In a message dated 5/20/01 3:47:47 AM Pacific Daylight Time, asa@nada.kth.se
writes:
> Building houses with nano is most likely best done with convergent
> assembly. Grow the basic building baterials in vats, then assemble them
> into the rough building, then let a second stage of slower nano-growth
> do the integration. The parts that need only to be bulk are quickly
> made, while the complexity on the different scales (macro and nano) are
> provided by engineering on the same scale.
That's a great system. Actually, it's exactly what
we use now for most houses :-) To be better than the
current system, you need a conversion system more
efficient that current plants. Current vat fermentation
doesn't help, because the most efficient source of
fermentables is, well, plants.
Of course you can improve some efficiencies with
particular items - e.g., growing plastic production
chemicals, but a house will still be a fairly expensive
item. Growing and machining wood is pretty efficient
when you get down to it.
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