[Extropy-chat] Nanosystems or some chapters of it available online?

[Robert J. Bradbury]

j
On Sat, 27 Dec 2003, Brett Paatsch wrote:

> Can anyone else locate chapters of Nanosystems (say
> chapters of a 1998 edition) online?

To the best of my knowledge Nanosystems is not currently online
(in contrast to some other books such as Engines of Creation
or Unbounding the Future).

Though part of Nanosystems appears to be in the Amazon full
text database (at least the Glossary though perhaps not Chapter 16).
Raises an interesting question of whether people could drive into
an online status chapters that might promote book sales that would
make publishers happy...

> Perhaps it would be worth making the early paths
> onto the ramp that leads from standard "mainstream" science
> to molecular nanotechnology as smooth as possible by having
> it (a) up to date (this not need be done by Drexler himself - but
> perhaps he'd want to oversee it) and (b) accessible online.

Some of this is being done by Robert Freitas in the various
Nanomedicine volumes which Robert is trying to make available
online in a joint paper/electronic publishing process.  It
is a difficult balancing act.

I would agree that there is not an up-to-date online status
report with respect to nanotechnologyy unfortunately.  It
would be nice if we had one.  It is not however a showstopper
that one is not available.

> The 1992 chapter 15 stuff talks about synthetic amino acids, and
> about protein folding and prediction. I know that there have been
> some substantial developments in these areas since 1992.

Yep.  I cover some of this in my Protein Based Assembly of Nanoscale
Parts (which is available online).

> Just a thought. If I'd gotten my act together better I might have
> posted this to foresight or nanodot which I sometimes read but
> haven't posted too. If there is merit in any of it some friend of
> foresight may pass it on.

It is reasonable to suggest a revised edition of Nanosystems given
that it is over a decade old.  Perhaps incorporationg a detailed
analysis of objections to mechanosynthesis and refutations.

Write a letter to Christine Peterson at Foresight.org.

Robert