a bit.

I suspect no author can be right about everything all the time; I do think and hope that the author's prediction that the United States will lag behind in nanotechnology is likely to miss the mark. He compares the United States to that of France before the Industrial Revolution--France had all the leading scientists, but the Industrial Revolution ended up happening in England instead. Alas, he doesn't explore WHY the Indust

rial Revolution didn't happen in France. I suspect if one did a number of factors would come to the forefront, such as war (England was involved in wars too--but not in England itself), revolution, a legal, social, and economic system that tended to be more rigid than the common law. The United States shares rather few of these retarding factors, and I think we will do all right.

[Katricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest. At least 20% (okay, more like 60%) of the reason I read this book was to give me a bit of perspective on what "the future" as far as cutting-edge science looked like fifteen years ago. (Good on the author for predicting smartphones, by the way--I think he called them super-PDAs?)

That said, this is a nice contrast to all the gloom and dystopian doom predicted in pop culture re: nanotech. Also, really helpful in clarifying what makes nanotech "different" from conventional nano-scale tech. Utility fog and microbivores, for example, are two applications that--at least for me--were novel ideas.

Overall, worth reading if you're at all interested in the subject of nanotech. Very accessible read, and this coming from someone whose eyes glaze over at anything more complex that high school biology.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to believe!

[Upom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weird world awaits us with the advent of nanotechnology. The ability to modify matter with atomic precision will lead to a world unlike anything we've known. Towers that not only scrape the sky, but surpass them. The disappearance of kitchens for synthesized food. Flying cars. Near immortality. It's an exciting, if not scary world. Hall does a good job of outlining in layman terms the current state of nanotechnology, its remaining challenges, and its possibilities. The back of the book also has a great list of notes and books for further reading on the topic.
Hall also looks at the economic, social, and ethical issues nanotechnology brings up. Hall has a a rosy outlook on all these aspects, despite also pointing out nanotechnology's impacts on war, government, and the darker side of human nature. Often, his analysis of these issues breaks down into libertarian sermons. Ultimately, Hall's analysis of the nonscientific aspects of nanotechnology leaves something wanting, but seems a good consideration of all the good effects nanotechnology can have on humanity.
Whether you want to learn more about nanotechnology, see a glimpse of the world tomorrow, or just want to have your mind blown, "Nanofuture" is a fascinating read.

[Cyrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers the possible future applications of nanotechnology in a clear, un-hyped and non-hysterical fashion. It takes a realistic look at the future of technology in the nanometer sized range. If you are interested in the future of technology, this book is a must read. It is a nontechnical and very readable view of the possibilities of nanotechnology and it also shows why some of the more hysterical disaster scenarios are extremely unlikely.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as clean of an execution as Radical Abundance, but this book does offer quite a few examples of what an atomically precise future may hold. I believe this work is sufficiently orthogonal to Radical Abundance and thus worth a read; a few parts of this book get drawn out.

[Nadvornix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though it is rather old, it still seems to be the best semi-technical introduction to nanotech (as in Atomically Precise Manufacturing, not fibers). Good for gaining basic intuition on what are physical limits and how far they are from current technology.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

an okay introduction

[Ilya Mrz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instead reading this book rather watch a movie ( transcendence 2014 year). The bottom lines pretty same.

[Colin Nevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing insights into what the near future might hold

[Kadir Doğan · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book about nanotech.