[extropy-chat] visualizing nanoscale

[Brett Paatsch]

Hal Finney wrote:

> Eugen writes:
> > A suggestion was to roll your own. A couple of days ago
> > I came upon this nice semilog-step flash visualization:
> >
> >         http://cellsalive.com/howbig.htm
> >
> > I stole it, and attempted to add a couple of steps, to
> > bring it down to the nanoscale. After two hours (and
> > lots of growling) I got this:
> >
> >         http://moleculardevices.org/howbig.htm
> 
> I love this stuff!  It would be nice though to see more than just a
> nanotech part, but to have a larger structure that was made out
> of parts.  To do that it would probably be necessary to bypass
> modeling the whole thing as atoms, but instead to use larger
> shapes, with a texture map to represent the bumpiness of the
> surface.
> 
> Imagine if you could see a respirocyte or a nanocomputer, at
> a variety of scales, with some cutaway views to show the inner
> workings.  Put one of those side by side with a virus or cell
> and you'd have a cool picture.

And in a television and internet age you'd also have an extremely
powerful piece of extropic propaganda.

Brett