Nanobots

We have barely taken the first steps in a long road which may be a cul de sac. It is not just about being able to build something on such a scale that would actually be able to work usefully, it is about providing it with a power source good for days at least and being able to programme a computer we have somehow given it?


Essentially any nanobot put into the human body might as well be a space probe on Pluto. We cannot do anything about it. A million of them have a glitch in their programming, or just stop working or even worse, start doing something they should not, how are you going to extract them? A major medical operation? We know computers are far from perfect, even on our scale. How do you programme something you can only see in an electron microscope (which is an extremely hostile environment)? A quantum computer is not going to work beyond the very basics because the slightest atomic fluctuations, even cosmic rays hitting it will make it give a totally wrong answer. It is so small that just normal atomic vibrations could ruin it.

We obviously cannot use a radioactive fuel as a power source so what would be small and unobtrusive enough to work? Possibly you could somehow regularly beam energy into the body but might not this be bad, even cancerous?

There would be a strict limit on the size these things could handle. Blood cells at several micrometres would be OK but replicators as used on Star Trek Voyager and suggested by Futuretalk in only 20 years would probably be forever beyond our reach. A hydrogen atom is a tenth of a nanometre, a proton a millionth of a nanomatre and an electron one 1840th the size of a proton.

Sure atoms were moved about using an atomic force microscope to make "IBM" but nanobots manipulating something incredibly smaller than themselves is not likely. Atoms normally vibrate at incredible speeds and slowing them down would also slow the nanobots down.

There is also the problem of the atomic forces which hold atomic nucleii together. If nanobots were able to get at the nucleii of atoms and start yanking out protons and neutrons to rearrange scrap iron into food, might it not start a runaway atomic chain reaction and so cause a nuclear explosion?

1. Shielding in their processors would shield them from most electro-magnetic/cosmic rays outside its nuclei body.
2. human being generate a form of electric current would could easily be used to supply power to the little guys.
3. nanobots are not immune to all forms of radiation, there are some forms of cosmic/anological rays that do damage machines but not organic tissue. these are called ions.
4. They cannot improperly work if programmed to comit itself to a single function, i.e. a liver nanobot cannot suddenly take control of a hearts rhythm its processors would overload and youd get a nasty case of heart burns.
5. The nanobots would be designed to withhold and withstand the pressure of gathering atomic nuclei and protons for molecule regeneration and such else, and i don't see replicators being out of our reach, we're simply moving too slowly to preidct its standards of outcome.
6. almost done, ripping protons and nuetrons from a nuclei while being absorbed would be much much much smaller in scale than having the same effect happening on a megaton bomb, the effects of having 1 or 2 being ripped would have the same effect as having a needle puncturing your arm for a blood test or even smaller than that, there would be no real ill effects of such things.
7. Slowing down the atoms would allow the nanobots to work relatively faster, they dont necessarily have to slow down to gather the atoms they'd simply have to vibrate along the same frequencies as the atom itself.

Christ that took a while, but its descriptive and in sort theoretically true.

ChaosTheory. 1)Inches of lead shielding cannot stop cosmic rays. What are nanobots going to use?
2)In the brain and where it is utilised. Despite animations on TV and films, electricity does not travel through nerves but an action potential. Of course, they could always take electricity straight from certain nerve endings but maybe cause a heart attack or stroke. Too bad.
3)Large oranic molecules can be bigger than these nanobots. Blood cells can be far bigger. They can get bashed about. At their size, a liquid like blood plasma is like being in cement so no "give" if they are hit.
4)That needs very precise programming. How do you do it in something that small?
5,6)If a large army of nanobots start moving about millions of protons and neutrons from and to millions of atoms at the same time as they would have to to do such a job in a reasonable length of time (since they would have to do trillions of atoms), then it could start off a nuclear chain reaction, the same as goes on inside uranium when it heads for critical mass. A replicator gone wrong could turn into a nuclear bomb. Also I assume that the nuclear forces holding protons and neutrons in place is great. What if it were impossible for a nanobot to even pull them free from a nucleus?
7)Atoms vibrate at rates of tens of thousands of times per second. From what I have seen of plans for nanobots, they would have trouble with something vibrating at tens of times a second.

Here is an article on using radioactive isotopes to power micro electronics. It may scale down to the nanoscale:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/print/1542

But if a nanobot is within cells, why not power it the same way the cell processes do, using the cell's chemicals as the fuel source.

In the sence your talking about that's too small.

About one tenth the size of a human cell is practical.

You can even make them cell sized if you want.

The nanobots, are made per definition.

So if you want bots that will go to a disease site, then you can design this.

The next generation of micro-nano-bots, would be approximately the size of a human cell, but with a simple artificial brain placed in them.

A person who works with nanobots here, stipulates a waved flat form of artificial DNA, which is wavy, to receive signals to control the bots is necessary.

You can also devise a form of artificial real DNA made from animal substance in a lab, to install within a shelled like,or a crab nanobot.

Atomic nanobots, is way way advanced of what we are capable of now!?

This post has been edited by philip347 on Jan 18 2007, 07:59 PM

Kaneda,

No i wasn't refering to rays, the human body has ample shielding to such rays (somewhat thinned since recent years sadly).
And nerve ending currents was what i was talking about.

The computers would have to program each specific nano bot according to where its going and what its job is or is going to do.
Each specific nano bot would be able to harness only ONE particular function.

not quite the nano-bots wouldn't necessarily have to vibrate with the atom to help itself, merely attach itself to the atom to sustain the vibrating pressure without considering itself to vibrate at the atoms speed.

NOM. Radiation from nickle 63 and tritium only penetrate 25 micrometers. That is 25,000 nanometers.

It might be possible to inject nanobots into a set area, have them do a quick repair job, then take them out again so the person has only absorbed as much radiation as an x-ray would give?

philip347. Perhaps instead we may be able to genetically manipulate some of the 210 types of different cells in the human body to do the work for us?

ChaosTheory. As I said, liquids at that size are like being embedded in concrete. Being shaken about in that could destroy a nanobot.

Have you ever looked at amoeba under the microscope? They fly along through water and as soon as they stop propelling themselves, they stop dead.

A nanobot has instructions; "destroy cancerous tissue". It is hit by a cosmic ray and now has instructions; "destroy....tissue".

Hmm, a proposed theory.

You're still not going to hit them with radiation or x-rays the bodies electric current is ample to sustain D cell batteries nanobots would be like a AAA trying to run off a car battery.

Quick mans repair job, inject the nanobots with say a ''collapsable'' frame that could only withstand a certain amount of cell pressure and damage to its own system before failing.
And then just process them as toxic waste, the nanobots could contain several non-lethal nanometric doses of waste products stored and produced over food digestion persay and simply have the body digest them and process them as cells.
There's also the ionic damaging EMP waves that can do wonderous things to systems that are mechanical and are NON organic tissue harming.

You don't need rays to power nanobots there are several different ways...it just seems that radiation lately is man's ''better'' ideas.

This post has been edited by ChaosTheory on Jan 22 2007, 01:59 PM

An emerging branch of technological research,designing and constructing nanobots will have incalculabe implication in science and industry.It is known as nanobots or nanomachine.It is a device,synthetic or biological that is able to function on a near atomic level and perform a preprogrammed task.
Nanobots will be the next generation of nanomachine.Advance nanobots will be able to sense and adapt to environmental stimuli such as heat,light and chemicals.