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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>pjmanney<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, September 07, 2006 11:20
AM<BR><B>To:</B> wta-talk@transhumanism.org; extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org;
transhumantech@yahoogroups.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [extropy-chat] Research
question<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<P>I'm working on the book and I've left a crucial, climactic section
quite vague that I need to start to flesh out in detail. You know
the kind of vague I mean: hero neutralizes the threat and action ensues.
Only I was naughty and eager to just get writing and hadn't completed my
research for it. So this is a theoretical question for all you engineers
and physicists and just plain smart folk:</P>
<P>What would theoretically destroy nanobots? I guess the more
specific question would be: what disassembles diamondoid nanostructures at an
atomic level and reverts them back to harmless carbon atoms? Or simply
screws with them enough to render them neutral/inactive/harmless?
To give you some possibly important detail, these are medicinal bots
and would be used internally in the brain. They would need to pass the
blood/brain barrier after ingestion. And there are a whole lot of
them. <SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Remove
their external energy source, or if they're using the host metabolism then
possibly poison it (without killing host), or relocate their energy source as
a means of controlling their behavior, or...) (they're too small to carry
their own fuel, right?)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Modify
their programming (with a virus, or by communicating with their controller, or
lots of other possibilities here) to either stop them or convert them to some
useful purpose. Exploit some bug in their programming in an unexpected
way,.Force them out by infiltrating their command and control structure with
similar, but benign nanobots.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Find
and activate the secret failsafe or deadman switch built in by their
designer.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Give
them a decoy host brain and when they're all there, destroy it. (Sorry,
I'm sure that's too simple.)</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
don't know of any chemical means to dissolve the diamondoid atomic bonds
without killing the host, but I am not a chemist.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=312222918-07092006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>-
Jef</FONT></SPAN></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>