Utility Fog: Its Potential Uses and Affects on Spatial Design

Jacqueline Villa Arch 509.001 Fall semester 2007 Prof.Timothy Brown Introduction People currently live in spaces formed by stationary materials such as: wood, plastic, metal, glass, air, and water. Stationary in the sense that they are unchanging in their chemical structure, and fundamental properties; a material might be able to move like air does with the occurrence of wind but it will always be a gas in our environment. The only change that comes to a material is the state of the atom within it; it can burn, or melt, but it still remains the same chemical composition. Life would change drastically if there was a material that could change its fundamental properties, when wood can become water. This not only brings up issues of how we organize our lives at all scales from residential to urban, but also issues of manufacturing. This system, and methodology shift also brings to mind questions of sustainability in the new material, as well as its best potential uses. If one material can do the same the job of both a concrete pillar and a paper cup, the fabrication process of materials in general becomes null. That one material can also simultaneously have the properties of multiple materials, such as the difference between the seat of a chair and the arms. Nanotechnology is one way to make this possible. Nanotechnology works in the nanoscale at the base of all material existence to create new materials, robotics, and engineering. Utility Fog is a polymorphic material formed by millions to quadrillions of intelligent nanorobots, known as fogletes. (Hall, 1996) This is a material that can be programmed to be a chair or a cup, to be liquid, gas, or solid. Each robot has an intricate system of networking between nanocomputers, electronics, and mechanics, all in the size of 10-20 microns. Visually they work in the same way a television does to fool our sense of vision, but they also fool our sense of touch. (Theodore, Kunz, 2005) The technology used to make such a robot, with its complicated computers, working arms, and communications systems is on the verge of creation today. The manipulation of atoms and understanding of quantum mechanics has advanced greatly in the past 10 years and is constantly improving. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Utility Fog is.(Hall, 2005) Utility Fog, the first swarm robot theory invention, generated by J. Storrs Hall, PhD, a leader in molecular engineering, in 1990, is currently still in theory, but some components that will make it possible exist already, and the rest remain in constant development. History and Basic Description of Nanotechnology The basic idea of nanotechnology is the idea of bottom up engineering, encoding the external properties intrinsically into a substance. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Everything we can perceive though the senses, is made of sub particles, be they

atoms or photons (in the case of light). Atoms are the building blocks of our world, and chemistry is the basis for all nanotechnology. The history of nanotech starts with the familiar discovery of particle separation, when in 1897 J.J Thompson discovered neutrons, protons and electrons as parts of an atom. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Atoms are made of positive (protons), negative (electrons), and neutrally charged sub particles (neutrons). Atoms are the building blocks for molecules; every substance is made from one type of molecule. A molecule is created based on the chemical bonds of the atoms, between their negative and positive particles. There are two types of bonds, in a covalent bond electrons are shared, while in an ionic bond, electrons are transferred. (Williams, Adams, 2007) A familiar example of a covalent bond is water, made of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. H2O is the molecular formula for water. All compounds have molecular formulas, telling how many atoms of each element are in each molecule of that compound. Elements, known on the periodic table, are made of one atom type, while compounds are mixtures of these different pure substances at the chemical level. Therefore, the properties of each material are dependent on its bonds between its atoms and molecules. This is the base theory for Utility Fog, the properties of the fogletes, in how they bond to one another through their arms, is programmed to mimic the bonds found in nature. When in nature you have to have a different type of atom to get a different bond (dependent on its number of sub particles) the nanorobots can be all the same and simply programmed to act differently. (Hall,1996) Basic Description of Utility Fog Like the many particles that make up familiar substances, Utility Fog material is made up of billions of nanorobots. Each robot, or foglet, has twelve telescopic arms. There are twelve because the structural strength is higher in that the way it pushed the angles of the forces, versus a possibility of six arms where the forces would act more directly on the arms. If there are fewer arms the motors that push them have to be more numerous to compensate for the forces. Having twelve arms allows for less mechanics. (Hall, 1996)

(J. Storrs Hall, 1996)

They interconnect to create the material.

(J. Storrs Hall, 1996) The end of each arm has a gripper that allows for connection and communication between fogletes. Each robot has its own gears, and computer system. Like molecules they are programmed in much the same way following rules such as: if they (the molecules or in this case fogletes) resist any force that tried to move them relative to each other, its a solid. (Hall, 2005) Also, If the programming says, maintain a constant total among the extension of all arms, but otherwise do whatever the forces would indicate; and when a particular arm gets to the end of its envelope, let go, and look for another arm coming into reach to grab; you have a liquid. If you allow the sum of the arm extensions to vary with the sum of the forces on the arms, you have something that approximates a gas within a certain pressure range. (Hall, 1996) There are obviously many components to designing such a robot, such as its atom sized mechanics, the material atoms its body is made out of, and the computer chips within it, not to mention the programming. (Hall, 2005) Then once these robots are made, the principles involved with having them communicate with the user, and each other border on the use of advanced artificial intelligence. Some of the implications of using a material such as this would be to live in a space where instead of physically moving material; a person would tell the material to move itself. Fill your entire house with the robots, instead of just a box, and youll be able to have furniture, appliances, robotic servants, and even your clothing appear and disappear on command. (Hall, 2005, 189)

