Common critique towards diamondoid atomically precise manufacturing and technology
Contents
- 1 Scaling law (SL) based critiques
- 1.1 Rising surface area per volume (SL)
- 1.2 Rising effect of viscosity (SL)
- 1.3 Rising influence of thermal motion (SL)
- 1.4 Rising influence of quantum mechanics(SL)
- 1.5 Rising tendency towards thermodynamic equilibrium (SL)
- 1.6 Falling material stiffness (SL)
- 1.7 Falling available space (SL) – obviously
- 1.8 Rising influence of intermolecular forces (SL)
- 2 Mechanochemistry related critiques
- 3 Potential problems not based on any scaling laws
- 4 Related
Scaling law (SL) based critiques
Rising surface area per volume (SL)
– rising friction power losses (TRUE BUT)
See: Why larger bearing area of smaller machinery is not a problem
– nanomachinery motions couple strongly to thermal motions (FALSE)
Due to practical reasons simulations are usually done at extremely high speeds >100m/s.
That is way above the actual proposed machine operation speeds of ~5mm/s or lower.
Also see: Stroboscopic illusion in animations of diamondoid molecular machine elements. This can be quite misleading in judgement of friction levels.
– rising corrosion rate (oxidation/rust) (FALSE)
Systems are well sealed and expose only corrosion resistant surfaces to the outside. Internals are PPV.
– perfect vacuum can't be created but is needed (FALSE)
No PPV is not physically impossible, just unattainable with today's (2023) technology.
– lubricants and dirt clog machinery like molasses and gravel (FALSE)
Sealed systems again. Bearings run dry and are either slide-bearings or roller gear bearings.
Rising effect of viscosity (SL)
– lubricants and dirt clog machinery like molasses and gravel (FALSE)
Dirt is already covered above.
Systems operate dry. No liquids or gasses involved.
Well except in resource supply (wiki-TODO: explain)
Rising influence of thermal motion (SL)
Nanomachinery motions couple strongly to thermal motions (FALSE)
Already covered above.
– placement of atoms is to unreliable (error rates) jittery and sloppy fingers (FALSE)
See: Jittery fingers, Sloppy fingers
– atoms do not stay in place due to surface diffusion or surface reconstruction (FALSE)
– nanosystems can only work in an dynamic equilibrium (FALSE)
(wiki-TODO: explain)
- rising influence on quantum mechanics
- rising tendency towards themodynamic equilibrium
Rising influence of quantum mechanics(SL)
Machinery quantum disperses, quantum collapses, and tunnels (FALSE)
Runs apart omnidirecttionally, reappears elsewhere spontaneously, moves through itself and walls.
See: Nanomechanics is barely mechanical quantummechanics
Rising tendency towards thermodynamic equilibrium (SL)
Perfect vacuum can't be created but is needed (FALSE)
Already covered above.
– diffusion transport is (fundamentally) more efficient (FALSE)
In fact the opposite may be true due to the trick of dissipation sharing not being usable diffusion transport.
– nature would have done it if it where possible (FALSE)
(wiki-TODO: add link)
– atoms do not stay in place due to natural ambient high energy radiation (TRUE BUT)
(wiki-TODO: explain things with fail-safe redundancy & self repair)
– nanosystems can only work in an dynamic equilibrium (FALSE)
Covered above.
– nature would have done it if it where possible (FALSE)
Covered above.
Falling material stiffness (SL)
– placement of atoms is to unreliable (error rates) jittery and sloppy fingers (FALSE)
Covered above. Also see: Same deflections across scales
Falling available space (SL) – obviously
– Not enough space for all the manipulators (TRUE BUT)
See: Fat fingers and Atom placement frequency
Rising influence of intermolecular forces (SL)
– atoms adhere to manipulators "sticky fingers" (TRUE & GOOD THING) See: Sticky fingers
potential problems with machine phase chemistry including mechanosynthesis
All of the following already covered above.
- placement of atoms is to unreliable (error rates) jittery and sloppy fingers (FALSE)
- perfect vacuum can't be created but is needed (FALSE)
- atoms adhere to manipulators "sticky fingers" (TRUE & GOOD THING)
- Not enough space for all the manipulators (TRUE BUT)
Potential problems not based on any scaling laws
– too difficult, castel in the sky, chicken egg problem (FALSE)
– advocating stiff nanomachinery but forking with soft nanomachinery to get to stiff nanomachinery ASAP is hypocrism (FALSE)
– it's better to just wait and see (FALSE) & the worst possible decision
Related
- Macroscale style machinery at the nanoscale
- Common misconceptions about atomically precise manufacturing (older less systematic page)