Laser pushed sails—ultrathin need reflective structures that are square meters but weight a gram. If the sails and the payload each weigh a gram, such a spacecraft could accelerate to one fifth of the speed of light. This would be 200 times faster than the Voyager probe. Richard Norte of Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, …
Jeremy Barton is creating an institute to create basic molecular machines. A primary focus is to create basic motors. We need design tools, motors and more. He previously created an group that combined chemistry, physics, surface science to work on positional chemistry. $150 million was not enough. Here are patents related to mechanosynthesis and direct …
Humanity is on the verge of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted decades ago that we would reach AGI in 2029. AI and Large Language Models could reach AGI sooner than 2029. However, the definitions of artificial intelligence that surpasses individual humans has issues around definitions and measurement. Kurzweil also predicted the Singularity …
A new way of creating color uses the scattering of light of specific wavelengths around tiny, almost perfectly round silicon crystals. This Kobe University development enables non-fading structural colors that do not depend on the viewing angle and can be printed. The material has a low environmental and biological impact and can be applied extremely …
In early 2023, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory used autonomous methods can discover new materials. The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technique led to the discovery of three new nanostructures, including a first-of-its-kind nanoscale ladder. Scanning-electron microscopy images depict novel nanostructures discovered by artificial intelligence. Researchers describe the patterns as skew …
DNA nanostructures can perform some of the complex robotic fabrication process for manufacturing and self-replication. Building things and performing work with nanorobots has been a major technical and scientific goal. This has been done and published in the peer reviewed journal Science. Nadrian C. “Ned” Seeman (December 16, 1945 – November 16, 2021) was an …
In January, 2022, – The first molecular electronics chip was developed. This achieved a 50-year-old goal of integrating single molecules into circuits to achieve the ultimate scaling limits of Moore’s Law. Developed by Roswell Biotechnologies and a multi-disciplinary team of leading academic scientists, the chip uses single molecules as universal sensor elements in a circuit …
The Foresight Workshops in 2022 and 2023 had talks that discuss to make progress in improving molecular nanotechnology. There is a team working on making a lattice of DNA origami and creating attachment points. There is work with molecular printers and with improved molecular nanotechnology software. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and …
Dr. Norte describes the state of the art for Starchip Nanosails. The Starshot Breakthrough initiative has been funding a 4 by 4 meters sail that weighs one gram. This will be propelled by a 100 Gigawatt laser array to travel at 20% of lightspeed to Alpha Centauri. He has made 4.5 centimeter by 4.5 Centimeters …
By building a structure out of DNA and then coating it with glass, a research team led by Oleg Gang has created a very strong material with very low density.Gang and colleagues report that by building a structure out of DNA and then coating it with glass, they have created a very strong material with …
University of Central Florida researcher Debashis Chanda, a professor in UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center, has drawn inspiration from butterflies to create the first environmentally friendly, large-scale and multicolor alternative to pigment-based colorants, which can contribute to energy-saving efforts and help reduce global warming. Instead of pigment-based colored paint, which requires artificially synthesized molecules, a UCF …