Beginning of Nanotechnology 3

The theory and mechanics of a foglet is a product of the overall knowledge of nanotechnology and quantum mechanics. The beginning of nanotechnology and how it was created makes comprehensible the ideas in quantum mechanics and atom manipulation used in a complicated nanorobot such as a foglet. Realizing the world was made of sub particles based on energy, not only started research to understand chemistry but caused for a large division of research finding the potential outcome of using such knowledge to further technology. On December 29th, 1959 Professor Richard Feynman introduced the concept of nanotechnology in a lecture at the California Institute of Technology during the annual meeting of the American Physical Society entitled Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom. No one had previously thought of the idea of building and manipulating things by actually moving their atoms, one at a time. This was during a time when most scientists agreed that all big discoveries had been made. An example of how he envisioned working at this small scale was to describe how the 24 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica could be written on the head of a pin, such a work could be read using the new electron microscope. This would be done by using the inside as well as the surface of the metal. Feynman compared this theory to that of biologists and their study of DNA; they already knew that there was information held inside the nucleus of a cell that programmed the structure of a life form. They were just waiting for the physicists to develop the tools, such as the electron microscope to study the protein reactions. Feynman went on to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1965, and was later known as the grandfather of nanotechnology. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Beginning of Atomic Manipulation The advancement of technology in scientific tools opened new worlds of possibilities.1981 was the year people were first able to start manipulating atoms. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer of IBMs Zurich Research Laboratory created the scanning tunneling microscope that allowed for this. It works with an electrical field and a nanoprobe with an extremely small tip. This led to the development of the atomic force microscope. The theory of moving atoms was now a reality. Gerd Binning and Heinrich Rohrer won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1986 for their design. In 1989, Don Eigler at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, created the first manipulation. He made the letters IBM from 35 xenon atoms. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Discovery of Nanocarbons, Buckminster Fullerenes Every discovery in nanotechnology goes into the creation of a material such as Utility Fog. The structure of Utility Fog uses the same structure as the Buckminster fullerenes, later mentioned. The new level of insight into the atomic world led to the discovery of a new carbon in 1985. Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Kroto, and Richard E. Smalley at Rice University in Houston, Texas discovered C60. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1996. Its form was discovered with the help of a mass spectrometer that is used to measure the wavelengths and energies of elements. This carbon was named Buckminster Fullerene in honor of Buckminster Fuller, who built the first geodesic dome,

because of its similar shape. The family of carbons was named fullerenes. This new form of carbon had a three dimensional structure, unlike the previously more familiar forms of carbon such as graphite.

This allowed for a stronger form of carbon, later to be manipulated and used as the material base for nanorobots such as fogletes. Also the electrons and rules of previous carbons didnt seem to apply to the fullerenes. Further technological advancements and this discovery started a new headway into a deeper understanding of atoms. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Discovery of Carbon Nanotubes Carbon Nanotubes are another major material discovery linked to nanotechnology. In reference to Utility Fog, they are used in the atomic structure of the telescopic arms of a foglet, because of their ability to slide against each other. Discovered in 1991 by Sumio Iijima at the NEC Foundation Research Laboratories in Tsukaba, Japan, these were fullerene cousins, with a similar 3D structure. They were tubes with rounded end caps. The first one found was a multiwalled carbon nanotube or MWNT, which was molecularly imperfect. Single walled Carbon Nanotubes or SWNTs were different in that the only thing that varied was the diameters of the different tubes.

(Opportunities in Self-Assembly)

It was estimated that carbon nanotubes could form the strongest fibers ever made, about 100 times stronger than steel and with only 1/6 the weight. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Nanotechnology deals with the building blocks of creation and of new materials. The atomic world relies on a different set of physics: Because it is not a scale so much effected by gravity, as we are, it is a world based off the energy and attraction of different sub particles. Taking the actual building blocks of matter to construct new material, robotics, computers and store information are theories that have a logical background and a precedent in nature. Nanotechnology is a way for people to take nature and make their own. Understanding how these particles were discovered helps show part of the pattern in the discovery and therefore an understanding of the future workings of nanotechnology. (Williams, Adams, 2007) With further advancements in tools there is a deeper insight into the atomic world and therefore new ideas about what can be done with such information and understanding. This trend continues today in the way that we need to keep advancing our tools and methods to make current theories, such as Utility Fog, a reality. Internal organization of Utility Fog Utility Fog brings many core aspects of nanotechnology into one substance. Each robot has an energy source, and a computer which feeds information to tubes used as wires, and therefore telling the arms how to move. Because of the fast array of different possible simulations all these parts have to work at the same level as those same parts do today at the macroscale. (Hall, 2005) Although some major differences in the physics between the macro and nano scale makes it so that computers and mechanics can be much better than

