Transhumanist Art Centre - Extropic Art Virtual Gallery

Ralph Merkle and I are also writing an entire book-length discussion of diamond mechanosynthesis, entitled Diamond Surfaces and Diamond Mechanosynthesis (DSDM), to be published in 2006 or 2007. The first half of this book is an extensive review of all that is presently known about diamond surfaces, and has been mostly written for several years. The second half describes specific tools and reaction pathways for building those surfaces using positionally controlled mechanosynthetic tools, and methods for building those tools.

Once diamond mechanosynthesis and the fabrication of nanoparts becomes feasible, we will also need a massively parallel molecular manufacturing capability in order to assemble nanorobots cheaply, precisely, and in vast quantities. Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines (KSRM) (Landes Bioscience, 2004, and freely available online), co-authored with Ralph Merkle, surveys all known current work in the field of self-replication and replicative manufacturing, including all known concepts of molecular assemblers and nanofactories. It is intended as a general introduction to the systems-level analysis of self-replicative manufacturing machinery. With 200+ illustrations and 3200+ literature references, KSRM describes all proposed and experimentally realized self-replicating systems that were publicly disclosed as of 2004, ranging from nanoscale to macroscale systems. The book extensively describes the historical development of the field. It presents for the first time a detailed 137-dimensional map of the entire kinematic replicator design space to assist future engineering efforts. It includes a primer on the mathematics of self-replication, and has an extensive discussion of safety issues and implementation issues related to molecular assemblers and nanofactories. KSRM has been cited in two articles appearing in Nature this year (Zykov et al, Nature 435, 163 (12 May 2005) and Griffith et al, Nature 437, 636 (29 September 2005)) and appears well on its way to becoming the classic reference in this field.

	Robert Freitas		Robert Freitas is the creator of the Nanomedicine Art Gallery
			Extended dimer placement tool for diamond mechanosynthesis. This image is a detail from "Extended dimer placement tool for diamond mechanosynthesis" and is described as "Extended dimer placement tool having larger handle structure." This geometric image is not only functional, it is an exquisite design of the molecular structure. More recently, to answer those who remain skeptical of the entire MNT enterprise, including the possibility of medical nanorobotics, Robert Freitas has turned his attention to figuring out how to build the nanorobots – the issue of implementation of the long-term vision.
			Extended dimer placement tool for diamond mechanosynthesis. This side angle of the structure is stunning in its form and resembles a jeweled necklace. For centuries, jewelry has been the signature of great power, style, authority and wealth. Royalty over eons, from King Tut to Queen Victoria, wore lavish crown jeweled necklaces. Robert Freitas' nano designs illustrate that form and function are interchangeable. "Jewelry has always helped define an era. The techniques and materials used in manufacturing jewelry during a particular period of time reflects that era's market influences and world events." News USA Today, 2005. Like jewelry, nanotechnology has the potential for power.
	"More recently, to answer those who remain skeptical of the entire MNT enterprise, including the possibility of medical nanorobotics, I’ve turned my attention to figuring out how to build the nanorobots – the issue of implementation of the long-term vision. I’m now involved in 6 research collaborations with various university and corporate groups in the U.S, U.K. and Russia in an effort to push forward the technology in this area as fast as possible. These collaborations include a variety of computational chemistry simulations of plausible mechanosynthetic tooltips and reaction sequences, coupled with a nascent experimental effort that is just starting up. Earlier this year [2005] I also filed the first-ever U.S. patent on diamond mechanosynthesis that describes a specific process for achieving molecularly precise diamond structures in a practical way." -- Robert A. Freitas, Jr.		Robert A. Freitas Jr., J.D., has degrees in physics, psychology, and law, and has written nearly 100 technical papers, book chapters, or popular articles on a diverse set of scientific, engineering, and legal topics. He co-edited the 1980 NASA feasibility analysis of self-replicating space factories and in 1996 authored the first detailed technical design study of a medical nanorobot ever published in a peer-reviewed mainstream biomedical journal. Most recently, Freitas is the author of Nanomedicine, the first book-length technical discussion of the potential medical applications of molecular nanotechnology and medical nanorobotics, freely available online at http://www.nanomedicine.com. Volume I was published in October 1999 by Landes Bioscience while Freitas was a Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) in Palo Alto, California. Freitas published Volume IIA in October 2003 with Landes Bioscience while serving as a Research Scientist at Zyvex Corp., a nanotechnology company headquartered in Richardson, Texas during 2000-2004. Freitas is now completing Nanomedicine Volumes IIB and III and is also consulting on molecular assembler design as Senior Research Fellow at IMM. “The most important applications of machine-phase nanotechnology will be in medicine. Not only will human health, comfort, safety, and pleasure be vastly improved, but nanomedicine could dramatically extend the lifespan of the individual human being and greatly expand the possibilities of the human form. I’m trying to help lay the technical foundations for the future field of medical nanorobotics by conducting theoretical analyses of specific nanomedical systems and by writing a 4-volume technical book series that looks at all relevant issues including basic engineering capabilities, biocompatibility, systems and operations of medical nanorobots, clinical applications, and ethical issues.” I undertook the Nanomedicine book series in an attempt to establish a solid foundation for the single most important future application of MNT. The book introduces a long-term vision for nanorobotic medicine and articulates the technical underpinnings of that vision, so that when the day arrives that we have the technology to build such devices, we’ll have a clearer idea what can be done with them, and how. Ralph Merkle and I are also writing an entire book-length discussion of diamond mechanosynthesis, entitled Diamond Surfaces and Diamond Mechanosynthesis (DSDM), to be published in 2006 or 2007. The first half of this book is an extensive review of all that is presently known about diamond surfaces, and has been mostly written for several years. The second half describes specific tools and reaction pathways for building those surfaces using positionally controlled mechanosynthetic tools, and methods for building those tools. Once diamond mechanosynthesis and the fabrication of nanoparts becomes feasible, we will also need a massively parallel molecular manufacturing capability in order to assemble nanorobots cheaply, precisely, and in vast quantities. Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines (KSRM) (Landes Bioscience, 2004, and freely available online), co-authored with Ralph Merkle, surveys all known current work in the field of self-replication and replicative manufacturing, including all known concepts of molecular assemblers and nanofactories. It is intended as a general introduction to the systems-level analysis of self-replicative manufacturing machinery. With 200+ illustrations and 3200+ literature references, KSRM describes all proposed and experimentally realized self-replicating systems that were publicly disclosed as of 2004, ranging from nanoscale to macroscale systems. The book extensively describes the historical development of the field. It presents for the first time a detailed 137-dimensional map of the entire kinematic replicator design space to assist future engineering efforts. It includes a primer on the mathematics of self-replication, and has an extensive discussion of safety issues and implementation issues related to molecular assemblers and nanofactories. KSRM has been cited in two articles appearing in Nature this year (Zykov et al, Nature 435, 163 (12 May 2005) and Griffith et al, Nature 437, 636 (29 September 2005)) and appears well on its way to becoming the classic reference in this field. http://www.rfreitas.com Also: http://www.nanomedicine.com and http://www.MolecularAssembler.com/KSRM.htm