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nanotechnology: /nan'ˇohˇtekˇno`l@ˇjee/, n. A hypothetical fabrication technology in which objects are designed
and built with the individual specification and placement of each separate
atom. The first unequivocal nanofabrication experiments took place in
1990, for example with the deposition of individual xenon atoms on a nickel
substrate to spell the logo of a certain very large computer company.
Nanotechnology has been a hot topic in the hacker subculture ever since the
term was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his book Engines of
Creation (Anchor/Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-19973-2), where he
predicted that nanotechnology could give rise to replicating assemblers,
permitting an exponential growth of productivity and personal wealth
(there's an authorized transcription at http://www.foresight.org/EOC/index.html).
See also blue goo, gray goo,
nanobot.
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