current ones, in the fact that they can be faster and more precise, which comes full circle to the fact that to accomplish their complicated tasks they must be precise. Precision is inherent to nanotechnology. Nanomechanics: Fabrication of Nanogears The nanomechanics in a foglet consist of all the gears used to move the arms and the grippers. The mechanics of each machine and arm on it must be very precise and is based on the engineering of nanotubes as previously mentioned as well as the use of other chemically altered materials, mainly diamond. Mechanics and nanogears are made with the specific manipulation of different atoms. There are currently several ways to manipulate atoms, but also several glitches making it quite difficult to make anything in three dimensions. (Wilson, Kannangara, Smith, Simmons and Raguse, 2002) Nanoscale mechanical systems are made based on the development and manipulation of different atoms to form parts, either moving or stationary. Carbon nanotubes play a large role in current nanoscale science, mostly because they are currently available and can be purchased in average jar sized quantities. Basically a nanotube, also called a buckytube, is a thin sheet of graphite wraped in a cylinder. They are much stronger than average graphite, because their molecular structure does not allow for there to be a place for a tear to even start. (Hall, 2005) One of their defining qualities is also that they are slippery. When formed into MWNTs they slide and rotate easily against one another. Although this allows for the construction of some small parts of nano mechanics, it also makes it difficult for the material to be added to form any composites, so that its strength can be added to another material for instance. The manipulation of atoms is a new science that still has a lot of room for development. There are several ways currently under research, but not one would make sense commercially yet. (Hall, 2005) Lithography in Atomic Manipulation Lithography is the current method used to make electronic microchips. The width of the wires and transmitters are less than 100 nanometers in a microprocessor. Lithography used in this sense is the same concept as painting with a sprayer and a stencil. (Wilson, Kannangara, smith, Simmons and Raguse, 2002) Layers of silicon atoms are placed one on top of the other using masks that are focused down on the chip with lenses. Chemical processes are used to modify and solidify them. Moving parts, known as micromachines, can be made with this process. Although this is not working in the nanoscale, this concept of building layers transfers well. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Electron Microscope as a Tool in Atomic Manipulation At nanoscale one cannot work using light. The electron microscope is of utmost importance, because a beam of light, with the restrictions of the size of its light waves, cannot be focused at that small scale, but electrons can. So therefore there is electron-beam nanolithography. Also, besides the act of layering, with

electron beams, it is also a possibility to cut material at a 10 atom precision. (Williams, Adams, 2007)But this is not good for commercial use, since you need one very expensive machine and a very skilled lab technician to create one part at a time. (Wilson, Kannangara, smith, Simmons and Raguse, 2002) Problems with current 3D manipulation of atoms The main problem with the construction of nanomechanics is forming a way to manipulate atoms in 3D space. People have been able to manipulate them in 2D space for over 10 years. The way it is done today can be explained: Imagine you have a plate full of peas that have been coated with honey. Put them on the floor, run upstairs, cut a hole in the floor above, and reach though with a fishing pole. You can now manipulate the peas about as well as we can manipulate atoms with a scanning probe. The pole is sticky, too, so you can drag and stack them as well as just pushing. But its a tricky, time-consuming process. (Hall, 2005, 50) Since the one way we have of manipulating atoms is in 2D, researchers have been conceptualizing ways to make 2D form 3D. If they could make a robot arm in 2D, so that the arm could move and stack the molecules with precision. That is where they are now. To build a nanorobot such as a foglet they are inventing a 2D small robot component that can make the larger components and put them together for them. Molecular machines are needed to build these nanomechanics. (Wilson, Kannangara, smith, Simmons and Raguse, 2002) For now, while coming up with a way to prove that nanomechanics works, they continue inventing parts such as a differential gear. (Institute for Molecular Manufacturing)

