From: Don Klemencic (klemencc@sgi.net)
Date: Wed Jun 06 2001 - 20:14:44 MDT
Damien's The Spike is reviewed in the July / August 2001 issue of Analog
("The Reference Library" feature by Tom Easton. Unfortunately, Easton
doesn't buy into the concept of nanotechnology and uses the review to spread
misinformation:
"Is the fuss justified? Are eentsy-weentsy teeny-tiny machines really going
to solve all conceivable shortages and give everyone access to all the
consumer goodies they can dream of? That's the hype, as Damien Broderick
pitches it in his book...But it seems that atoms are 'sticky' enough to
resist doing what we want them to. This means that the famous nano-gears and
nano-motors don't really work very well (see theJuly 22, 2000, Science
News)and atomic-level assembly of macroscopic objects may truly not be
feasible...."
Having been impressed by the thoroughness of Drexler's Nanosystems in
covering this kind of issue I was skeptical of Easton's assertion. I dug out
the July 22, 2000 issue of Science News. The article is entirely about
micromachines created with bulk technology, not nanotechnology. Easton's
assertion is nonsense. To bad he didn't do some basic research before
starting to write.
Don Klemencic
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