18-10-2010, 01:16 PM
anamika.docx (Size: 1,020.45 KB / Downloads: 212)
anamika.docx (Size: 1,020.45 KB / Downloads: 212)
NANOBOTS
What are nanobots?
a nanobot is defined as a nanotechnological robot nanomachine, also called a nanite, which is a mechanical or electromechanical device whose dimensions are measured in nanometers (millionths of a millimeter, or units of 10-9 meter
Can you picture something that small? Can you think of how we might use such a device in science or medicine?
Nobody is quite sure who came up with the name ‘nanobot’ but most people give credit to Eric Drexler. A few years ago wrote a book called Engines of Creation. In his book, nanobots were imagined to be ‘self-replicating’ meaning that they could make more of themselves. They would be made of tiny parts that ‘self-assembled’. Imagine you had a pile of Legos that made themselves into a car without you having to put the pieces together. Sound farfetched? (See)
Nanobots would get their energy by eating molecules from their environment and also be able to not only do things but also make more of themselves. Sort of like bacteria, they can replicate and get their energy by eating molecules or by basking in the sun. Did you know that there are some bacteria that are photosynthetic?
Nanobots are mostly imagined to be little machines, tiny robots that scurry around and do things. Like what? Like cleaning out blocked arteries or swimming through the ocean eating polluting chemicals. But there are some serious problems in getting them to work. Life is different at the nanoscale. Not only do things not move very easily, but there is also a lot shaking going on. The notion of nanobots was at first a pretty scary thing. What would stop them from taking over the Earth by just making lots and lots of themselves. The closest things that are truly on the nanoscale are little ‘machines’ that are made out of stuff like DNA and move (link to DNA machines).