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

[Brett Paatsch]

Following an offlist conversation I recently took another look
at my hardcopy version of Nanosystems (published 1992).

Specifically I was looking at Table 16.1 "Differences between
proposed generations of mechanosynthetic assembly systems."

Table 16.1 outlines 4 stages on a route toward mature molecular
nanotechnology, with Stage 1, being the closest to technology
that is available now (or rather, and this is part of my point,
available to 1992 or thereabouts - when Eric Drexler wrote
Nanosystems).

Smalley v Drexler has raised interest and I'd expect that some
folk will go looking to see if they can find Nanosystems (the
magnus opus) online.  At present if they do what I did and google
on nanosystems they will find their way to Zyvex and the promise
that some chapters of Nanosystems (published by Wiley and
sons 1998) are newly available online. Then unless they are
better at finding these chapters than I am - they won't find them. 

This would seem to be a pity.  

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

I was specifically interested to see if what Drexler talked about 
in relation to (atomic force microscop-(y)) AFM-based molecular
manipulation (his Stage 1) changed or was developed at all
between 1992 and 1998.  I was also interested to see if he'd
updated references to accomodate scientific advances since
1992.  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. 

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.

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.

Regards,
Brett