# What's the status of nanotechnology today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 16, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127 "2023-05-16T16:57:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127/1 "2023-05-16T16:57:44Z")

</div>

Maybe 10 years ago or so, nanotech was a hot topic in science fiction, and even some legitimate science (Feynman’s ‘room at the bottom lecture’ being often quoted).

Want a particular molecule? Just have the assemblers shove the atoms together in the right order.  
Want a megastructure? A swarm of replicators will build it for you using local materials.

But we don’t seem to have heard much about it lately?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127/2 "2023-05-16T18:30:09Z")

</div>

There is a lot of work going on in “nanotech” as fabricating materials at near atom-level precision. That actually describes modern microchips. But “nanotech” as tiny magic robots? Still a very, very long way off.

> **[Council Post: 17 Tech Experts Discuss What’s New And Next In Nanotech](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/04/26/17-tech-experts-discuss-whats-new-and-next-in-nanotech/?sh=7d6fd482252c)**
>
> Materials developed through nanotechnology may have unique properties and capabilities we’ve never seen before.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127/3 "2023-05-16T18:33:17Z")

</div>

> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> But “nanotech” as tiny magic robots? Still a very, very long way off.

Mostly because advances are made in very, very small steps. :flees:

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127/4 "2023-05-18T23:17:33Z")

</div>

> [@xtenkfarpl](#):
>
> Want a megastructure? A swarm of replicators will build it for you using local materials.

The problem with this is that it takes hundreds of years.

And yes, I did use present tense. We have swarms of replicators that build megastructures. We’ve always had them. They’re just a lot slower than the pulp authors describe.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-status-of-nanotechnology-today/984127/5 "2023-05-19T17:22:07Z")

</div>

True, and they reproduce themselves quite spontaneously. Unfortunately not all of them are very useful for any given project, and as you say, the cycle time is slow.