Nanosystems

Molecular manufacturing could turn sci-fi fantasies into a future reality. While Star Trek replicators could produce almost anything, real-life scientists may be able to do the same thing by manipulating atoms and molecules using a nanoscopic machine called an assembler. How long will we have to wait? Rice University professor Richard Smalley notes that it would take millions of years for a single nanoscopic machine to produce a meaningful amount of material. But, nanotechnology trailblazer Eric Drexler believes the solution is to have assemblers replicate themselves exponentially until enough exist to produce other objects.

2007 HowStuffWorks