This nanomachine was invented by K. Eric Drexler while he was a research fellow at the Institute of Molecular Manufacturing. A differential gear links two shafts through a casing, constraining the sum of the rotational angles of the shafts to equal the rotational angle of the casing. In a car, a differential gear lets the engine drive the wheels while letting them roll different distances in cornering. A molecular differential gear like that shown above can serve this vital automotive function, but in a volume a few nanometers on a side, containing mere thousands of atoms.The structure is designed to be built chiefly of hydrogen, carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and sulphur. The larger size of second-row atoms helps in constructing tapered gears and reduces the number of atoms needed to construct the outer cylinder of the casing. Such structures are far beyond the state of the art of chemical synthesis today, but their design and modeling is becoming straightforward. -K. Eric Drexler (Institute for Molecular Manufacturing) Other methods for 3D atom manipulation Two other ways to form 3D structures from atoms are: molecular beam epitaxy, and self assembly. Molecular beam epitaxy is a method where you expose a base object to a vaporized form of another solid and then they adhere. The original atoms must be configured in such a way that only certain ones attach in certain places. This method can be used to make stationary objects, such as transistors, where the quantum properties of each layer of atoms are taken into consideration as a part of the whole. Self assembly is not exactly how it sounds. It is not having the robot build itself with an artificial intelligence, but rather using the properties of already existing nanoparticles, such as DNA, to bring together certain parts. This is used in forming nanoelectronics. The parts are chemically bonded to different parts of DNA and when the DNA reforms, it drags the parts together to from a circuit. This minimizes the painstaking labor of manually positioning and connecting each part. (Williams, Adams, 2007) Macro-Machines There are four basic parts and/or levels to a machine, such as a foglet, at any scale. The internal computer system is connected to wires that are in turn connected to the mechanical systems, and this is all incased in an outer shell. The computer system is the combination of the set of pieces that store information and retrieve it. In a macro-computer the storing is on the hard disk, and the mother board is where all the information is relayed to the different parts such as the screen or keyboard. It is a mixture of input and outputs that create the end product on a computer, this end product being anything from a rendering to an instant message. A computer understands nothing in reality it is nothing but a circuit board full of switches, also known as transistors, binary code in 1s or 0s tell these switches to turn on or off. (Wilson, Kannangara, Smith, Simmons and Raguse, 2002)These send information in the form of electricity to different parts of the computer with switches, where programs come in, telling the computer what to do with these signals. A computer can understand nothing but numbers,

or quanta of data. It either thinks based on logic or arithmetic. Logic for example can be a comparison between numbers, which one is greater and depending on this a different action is taken. The major difference between the capacity of a macro-computer, that can only do one task at a time, even though it is done quickly, is the effect of the scale on the quantum computer. Because of its size and atomic structure it can do multiple tasks at once. (Wilson, Kannangara, Smith, Simmons and Raguse, 2002) Nanoscale, and Quantum Properties Physics and material properties change completely in the nanoscale. The square/cube law: The weight of an object varies with its volume; that is with the cube of its length, where the strength of its legs varies with its cross-sectional area, and thus the square of the length. (Hall, 2005, p. 76) For example fiberglass: if you tried to bend a pane of glass it would shatter, but fiberglass is flexible because although it is made of the same material it is made of fibers that are much smaller. Everything at our scale in electronics is mostly made of metals. Metals, even steel at the nanoscale are like play dough. (Hall, 2005) Diamond is the material of choice when building in nanoscale. Nanomechanics are designed out of diamond and other chemically generated carbon materials. Chemical diamond, or more commonly known as cubic zirconium, is currently made by chemical vapor deposition. Chemical vapor disposition or CVD is a method whereby, at relatively low temperatures and pressures, one can grow diamond crystals from carbon-bearing gas such as methane or acetylene. (Hall, 2005, p.78) Since this process is done at our scale it is not very precise. The situation is that molecules randomly collide to form diamond. Nanotechnology can change this, because of its inherent precision. The materials for nanotech machines can be made with the same technology as the machines themselves, by rearranging atoms. Problems with Using Atoms Eric Drexler is the main authority on molecular mechanics. He has developed some theories explaining the problems and capabilities of nanomechanics, and molecular manipulation. In respect to self replication in nanomechanics, he notes that one has to assume that these individual robots will be capable of precise and efficient movements. While constructing the nanomachines themselves proves quite difficult. For one point, electrons as an energy source, is probably the way to go (Nanocon), but they are hard to control with the fact that being very light particles, they have wave functions that are very spread out at a nanometer scale. There is also an engineering uncertainty that comes with working with such particles. Thermal noise can disrupt electrons and their movement though the nanomechanics. Thermal noise is the heat of other objects in the atmosphere around the mechanics, for example the speed of the molecules of air. The temperature of the day could effect how efficiently nanomachines worked. It is one thing to develop the theoretical ways in which atoms can work together, which is step one, but the fact that they are the building blocks of all matter makes them susceptible to disturbance from the particles of that matter. This is

