RE: [OT]The Nanite Revolution

-----Original Message-----
From: JEREMY CLARIDGE [mailto:jeremy.claridge@kcl.ac.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2001 10:12 AM
To: 'gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu'
Subject: RE: [SG]The Nanite Revolution

Well I thought I'd get in on this Nanotechnology thread
but I didn't know anything about Nanotechnology.
So I did a search and read several articles.........
Ok so if your like me here is the simple bit:
Nanotechnology - building materials atom by atom or molecule by molecule
Nanite - Atom sized robot that does the building.
I could find nothing on exactly how this works.
What I did find would make a good weapon.

It was called Gray-Goo. Basically Nanites that would attack
something and re-arrange its molecules to make more of themselves.
Mind you this did carry the warning of a weapon of mass destruction!

Also if nanites can turn anything into something else then conflicts
might be a pointless exercise.
No fights over natural resources that's for sure.

--------

There is an ongoing on line project called Orion's Arm
<http://www.kheper.auz.com/orions_arm/index.html> that has a setting
where
nanotech plays a big part but is still not magic. 

Nanotech is only one level of manipulation technology in Orion's Arm,
there
is  also Picotech, Femtotech, Hypotech, and Plancktech. Technology that
approximates magic is called "Clarketech" in the OA setting. It has a
variety of colors of Goo as well (for example; Gray Goo is countered by
Blue
Goo).

If anyone wanted to create (or talk about creating) a miniature game
where
nanotech played a big part in military tech and operational doctrine
they
should give this setting at least a look.

The discussion list for Orion's Arm is at