X-Message-Number: 784
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 92 18:02:51 EST
From: "John F. McMullen (at Marist)" <KNXD%>
Subject: Newsbytes Article on Alcor NY Mtg
[ John McMullen kindly allowed permission to mailblast his Newsbytes
article on this past weekend's Alcor New York meeting, provided I
include with it the reprint permission notice (which I have appended
to the end). - KQB ]
>Newsgroups: clari.nb.trends,clari.nb.top
>Subject: ****Nanotech Expert Foresees Powerful "Sugar Cube" Computers
04/27/92>Keywords: Bureau-NYC
>Date: 28 Apr 92 01:14:21 GMT
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 APR 27 (NB) -- Ralph Merkle,
Xerox PARC researcher, speaking to a special meeting of New York
City's Alcor Life Extension Foundation, said that the science of
nanotechnology will allow the development of computers the size of
"sugar cubes that will have the power of all of today's existing
computers put together."
Merkle, engaged in nanotechnology research at Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC) with K. Eric Drexler, described the process
of molecular manufacturing as one that provides complete control of
atoms. He then explained how that, building on John Van Neumann's
theories of self-replicating systems (SRS), the manufactured
single-molecule unit can replicate into a much larger system.
With the use of a slide, he showed how that Drexler's "Architecture
for an Assembler," containing a molecular computer, a molecular
constructor with "molecular positional capability" and "tip chemistry,"
is a direct descendant of Van Neumann's design for a
self-replicating system, containing a "universal computer" and a
"universal constructor."
Merkle then went on to relate the development of nanotechnology with
the history of computer development, showing charts tracing the
increase in power, decrease in thermal consumption and decrease in
material necessary to store information. All of the charts show,
if the present straight lines remain consistent, that a major
milestone will be reached around the year 2015 which is where Merkle
sees the "sugar-cube system" arriving. He said, "There's no
guarantee that these lines won't either plateau out or have an
even steeper acceleration. The lines have been straight for over
40 years, however, and I have no reason to doubt that they will
not continue along this line."
Merkle then went into the use of these molecular systems in medicine,
explaining that we presently have two basic medical tools: surgery,
which has intelligent guidance but uses very crude tools that themselves
damage the organism, and drugs, which have no intelligence but are
atomically precise tools. He said that special purpose molecular
computers, no bigger than 1/500 of the width of a human hair, can be
introduced into the human system and sent to repair damaged cells.
"For the first time we will have adequate tools guided by
intelligence. Today, loss of cell function results in deterioration
and then death of the cell. In the future, with these tools, the
cell can be repaired, providing the structure has not been damaged."
Merkle concluded his talk by speculating the impact that molecular
machines may have in the field of cryonics. Cryonics is the process of
freezing persons whose "death" has been caused by a disease
uncorrectable by today's medicine. The theory is that the person will
be thawed when there is both a known cure for the disease or injury
and a way of repairing any damage caused by the freezing. Merkle
said that molecular machines will be the devices that will make such
procedures feasible.
Merkle said that there is a very simple pay-off matrix for cryonics.
"Either you sign up or you don't and it either works or it doesn't.
If you sign up and it works, you live. In the other cases you die.
If it works, the world in which you awaken will be a world of
advanced technology with space travel, space stations and good health."
He then showed a slide quoting Apple fellow and former Xerox PARC
researcher Alan Kay, saying. "The best way to predict the future is to
create it."
Alcor Director Brenda Peters told Newsbytes, "We were very gratified
at the response to the meeting. The speaker was wonderful and we had
many exciting guests. We hope to continue to have as interesting
meetings and bring the message of cryonics to more and more people."
In response to a Newsbytes question, Peters confirmed that Merkle
himself is an Alcor member and said that many engaged in the
nanotechnology research have become supporters of cryonics.
(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Brenda Peters,
Alcor Life Extension Foundation, 212-353-8665/19920427)
Reprinted with the express permission of the authors on behalf of
Newsbytes. Newsbytes is a commercial news service with bureaus from
Moscow to Sydney, Australia. It publishes a minimum of 30 technology-
related articles each business day and reaches approximately 4.5
million readers daily through such distribution services as GEnie,
America OnLine, Compuserve, DIALOG, Clarinet, NewsNet and foreign
services. Duplication of Newsbytes material without express permission
is a violation of copyright law. Additional information concerning
Newsbytes can be obtained by contacting:
Wendy Woods - 415 550-7334; GEnie - Newsbytes; e-mail
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