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one of the major problems being worked on to make nanotechnology possible. Other constraints on molecular design include available molecular geometries, and molecular structural stiffness. Each atom is a big, round, spongy thing, and the atoms cling together in a limited number of patterns, so the available geometries for a very small system are quite limited. (Nanocon) Molecular stiffness refers to the fact that if you pull on a molecule it stretches, the shapes created are not ridged. Nanosystems The realm of quantum physics is where nanosystems are designed. Quantum physics changes the way components in the nanoscale work compared to those at the macroscale. Current electronic motors (our scale) work by using magnetism, with current that creates magnetic fields, but as things get smaller the power of magnetism drops. At smaller scales there are completely different forces at play. The energy of the polarity between subparticles produces a very strong force. It is the force that holds all matter together. Opposite polarity is the attraction between negative and positively charged particles. (Wilson, Kannagara, Smith, Simons, and Raguse, 2002) This attraction force is what will pull energy though nanomachines and gears. Electrons are the energy substance used to power nanomechanics, and they are recycled within the robot, or gear, (in a loop) sent trough different parts at different times. The simplest form of machine would resemble a waterwheel, electrons get pumped though it and turn a gear set, the torque of this gear set is what becomes the power of the motor. (Hall, 2005) Electrons are pumped through, not by gravity, since the scale makes it irrelevant, but by the electric force. Electrons will be pulled to a place of high voltage, since they are negatively charged, and that is how the force of the polarity of subparticles is used. The force is what causes the energy to move though the machine, and thus move the parts. It does not move the parts, in a way we can think of it, there are no parts that hit or grind, they move because of the attraction or the repulsion between the forces of the particles they are made of. A real world example would be the magnets students play with in grade school, when you push the negative ends together they repel each other when the positive ends are together they connect and pull each other along. Drexler, the man who began designing nanomechanics, analyzed a simple motor such as the one above where the wheel was 390 nm in diameter and 25 nm thick. He found that It rotates at 800 megahertz (48 billion RPM). The buckets of electrons are moving at about Mach 3 (faster than 2000 mph the interior of the motor must maintain a vacuum). It draws 110 nanoamps of current at 10 volts, and produces 1.1 microwatts of power. (Hall, 2005, p98) This is not much, but also one must realize that one billion of these motors would be about the size of the point of a ballpoint pen, and would produce 1.1 kilowatts. (Hall, 2005) With this new scale of technology it becomes possible to build engines as powerful as current jet engines that fit in the palm of your hand.

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Nanocircuitry Light can be used to form images on the surface of nanorobots. Fogletes will be covered in phased array optics, and programmed to simulate the world around us. This is how Utility Fog can fill a room; it will simulate air in materiality, and have a replication of what would really be there on its surface. (Hall, 2005) Nanocircuitry is based off the use and control of light, in other words photon particles. Photons are disturbances in the electro magnetic field, with that fact, they form light. Thus, light is a product of the disturbance of the electromagnetic filed and can be implemented as such in the quantum world. The world of the nanoscale has to be pushed in the same way the macroworld is being pushed today. To have this same level of precision we have in the macroscale, all the small bits and pieces mentioned need to be perfected. Light is something that needs a lot of work, for example. In our current technology we control radio waves very precisely. We use them for more than music; they are used in the technology of transistors, space exploration, and televisions for example. The point is that people can manipulate them and use them to transmit information and energy. Light waves need to be controlled, so that photons can act as radio waves do, except in the nanoworld. Light is used because it is a smaller and more precise wave, which as previously mentioned is very important when working at this new scale. A televisions screen pixels put out a generated light wave to make the picture on the screen. (Hall, 2005) Similar to this idea, photons will be used in phased array optics to create an image or control light on the surface of nanorobots. At quantum scale, photons can manipulate electrons and vice versa, which is why things like phased array optics and, in turn, electrons as energy in mechanics and computers work. Another overview of nanomechanics and circuitry is the idea of having nanofactories. Eventualy nanotechnology has to reach the same level of autogeny that our current technology is. Autogeny is the act of having a part that can make parts like itself. (Hall, 2005) Having a nanofactory would be like having a large amount of nanobots making other parts of nanobots and mechanics. This compares to the steel machines that cut precise parts for other steel machines currently. There is a certain level of programming and complex communications that is involved with having a nanofactory. Nanocomputers are the end of the line in this long chain of nanotechnology functionality. Quantum Computers: Made with DNA At the nano scale or atomic level, things are ruled by quantum physics. The memory and computing system of a foglete is a quatum computer. These computers operate with the same similar parts as a macrocomputer but are drastically different due to quantum mechanics. There is a central place were all things are written, a place where this is relayed to different parts the computer controls and a format for this traveling information. Currently these components come in the form of a hard drive, a motherboard or set of microwires and cables with electricity for the information transportation. In nanotechnology, the hard

