How long will it take to develop molecular manufacturing?
We began our discussion with physics and chemistry and continued with the capture and placement of single atoms using new devices like the scanning tunneling microscope. Shortly thereafter, researchers were able to create the carbon nanotube, which is likely to become our primary structural element in the future. Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Smalley (Rice University) discussed the advances in carbon nanotube manipulation in his 1996 address: From Balls to Tubes to Ropes: New Materials from Carbon. Recent presentations at the Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology highlight that this development continues as we gain the ability to assemble the fibers into sheets and three-dimensional lattices. Dr. Carlo Montemagno (formerly of Cornell, now at UCLA) and his team of researchers have created the first molecular motor, and this gives us an inkling of some of the atom transport systems that may arise. Computer systems continue to advance as well, with the development of faster, small
