| AFM |
Atomic Force Microscope |
| APM |
Atomically Precise Manufacturing |
| Diamondoid |
Diamond and any other stiff covalent solid that is similar to diamond in strength, chemical inertness, or other important material properties, and possesses a dense three-dimensional network of bonds. Most diamondoid materials used for nanomachinery would be constructed from the atoms of carbon ©, silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), nitrogen (N), phosphorus ℗, oxygen (O), sulfur (S), fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), boron (B), aluminum (Al), hydrogen (H). [see fuller intro here] |
| Gem-gum |
A metamaterial composed of diamondoid nanomachines capable of digitally reconfiguring its material properties (shape, size, conductivity, texture, chemical reactivity, opacity, and more) by actively rearranging and modifying its constituent molecules [intro to gem gum tech here] |
| Hydrogen abstraction |
Removing a hydrogen atom from a molecule |
| Machine Phase |
A state of matter filled with molecular machines. Quote from 2001 that coined it "Such a system would not be a liquid or gas, as no molecules would move randomly, nor would it be a solid, in which molecules are fixed in place. Instead this new machine-phase matter would exhibit the molecular movement seen today only in liquids and gases as well as the mechanical strength typically associated with solids. Its volume would be filled with active machinery" |
| Mechanosynthesis |
A method of chemical synthesis that uses mechanical force (like grinding or milling) to initiate or sustain chemical reactions. Basically using physical energy instead of heat or large amounts of solvents to make molecules react and bond together. |
| MNT |
Molecular nanotechnology |
| Positional chemistry |
using a programmable system to choose exactly where to form a covalent bond in a molecule |
| Productive nanosystems |
functional nanoscale systems that make atomically-specified structures and devices under programmatic control |
| SPM |
Scanning Probe Microscope |
| STM |
Scnnign Tunneling Microscope |
| UHV |
Ultra High Vacuum |
| Drexlerian nanotech |
The kind of nanotechnology that treats molecules and atoms as mechnical engineering components more than chemical/material ones |
| Self-Assembly |
A process where disordered components (molecules) form an organized structure or pattern without external direction |
| Top-down |
Manufacturing techniques that reduce large materials to nanoscale structures (e.g., lithography). |
| Bottom-up |
Constructing structures atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule. |
| Fullerene/Buckyball |
A molecule composed entirely of carbon in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. |
| HAbstr |
Hydrogen Abstraction (removing a hydrogen atom from an atom it was intially bonded to. usally so you can add another atom at the dangling bond during mechnosynthetic build processes |
| Molecular Gear |
A nanometer-scale component designed to transmit rotary motion, often modeled using carbon nanotubes with "teeth." |
| Utility Fog |
A theoretical swarm of tiny "foglets" (nanobots) that can link together to form solid objects or change shape on command. |
| Molecular Sorting Rotor |
A proposed device that uses shaped pockets to "grab" specific molecules out of a liquid and move them into a factory. |
| Machinocule |
A collection of atoms whose job is to perform mechanical motions as opposed to just being a static molecular building block. Examples include a molecular bearing, nanogears, etc. |
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