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drive is designed off already familiar nanoscale information storage, DNA. Using the same ideas as self replication, DNA would be at the center of the core of the robot, with smaller nanomechanics taking it apart to pull information or copy it and distributing it along the correct channels. Each program would be stored as a chemical composition attached to the proteins in the DNA, that would then be unraveled and read. (Wilson, Kannagara, Smith, Simons, and Reguse, 2002) Understanding the way information is transported helps to design the physical objects through which it is transported. Information will be transported through heat. This theory is taken from the idea that current information processing in a computer produces heat. Computers today, when they erase information in the form of bits, though their many processes, is converted into heat. And really at the molecular level it is the simple conversion of this information into heat form. This is not a problem for computers because of their scale, but it is for nanocomputers. This goes back to the idea of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is the study of the power and energy of heat and temperatures in general. Nanotechnology is specifically interested in the second law of thermodynamics: The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium. Entropy is used in the formal definition of the second law because it refers more directly to the study of thermodynamics, in the way that it refers to the amount of something to be calculated or observed. The system is an engine that converts heat to work. Heat engines usually work with two heat reservoirs, one of high temperature and one of low. As the temperature rises in one, the pressure does and thus it turns a gear which performs the work of the engine. (Principia Cybernetica Web) This concept is important to understand because one must realize that the scale of a nanocomputer will not be able to withstand the heat produced by macrocomputers. The way in which it works need to be so that all energy produced is used, since unlike a macro-computer, there are no large chunks of materials available to absorb the heat potentially produced by the energies created through the transfer of information. What the second law says to modern, information-theory-aware physics, then is that the information cannot be erased. It even tells you exactly how much heat at any given temperature is equivalent to a bit of information. It turns out to be in the ball park of the heat energy of a single atom at that temperature. A simple way to understand why heat can be said to store information is that hotter atoms move faster, and thus require bigger numbers- more bits- to describe their speeds. Thus more information has been stored in an atom with a higher speed. You can also increase entropy by making the system larger.(Hall, 2005, p. 104) A varying speed through a group of atoms, or a substance is what will carry the code for the information, with the same level of simplicity of current binary code. Information in a nanocomputer is transmitted using heat. The different speeds of atoms forms a language signaling the electronic parts and mechanical pieces respectively. This heat is formed by using a pattern of light, by exciting the

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precise atoms with photons. These signals all have to travel though a system like current circuitry. (Hall, 2005) Rod Logic Rod logic is his main theory that drives nanocomputation hardware and information transfer. This is the mechanics of how information travels through circuitry in heat form. The heat is transferred to a molecular disturbance; this disturbance travels along carbon rods. The rods are very stiff in their bonds and are only one atom in diameter, and thus very slim. For one rod to sense the disturbance in another rod there needs to be another structure. These are known as gate and probe knobs. (Nanocon)

This is basically a switch in nanoform. With one probe is covered it means one thing, and vice versa, thus the code is read and it is turned into a signal for the output of electrons towards the mechanics of the robot. It is parts like this that have still yet to be fully functional, every small part needs to work with such precision at the atomic scale to produce one foglet, and from there, Utility Fog. Artificial Intelligence and Utility Fog Artificial intelligence is necessary for Utility Fog to fully function as a fog. (Hall, 2005) Artificial intelligence has been rated by what it cannot do more than what it has already done over the past 50 years. In the 1950s the idea of a computer playing chess was considered artificial intelligence. Because computers are cheaper than actual robots, it is logical to assume that advanced AI in a regular computer would come before a robot with the same intelligence. Advanced AI, or AI as we see it today is making a computer as smart as a human. (Wilson, Kannagara, Smith, Simons, and Raguse, 2002)This is a very complicated task because of the difference in the way computers and software are written in comparison to the way the human brain works. A simple example of how current AI works is in the programs that detect credit card fraud. They basically tell the difference between the patterns of the regular user and common fraud, and thus notify you. Many businesses trust the computation by a computer of a persons credit and use this to decide rather to sell or not. If computers could do more, they would be used,

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because they are more accurate than the human mind, it is a machine with no distractions or biases. Cybernetics is the term used to describe the way a computer can understand and act on something. This is a system of feedback and control. The feedback is the measurement of a mechanical output. Sensors are a form of feedback. A thermostat works on this level. Once there is a certain temperature, it turns off, and after it reads that the temperature is bellow the given number it turns back on. There is a certain lag associated with this kind of programming, called hysteresis. In the idea of a thermostat it is the time and temperature difference for it to realize the temp is over or under. Our brain works in much the same way. If someone holds their finger at a point in the air, one will notice that the finger is not always on the point but really encircling the point. As the brain sees that it is not on the point it is corrected, feedback and control. The primary difference between a persons brain and current computers is that a human can learn. The way software is currently written prevents computers from learning. It is written so that the computer works from the bottom up. Every bit of programming has to be done from the beginning information and is followed in the same way. The human mind has storage like that, in the form of our memory, but we can add to it from the top and form new connections and grow. AI is the formulation of a computer that can analyze its surroundings and then decide based on stored information what has happened, or what a new thing is, or a new pattern. Computers software is written form bottom up, with consideration of all possible situations, but it takes a huge amount of code and is not the safest way to do things when considering vast systems such as Utility Fog. The reason Utility Fog needs advanced artificial intelligence to fully function is so that it can learn certain patterns and understand its surroundings. (Muhall, 2002) Current feedback and control will be used in the way it communicates between fogletes but it is not enough for it to have the high level of intelligence needed to communicate with our world. For one thing, Utility fog needs to be able to recognize all forms of life that need to interact with sun and air, so as not to smother them. This alone, using current programming would take a detailed description of every living thing and what the fog should do in such a circumstance, stay away from the head, let light though etc. Also, such instances as an accident where a person is no longer breathing needs to be recognized so that the Fog does not smother the resuscitating person. This is all considering its air simulation form, the most expensive and advanced form of Utility Fog. Another point is that AI is very hard to produce because of the vast complexity of all the information and the fact that if one number is wrong it will err. (Wilson, Kanngara, Smith, Simons, and Raguse, 2002) Future Uses for Utility Fog Once Utility Fog is created there are many other things that can be done with the substance, due to its inherent properties as a nanorobot and molecularly manipulated material. Going back to the idea of having a room full of Utility Fog, if this room was full the robots would be simulating air for the most part. One of the many potential uses for Utility Fog is that it could fill a persons entire house;

