Ralph Merkle - An introduction to Molecular Nanotechnology

[tebogomotlhale]

@sweetz666 Well I guess I am imagining things in a rather "too dramatic" an extent :) I mean "guns" must have appeared like they would END THE WORLD upon their first discovery due to the fact that you could kill 10 people by simply firing 10 bullets directly at them WITHOUT engaging in any combat with ANY of them. Nuclear weaponry must have appeared even more so than guns due to the extent of damage that can be done by a single atomic bomb. But we've had them for over a 100 years now and LOL !

[sweetz666]

@tebogomotlhale Ya its pretty crazy how we use our time and resources to produce such things, imagine all that used on creating good things n happy thing..lol this is what life should be, i dunno why we have weapons we only use them to kill each other, sounds kind of immature and inhuman... man i hope the world comes together soon, and show compassion and Love instead of power and greed...

[tebogomotlhale]

probably some1 has already posed this concern : isn't this a rather dangerous and potentially deadly way to enhance life ? Singularity?? Re-arranging "atoms" of nearly everything? Hmm.. it scares the hell out of me! What would biological warfare become with this approach? (child's play, hey!), Nuclear weaponry => child's play too! Terrorists could put the entire planet at risk of Nano-weaponry destruction. I really don't know what to imagine about the devastating possibilities of this!!! :))

[sweetz666]

@tebogomotlhale Hopefully people will not look at destructive ways to use this. Also the word terrorist is a fantasy the US government has made up to keep the monetary structure (economic slavery) alive. Anyone who questions this "monetary system" is considered a terrorist. Are you really afraid of these ppl?

[poppyseeds91]

I'M GOING TO MAJOR IN THIS!!! SUPER EXCITED :D

[EmileA266]

Well I just learned a whole ton! Thanks for posting this! He explained and tied together a whole bunch of concepts I had questions about very neatly

[MrAdvancedAtheist]

For an alternative view, google Scott Locklin's blog post, "Nano-nonsense: 25 years of charlatanry."

[steezmonster92]

@MrAdvancedAtheist thanks for the suggestion! what's your opinion? I feel as if Merkle's talk ran out of steam at the end. Spectacular talk and excellent explanation. However, it honestly seems like he isn't so knowledgable about the science below the atomic level. He mentions that he exclusively studies atoms and when he receives questions about smalley vs drexler it appears he doesn't have such sound/satisfying answers.

[blacklinen99]

I love this guy and I hope he and Freitas get the funding to move beyond computer simulations.

[Aspanaut]

Evolution never begins nor does it end.

[FutureKnut]

sorry i meant to prevent "profit loses" or major profit decreases.

[FutureKnut]

fatal flaw in the inexpensive aurguement, capitalism runs on basis of produces selling products at the highest price possible, firms and powerful companies will fight or try to slow new technologies to prevent profit. These types of technologies are profits worse nightmare.

[LegendLength]

@FutureKnut But in capitalism that's truly free, new companies can step in and create the same product for slightly less. The problem you describe is with patents, which take away freedom (to create).

[DK0526]

I guess this means those in cryonic suspension will actually wake up some day because of molecular nanomachines that repair thier bodies!

[n2liquid]

SPHERICAL MINECRAFT!

[PinkProgram]

I was wondering why all of this was so ancient... then I checked the date ^_^

[VulcanFleet]

@PinkProgram This is "ancient?" Wow, what's happened in the last 18 months that makes this visibly old?

[PinkProgram]

@VulcanFleet lots of different things.... I'm still waiting for everyone to catch up to me ^_^

[VulcanFleet]

@PinkProgram Send me a link?

[arumney12]

Thank you Ralph Merkle and thank you Singularity University. I wish I was sitting in that room, but this was the next best thing.

[karlwashere123]

great vid... Thanks for the post

[dandvd]

Is it just me, or Merkle didn't answer the question @33:20 about how would a nanorobot be atomically precise?

[celshader]

1 dislike. Must be somebody with a lot of money invested in diamonds.

[conradjulian]

Scott Locklin has a graduate degree in physics and works as a quant in finance. Google his blog to see his negative assessment of "nanotechnology."

[DK0526]

@conradjulian The quant fund managers though they knew everything but they got creamed in the stock market. In some cases worse then the avg joe. I would be braging about how smart I was and using my quant experience as proof when trying to understand Nanotechnology....For one, they are very different fields and for two the quants haven't even figured out their own field of physics. Scott Locklin needs to stick to what he knows and rethink his own area of physics...which is sadly lacking! :)

[mindrust203]

@conradjulian Locklin is a troll. His whole argument boils down to "Its been 25 years since Drexler wrote about nanofactories and we still haven't seen them. We haven't seen them because they're impossible." He neglects the fact that molecular nanotechnology has received virtually no funding until very recently. The stuff that was funded was chemistry relabeled nanotech. All the progress thats been made in MNT is spillover from other fields. See Brian Wang's response to Locklin.

