Difference between revisions of "Atomic precision"

Revision as of 14:08, 6 October 2024

Up: Precision
(wiki-TODO: Add relevant illustrations for visual explanation.)

As just "atomic precision" may be too unspecific in many cases/contexts
this page should be seen as a disambiguation page.

Atomic precision in general can encomapass both:

• the weaker Topological atomic precision (precisely specifiable bond connectivity) and
• the stronger Positional atomic precision (precisely specifiable placement coordinates)

Stronger/weaker in the sense of: Positional AP is always topological AP too but not vice versa.

In both cases precision is preserved over long periods of time.
Excluding thermally rather unstable bonds and compounds (including pure metals and metallic alloys) or too high operation temperatures.

Delineation to single atomic manipulation

Note: The definition of atomic precision does not necessarily imply single-atomic manipulation.
The derived term "APM" also tells nothing about the size of the building blocks or the size of the product.
It is thus suitable for today's self assembly and all technology levels beyond technology level 0.
Advanced levels of APM though are capable of macro-manufacturing of diamondoid structures with positional atomic precision.

For a more broad view including a gradual transition to non atomically precise

Major benefits that atomic precision (both topological and positional) can bring.

Digital control over matter

The benefits of digital control over reversibly composable units of matter (see that page for details)
That is: If AP systems are designed in a (construction kit like) well composable / well engineerable fashion
beyond the atomistic scale or molecular scale too.
Al along upwards the scales of hirrarchical self-assembly or convergent assembly
Concrete counter example: A monolithic block of AP macroscale diamond would be (positionally) AP but not gain much digtal control over matter benefits.
Actually this would be one of the (perhaps much) more difficult products to make.

Side-note: There is a point to be made that engineerability (i.e. sperability of design concerns)
can be attained at a more abstract level than construction kit like geometry
(complex coupled flexing that is still decomposable in an abstract space and such - generalized coordinates / latent space / whatever).
This is more difficult though and more a thing for …
– either mimicking biological systems (not focused R&D towards gem based APM)
– or hyper optimizing advanced biocompatible systems.

No wear (FAPP)

The benefits of lack of wear to a degree of other damage mechanisms dominating (radiation damage in gemstomes, diffusion changes in foldamers)
as both foldamer (3D SDN, de-novo proteins) and gemstone based AP products both have no stiction problems like MEMS have.

AP providing more ease in manufacturability => context dependent answer

There is no doubt that AP will provide more ease in advanced manufacturability. (wiki-TODO: elaborate)
But for early systems this is not as clear cut at all. At least as of 2024 this is not yet clear.
Advanced modular micro-machinery (possibly self-replicative) …
– that comes (as covered above) with the benefits of digital control over reversibly composable units of matter
– that is not yet AP but rather made via some top down non AP processes
… may still come about before AP systems with such properties are developed. Time will tell.
The Center for Bits and Atoms focuses on these sort of non AP things with digital control over matter.
(Not to confuse with "smart materials" / "programmable matter"). It's more marerializable programs.

Related

• Forms or degrees of atomic precision (other name for same disambiguation page)
• Atomically precise manufacturing
• Main Page

• Digital control over reversibly composable units of matter

• Spectrum of means of assembly
• Positional assembly Self-assembly
• Mechanosynelf assembly – This is about "semi machine phase locally tether constrained quasi self-asslembly".
  Smack in between the worlds of positional assembly and self-assembly.