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furniture would morph and clothes would appear and disappear on command. The fog would make an entire body data glove and one could control it either by specific movements of the body or by the simple thought itself. (Hall, 2005) Two issues arise with the idea of being completely surrounded by nanomachines, breathing and seeing. Breathing would be solved by having the fogletes programmed to recognize the human head and stay at a certain distance to allow for air. Seeing is solved by phased array optics. The surface of each foglet will be covered with a series of antennas, each one transmitting a certain light wave. It would take the data from what it touched and transmit the light wave information though the surface antennas. This would be understood by human eyes in the same way we see color. (Hall, 2005) It would be as if the robots where not even there. In fact they could go as far as to relay extra information that people would usually not see, such as what was behind walls etc. Virtual Reality Virtual reality can be possible with Utility Fog. There will be two versions of Utility Fog, the fog version, or the naive version. The fog version is when a room is full of the fog, while the nave version is when there is a limited amount of the fog in a room. If a persons room is full of it, and it plugs in to a high speed connection, that links another room to this one, also full of Utility Fog. The robots could simulate either person respectively, in their different rooms and it would be as if they where sitting down for a conversation. Since Utility Fog can read its surroundings and simulate them, with material and optics. It can duplicate the appearance of people, and furniture at a different spot. Not only can Utility Fog be programmed to look like something, but it can also program itself by reading the information of the things around it and duplicating it elsewhere. This can also be done within a house, full of the same cloud of fog. If one were sitting and wanted a book, the whole shelf could be replicated in front of them, they would never actually touch the real book, just the simulation. The nave fog would not be able to organize your house and information to have things materialize in thin air, or communicate with other clouds. It would act as a convenience in furniture. (Hall, 2005) Design with Utility Fog One property of Utility Fog is that it could not be used as a structure system of a building, or to make sharp objects, because the original I-beam or knife would always be stronger. (Hall, 2005) This is because the forces acted on a knife go through the sound atomic structure of one material, while if it were made of fog the forces would be pushing against many nano arms pushing back with motors. There can be additions to the fogletes, such as cutting blades, for it to have the ability to simulate knifes or even weapons in warfare. The idea of using Utility Fog in war, to have clouds of it specialized to simulate working weapons on command, comes off the idea of its potential Urban use. If a city or major section of a city were covered in Utility Fog cars would be materialized from the roads and in fact, people could just fly being supported by the fog itself. This may sound ridiculous, but the theory of covering Manhattan with buildings in 1492

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probably sounded just as overwhelming. With this idea of mass clouds, one could also put an end to such problems as emergency housing in the aftermath of disasters. (Hall, 2005) Instead of the current tents and mass transportation of materials, one would just program the local urban fog to make shelter. Architecture could spend time designing a space like a canvas for the fog, rather than having interior designers pick out furniture. Also furniture design could take off in a completely new direction by creating shapes only possible with Utility Fog and then writing programs for specific woods rather than using the wood itself. Power Source and Future Implications A huge question remains on how Utility Fog will be powered. There are several theories, but not really many designs on how nanotechnology is powered. Batteries are one of the most poorly developed parts of technology today. In something like a foglet the battery could be a very small fuel cell, possibly charged by the disruption from other surrounding materials. Besides the problem of its charge source it will work a lot like a battery of this day, with two poles and a space between, the greater this space or difference between the poles the longer the battery lasts. Taking the scale of nanobatteries into consideration, one realizes that the ratio between the chemical poles and the intermediary space is much increased compared to macrobatteries. (Hall, 2005) This battery would in turn feed the light that would cause the heat in the form of information, which would cause the electrons to move, thus creating motion though mechanics in a pattern designated from the programming and artificial intelligence of the Fog. Although systems such as this will be the future, there are different risks associated. True, there will be a lack of pollution and waste of material, but the simple fact that the manufacturing has to do with changing and moving atoms around brings up new situations. To work, everything must be perfectly precise, no errors. Bringing artificial intelligence, autogeny, and molecular and atomic construction into reality makes the horror stories of science fiction novels a potential reality and concern. The programming and design must take into consideration what would happen if there was a piece in a nanofactory that learned something new and applied that to its work, thus creating something at the atomic scale that no human designed, that could perhaps self replicate and become a serious problem. For now, though, artificial intelligence, and three dimensional atom manipulation is still being worked out. There is a team working on building a quantum computer by the year 2011, called the Dream Team, a set of 300 scientists of different fields working in their respective labs and communicating over the internet. (Nanocomputer) The logic and the design for nanotechnology is there, the tools are yet to be fabricated. Manufacturing There is still the idea of manufacturing; architecture will still be a solid structure, irreplaceable, because Utility Fog does not have to structural capabilities of some solid and single molecule materials. Manufacturing of materials in the conventional method will have decreased considerably. With the idea of

