Comments on Next Big Future: Finally Diamond Mechanosynthesis Viability Experim...

$1/kg "regulatory floor"? That needs some explanat...

2008-08-12T04:01:00.000-07:00

$1/kg "regulatory floor"? That needs some explanation: Am I reading this right, that they figure the products of this technology would be subject to a tax approaching $1/kg, in order to finance a comprehensive regulatory regime?

I recall some of the stuff I used to read at the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, really Orwellian proposals for top down comprehensive control of nanofactories, that would make MicroSoft look hands off. Is this what we're talking about?

I like the fact that the grant proposal is written...

2008-08-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

I like the fact that the grant proposal is written broadly enough that - should these particular reactions not pan out - it would still seem likely to create a foundation for mechanosynthesis as an valuable research tool.

But I would hope that any partial negative results are not considered a stake in the heart for diamond mechanosynthesis, rather than substantial progress.

I can't help being reminded of what happened in the area of neural networks, when perceptron logic was proven incapable of general purpose computing.

That was ultimately found to be irrelevant to the engineering question of whether artificial neuron-like processing could be made practical - but it discouraged research in that area, and delayed the field by years.

I'm glad this is being funded. Even though I do no...

2008-08-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm glad this is being funded. Even though I do not think DMS is possible, I could be wrong. It is nice that someone has stepped up to the plate with finance to finally answer this question.