nanoassembler -1 = ?

Eugene Leitl (eugene.leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)
Tue, 27 Jul 1999 12:53:25 -0700 (PDT)

paul@i2.to writes:

> Please elaborate. Are we talking $10,000 of desktop equipment? A
> $100,000 laboratory? A multi-million dollar research facility?

  1. Nobody knows.
  2. In the beginning, it is probably the latter. However, after you pay the bootstrap price, you can distribute second-generation assemblers via snail mail, glued to i-dots.

The bootstrap thing is less important: if it's possible, sooner or later it will happen. (If it's impossible we don't have to worry about misuses).

The whole point about grassroot virtual nano tinkering is that you can sample the design space more or less thoroughly, and assess the technology before it hits the fan.