Revision as of 17:06, 21 August 2018

This is an introduction to the character of robotic work in the nanocosm.
It should deliver some intuitive feeling of how things work down there.

Atoms

• How big is an atom?

False claim? "Atoms are unimaginably small."
That's commonly assumed. And whenever some comparison is brought up one usually feels confirmed on hat assumption. Turns out that there is a "best way" to get an inuitive feel for their size that is rarely (or never) used.
Here are the details: "Magnification theme-park". – Judge yourself.

• How does it feel when you grab two atoms and rub them against each other?
  Main article: "The feel of atoms"
• How do atoms work and what shape do they have?
  Main article: "The basics of atoms"
• At which speeds do Atoms usually move?
  Main article: "The speed of atoms"

Speeds

• At which speeds do Atoms usually move?
  Main article: "The speed of atoms"
• At which speeds will nanorobotics usually operate?
  Main article: "The speed of nanorobotics"

Everything is "Magnetic"

Well, not really, but this is a real good analogy for getting an intuitive feeling for a novel force only encountered at the nanoscale where it is omnipresent. The Van der Waals force (VdW). Instead of everything is "magnetic" one could say everything is "vanderwaalic".

From a phenomenological perspective (not from the origins of course, those are very different) the VdW force is like a strange kind of magnetism that:

• too drops off very quickly with distance / is short range (more short range even than magnetism - to verify)
• has no polarity
• is always attractive

The VdW force is extremely useful for putting and holding stuff together at the nanoscale (and maybe microscale). Connection method#Van der Waals locking

Bonding energies - Tensile strengths - Stiffnesses

To get a better feel it can be helpful to compare energy strength and stiffness of VdW bonds to the strength of material that is solidly covalently "welded" together. This way it becomes clear that while VdW bonds are considered weak in comparison to they are still very strong in an intuitive sense.

(TODO: Add the same info table as on VdW force page)
[Todo: Add table - make it visualizable for covalent bonds and VdW bonds]
[Todo: show surface area thats VdW ashesion is energetically equivalent to one covalent bond - related: Form locking]

You are like an astronaut – don't ever let go of your tools – they may haunt you

• What happens when you let go of a building block?

Main article: "The heat-overpowers-gravity size-scale"

Let's consider an somewhat unusual fall experiment. A small gripper let go of a building block. Simple? See if you answer right.

A fall experiment quiz to illustrate the quite unfamiliar mechanical behavior in the nanoscale.

Scaling laws

They describe what changes when one goes down the scale. E.g. that magnetic motors become weak but electrostatic ones strong. More details can be found at the scaling laws main page.

The feel of AP Products

AP products though robotic and gemstone like in the nanocosm are not necessarily cold hard and robot like to the human senses. Emulated elasticity can create any form imaginable with gradients from soft to hard. It isn't an easy to attain property but it is an highly desirable one and will emerge at some point.

Further

• Periodic table of elements
• acceleration limits
• jumping building blocks
• Why nanomechanics is barely mechanical quantummechanics
• Video Playlist: The Shape of Atoms and Bonds (By "Learn Hub")
• Distorted visualisation methods for convergent assembly
• Scaling laws