[PinkProgram]

@conradjulian Scott Locklin must be a moron... either that or he hasn't been paying attention to what has currently become possible. Ever heard of an aggregated diamond nanorod aka superdiamond ^_^

[Andyjay01]

To be able to build (I refrain from using the word create – too God like) at a molecular level gives us the ability to design to fit.

This is the first talk I’ve seen by Ralph Merkle and he seems to have an amazing way of explaining incredibly complex ideas to a very wide audience. He was so easy to listen to.

[GeneralDogsbody08]

Will you be able to make water...?

[deathing]

@GeneralDogsbody08 Water makes its self, but Nanotechnology can purify it very cheaply

[PinkProgram]

@GeneralDogsbody08 dihydrogen monoxide? it makes itself ^_^

[gabrielbalazs]

some awesome explanations here... especially like the fire + cavemen "problem".

[gabrielbalazs]

some awesome explanations here... especially like the fire + cavemen analogy.

[cmonutube]

GREAT PRESENTATION! NANOTECHNOLOGY IS THE FUTURE!

[DK0526]

this proves that cryonics makes sense after all.

[noobler9]

this guy couldn't get me more excited if he showed he could get Pb-->Au

honestly, I haven't been this excited about something, for years

I guess this is the motivation I need to hit up school again o.O

smoothcb and I have the same idea hahahahahaha

[SupaKaream]

This is pretty remarkable.

[eradimatrix]

I'm all for the singularity, life extension, and nano-technology....

but damn, that dude needs to work out.

[jamesgravil]

@eradimatrix Nah, just give it a few years and he'll be able to get the nanobots to do it for him. Physical perfection without any heavy lifting whatsoever! Kind of like in that Futurama episode, "Parasites Lost", where Fry becomes host to a species of worms that dramatically and instantaneously improve his intelligence, buffness and looks. Hey... I could do with something like that! Sign me up!

[eradimatrix]

@jamesgravil few years really?  I think more like 10 to 20. :D

[jamesgravil]

@eradimatrix Not necessarily. It depends on what level of nanotechnology you're thinking about. I read in a book an interview with one of Merkle's students (admittedly the book was published nearly 10 years ago), who predicted the development and commercial application of carbon nanotubes - a form of "nanotechnology" - to arrive by 2013. "Full" nanotech might be a couple decades off, though, in the same way that "full" AI won't be around until 2030, even though we have basic AI now.

[eradimatrix]

@jamesgravil Agreed!

[Executor010]

I want my genie-in-a-bottle machine! I hope someone is taking pre-orders.

[royann55]

It is now possible to have everyone enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities that a prosperous civilization can provide. This can be accomplished through the intelligent and humane application of science and technology.

[royann55]

Earth is abundant with plentiful resources; today our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival. Modern society has access to highly advanced technologies and can make available food, clothing, housing, medical care, a relevant educational system, and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy such as geothermal, solar, wind, tidal, etc.

[henik9]

Love all these videos from singularity uni. Thanks for posting them for everyone to see.

[3tangle3]

As a PhD researcher in gerontology , What he is saying will most likely occur.........its a matter of time....are we stupid enough to deliberately miss the boat?

[eyhexs]

most people are definitely stupid enough to miss the boat; hopefully people with $ will fund the right research; after all, whoever makes this happen first will become immensely powerful and rich (im thinking a corporation or country); whether its strong AI, life extension tech, or nanoscale production

[ObaNarayanShivaji999]

Wow.

[nambypamby34]

So here is a weird Idea. Maybe we will get to a point with our tech, That most of us fly away to another planet to live. AND guess what its all dejavu. We have done this many times before.

[SNap15]

You smoke too much weed

[famere]

Another description from another video said Ralph, the speaker, has a phd in electrical engineering. I'm studying chemical engineering and am really interested in the topic. A lot of this sounds like particle physics. lol Good stuff.

[SuperAtheist]

was there more to this lecture?

[DK0526]

yes do more searchs on ralph merkle

[DK0526]

I wonder what this says to all the naysayers and detractors of Cryonics? If you could rearrange matter at the molecular scale with percission and all at once ie convergent assembly then you could reverse aging, disease, and even people frozen in liquid notrogen if they were frozen soon enough after death...I imagine a day or 2 depending on temps and conditions.

[sketchbookies]

introduction and its 1h 13m damn lol

[shaylo2006]

i wonder if heat increases exponentially?

[shaylo2006]

what a great way to explain nano

[smoothcb]

So... If one was to pursue a career in Nanotechnology what would be the best idea for undergrad study? Materials Science Engineering? Physics?

[PhillipH903]

I just recently finished The Singularity is Near.

I can't wait until this tech becomes reality.

[seanotube85]

World changing...