# nanotechnology--what uses are expected from it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanotechnology-what-uses-are-expected-from-it/219605>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 17, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanotechnology-what-uses-are-expected-from-it/219605 "2003-12-17T20:22:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanotechnology-what-uses-are-expected-from-it/219605/21 "2003-12-19T17:48:52Z")

</div>

I just want to chime in with the absolutely useless comment that I named my son after the inventor of nanotechnology, Richard Feynman.

[Here](http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html)’s his classic speech on the matter way back in 1959.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanotechnology-what-uses-are-expected-from-it/219605/22 "2003-12-19T23:23:14Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bakhesh \*  
> **In other words, if your wall was made of wood, you could get the nano bots to pull apart all the molecules in wood, and reconstruct them into anything else, be it made out of metal, plastic, gas or anything.**

They wouldn’t need to; the wall would be made out of nanobots; reconfiguring it is a matter of asking some of them to move themselves.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanotechnology-what-uses-are-expected-from-it/219605/23 "2003-12-20T02:09:17Z")

</div>

mostly [grey goo](http://www.quinion.com/words/turnsofphrase/tp-gre3.htm)

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanotechnology-what-uses-are-expected-from-it/219605.md?page=1)