Ok, so in this thread I would like people to state their opinions on Nanotechnology (pro's, con's, your theory on what will slow down/speed up the science). Is it really a good idea to start creating things by putting atoms together (bottom-up) or miniturising current technology so that it becomes small enough that it exists on the nanoscale (top-down).

Personally i believe this science will progress us further in the technological and medicine fields, but only the bottom-up approach, i think there is too many restrictions to how small we can make things via the top-down approach.

I agree that trying to go top-down is the more difficult route to take.

I'm interested in what nanotechnology can do. It COULD be the cure for cancer. If you could get something into the human body that could target and destroy cancer cells without hurting any other tissue in the body then you could treat every kind of cancer without radiation. You could also fix things like ulcers, clogged arteries, etc etc with this stuff. I think the possiblities are just about endless.

I believe that nanotechnology created using the bottom-up approach can become self-replicating so that we wouldn't have to actually manufacture anything.

I did read a book by Micahel Chricton about this though. There are people out there who believe that technology like this could become self-aware and it's own organism. I don't remember the book well enough to know exactly how that worked in the case he wrote about but I think that should always be a concern.

Well the main issue is if the nano machines could reach self-conscious meaning they would be able to act,feel and look like use if the decide that. This maybe be off topics but, it is the same in what happened in terminator where the machine became self-aware and took down most of humanity to assure its own image of how the earth should look.

Retro, nanotechnology is not the study of machines, it's the manipulation of things on the atomic level (also what you're talking about is called "The Grey Goo theory").

Nanotechnology is only really a 51 y/o science (first theorised by Richard Feynman, who didn't have a name for the science at the time) there is little progress with practical application, as all the scientists are sticking to entering mathematical computations into computers to create simulations.
It's hard to overcome the new laws (quantum mechanics) when you get down to the smaller scales.

So the science is really nowhere near making machines small enough because when they get scaled down to the nanoscale their atoms suddenly change natures. There should probably be more investigation into which atoms at the small scale conduct electricity, dont stick easily to other atoms, etc.

I honestly find it hard to believe that there's that much of a threat of nanorobots become too intellegent and have their own motives. True, we are dealing with man-made or man-modified biomechanics, but I find the real possibility of loosing control over nanorobots or nanometerials is somewhat far fetched. But if someone had creadible info on the subject, please share.

I think what needs our concern is nanotoxicity and nano wapons. Can you imagine the untracible bioweapons and weapons of mass distruction it could produce?

LK if that kind of weaponry was ever produce the whole world would bow down to the the personthat made them in fear of being enliminated.

Yes. Then a few more people produce them and you have a cold war again that may not stay cold this time.

Scary.

That being said, nanotechnology is going to keep happening and progressing. It's like any other technology; it's going to do some awesome good, but will still be used for killing.

I studied a bit about it for a competition thing i had to go to. They have these things called nanoprobes or nanobombs or whatever that go into the body and destroy tumors or other bad stuff like that. Of course, they're still working on it. Their main concern is nanotoxicity(and maybe the Grey Goo thing too lol). Nanoweaponary is also something that i think is probably being researched. There's already lots of fiction about nanosuits and other things like that. It's possible for people to create suits or armor that can self-repair itself, or maybe they could create other vile uses of nanotechnology. I think nanotechnology is a great idea, but there's so many possibilities that can be bad too.
I guess I studied it a lot too just because I was writing a story and i used nanotechnology as a plot element... but that's not very important lol