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replacing many objects with Utility Fog comes the idea of replacing the manufacturing procedure along with it. (Theodore, Kunz, 2005) Besides the ideas already mentioned, there is the question of where this all of this carbon and atomically altered structure comes from, and how much energy its production needs. One major consideration for any future invention is rather or not humanity will have the means to produce it, with the increasing depletion of oil and potential future regulations on factories and their wastes. (Theodore, Kunz, 2005) Utility Fog could be a good replacement for all the manufacturing of furniture type things, from chairs to pencil holders and bookmarks. True, real furniture would still be made, but not nearly as much, as well as all of the knickknacks people like to decorate with, those could all easily be made of Utility Fog. Utility Fog would always be made in a lab set environment, and its very nature is nonpolluting seeing that pollutants come in the form of excess byproduct, in atomic construction all atoms are used that are created. With all of these attributes, Utility Fog can sound amazing, the one great risk is that it sounds too good to be true. In theory only the good things would ever come of a material such as Utility Fog, but in reality it could bring up many new problems. Manufacturing wise it would take the jobs of many people, and companies; but yet at the same time it could form other jobs; like any other large change. It poses a good theoretical plan for a new sustainability, yet the potential overuse of carbon may eventually have a negative effect overall. Conclusion Technology is moving from the macro to the nano as it advances into our realms of understanding. The use of nanotechnology is needed because working at the macro scale produces a lot of wastes and uses a lot of energy, which affects the environment and heath of people and nature in genera. The demand of materials such as this comes from the current population level and a persons need to maintain their standard of living. One major concern remains on the power source of all of this. I believe that it will have to be taken from the energy in the atmosphere, due to the decreasing availability of fossil fuels to create pure electricity. It is estimated that in the next ten years there will be a foglet if nanotech keeps going at the rate it is now. Artificial intelligence at that level is still vastly underdeveloped and so will take longer and probably come after the robot itself. Once that is accomplished, Utility Fog will have effects on communications, furniture, home storage, and even urban life and transportation, It has the potential to change the problems and design methods currently used in architecture and urban planning, like the internet changed communications. But like the internet there will be new problems, involving new forms of theft, murder, and potential malfunction of the material itself. The idea that someone could kill me by overriding the programming on my house would not be let me sleep so easily. There are many other developments that need to come into play, involving prevention, before Utility Fog is ever seen on the market.

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Bibliography Hall, Storrs J. Nanofuture, Whats Next for Nanotechnology. New York: Prometheus Books, 2005. Hall, Storrs J., PHD. Kursweilai. Net, The stuff dream are made of 1996 http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0220.html?printable=1 10/20/2007 Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, Diamond molecular machine parts http://www.imm.org/research/parts/ Institute for molecular Manufacturing10/15/2007. Mulhall, Douglas. Our Molecular Future: How nanotechnology, robotics, genetics, and artificial intelligence will transform our world. New York: Prometheus Books, 2002. NanoComputers. http://web.ukonline.co.uk/p.boughton/nano.htm 12/07/2007. Nanocon Proceedings Page 2, molecular manipulation and molecular computation, A. Eric Drexler: Rod logic for molecular computing. http://www.halcyon.com/nanojbl/NanoConProc/nanocon2.html. 10/15/2007 Opportunities in Self-Assembly. http://www.wtec.org/loyola/nano/04_03.htm Accessed 12/07/2007. Principia Cybernetica Web, Entropy and the Laws of Thermodynamics http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ENTRTHER.html 12.07.2007. Theodore, Louis, and Robt, G. Kunz. Nanotechnology: Environmental Implications and Solutions. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Whiptech, The Future of Computers, Nanocomputers http://www.whiptech.com/computer.future/nano.html. 10/15/07. Williams, Linda, and Dr. Wade Adams. Nanotechnology Demystified: A SelfTeachingGuide. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Wilson, Mick, Kamali Kannangara, Geoff Smith, Michelle Simmons, and Burkhard Raguse. Nanotechnology: Basic Science and Emerging Technologies. Boca Raton: Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2002.

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