Nanotech

I first read about nanotechnology in Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer in 1995. Google the term now and you will get hundreds of websites of businesses dealing in research and development of this technology. Nanotech is technology on a microscopic scale (10-9m = 1 nanometre).Take a look at the picture to the left of the spider mite with some nano gears and you will get an idea of the scale (a spider mite is about the size of the period at the end of this sentence) (Potter, 1998). One example of nanotech in Diamond Age is the mechanical flying mites that go everywhere spying on everything and also guarding against invading technology, resulting in occasional battles between the little gadgets. I remember being somewhat skeptical about the possibility of such technology at the time, but was I wrong. Interestingly, amongst all the technology Stephenson comments;

"But a book is different; it is not just a material possession, but the pathway to an enlightened mind, and thence to a well-ordered society"
Stephenson Diamond Age, 1995

Another writer interested in the nanotech theme is Linda Nagata, whose books include Tech-Heaven, TheBohr Maker, Deception Well and Vast. Another nanotech themed book by Nagata, called Limit of Vision (2001), takes a different approach to the subject. This time the nanotech is an engineered symbiotic life form bred in space that is illegal on earth, but if implanted into humans, gives the person heightened awareness. Thought to only affect the host's thoughts, these implants also intensify feelings, opening up the possibility of dangerous emotional outbursts.

The theme of nanotechnology looks to be a rich vein that will likely be mined to death in the sci-fi field if history is anything to go by.

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	Nanotech I first read about nanotechnology in Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer in 1995. Google the term now and you will get hundreds of websites of businesses dealing in research and development of this technology. Nanotech is technology on a microscopic scale (10-9m = 1 nanometre).Take a look at the picture to the left of the spider mite with some nano gears and you will get an idea of the scale (a spider mite is about the size of the period at the end of this sentence) (Potter, 1998). One example of nanotech in Diamond Age is the mechanical flying mites that go everywhere spying on everything and also guarding against invading technology, resulting in occasional battles between the little gadgets. I remember being somewhat skeptical about the possibility of such technology at the time, but was I wrong. Interestingly, amongst all the technology Stephenson comments; "But a book is different; it is not just a material possession, but the pathway to an enlightened mind, and thence to a well-ordered society" Stephenson Diamond Age, 1995 Another writer interested in the nanotech theme is Linda Nagata, whose books include Tech-Heaven, TheBohr Maker, Deception Well and Vast. Another nanotech themed book by Nagata, called Limit of Vision (2001), takes a different approach to the subject. This time the nanotech is an engineered symbiotic life form bred in space that is illegal on earth, but if implanted into humans, gives the person heightened awareness. Thought to only affect the host's thoughts, these implants also intensify feelings, opening up the possibility of dangerous emotional outbursts. The theme of nanotechnology looks to be a rich vein that will likely be mined to death in the sci-fi field if history is anything to go by. to top of page