The Dance of Molecules: How Nanotechnology is Changing Our Lives - Hardcover

Sargent, Ted

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560258098 ISBN 13: 9781560258094

Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005

Synopsis

What if a doctor could stop cancer by targeting a single malignant cell before it multiplied? Imagine a paper-thin “power suit” that could keep you warm on a winter day. What about a computer that connects directly with a person’s thoughts?

In this groundbreaking exploration of the future of nanotechnology, Ted Sargent reveals how all disciplines of science, from medicine to microchips, are converging to create materials using the tiniest scale possible—molecule by molecule. And instead of trying to overcome the natural world, nanotech takes its every move from the perfect, elegant structure of nature itself. Its potential is seemingly endless, with practical implications that will revolutionize the way we live, work, and play.

In an age when science often evokes more fear than faith, when the potential for superviruses and diabolical cloning looms in our consciousness, Sargent enthusiastically illuminates nanotech’s positive possibilities. By working with the tiniest building blocks in nature, pioneering scientists will drastically improve the quality of life for all of us.

About this title

About the Author

Ted Sargent is visiting professor of nanotechnology at MIT. In 2003, Sargent was named to Technology Review magazine's "TR100": a group of 100 of the world's top young innovators whose work will shape how we live and work in the future. His research breakthroughs have been widely reported in magazines such as Wired, BusinessWeek, and National Geographic. He lives in Cambridge, MA.

From Publishers Weekly

Sargent, visiting professor of nanotechnology at MIT, persuasively argues that advances in nanotechnology are occurring at a dizzying rate and have the potential to transform almost all aspects of human society, from health care to warfare. The book examines cutting-edge science in health, the environment and communications. Sargent's optimism knows almost no limits. He predicts that with nanotechnology's ability "to design and build matter to order," scientists will soon be able to prescribe nano-size drugs that will identify and kill single cancerous cells long before they can do any harm, and regenerate nerve cells to cure spinal cord injuries. Further, Sargent says, "new technologies may allow ground-based warfare without people." Throw in a limitless energy supply and a fully integrated computer and communications system that will become an integral part of humans, and you have a utopia almost beyond belief. Indeed, with only a few pages devoted to possible negative environmental consequences of runaway nanotechnology, Sargent's utopia is beyond belief. Although his exuberance is somewhat infectious, he tries a bit too hard to make his writing witty, such as describing an optical detector as "a voyeur, a castrato ogling the photon but under-equipped to seduce it." (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1560258098
• ISBN 13: 9781560258094
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304