- Femtotechnology
Femtotechnology is a term used by some futurists to refer to structuring of matter on a
femto meter scale, by analogy withnanotechnology andpicotechnology . This involves the manipulation of excited energy states within atomic nuclei (seenuclear isomer ) to produce metastable (or otherwise stabilized) states with unusual properties. In the extreme case, excited states of the individualnucleon s that make up the atomic nucleus (proton s andneutron s) are considered, ostensibly to tailor the behavioral properties of these particles (though this is in practice unlikely to work as intended).The most advanced form of
molecular nanotechnology is often imagined to involve self-replicating molecular machines, and there have been some very speculative suggestions that something similar might in principle be possible with "molecules" composed ofnucleons rather than atoms. For example, theastrophysicist Frank Drake once speculated about the possibility of self-replicating organisms composed of such nuclear molecules living on the surface of aneutron star , a suggestion taken up in thescience fiction novelDragon's Egg by thephysicist Robert Forward . [ [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/N/neutronstarlife.html neutron star, life on ] ] It is thought by physicists that nuclear molecules may be possible, [ [http://www.aip.org/pnu/1991/split/pnu029-2.htm Physics News Update Number 29 - DO NUCLEAR MOLECULES EXIST? ] ] [ [http://www.worldscibooks.com/physics/2318.html Nuclear Molecules ] ] but they would be very short-lived, and whether they could actually be made to perform complex tasks such as self-replication, or what type of technology could be used to manipulate them, is unknown.Practical applications of femtotechnology are currently considered to be unlikely. The spacings between nuclear energy levels require equipment capable of efficiently generating and processing gamma rays, without equipment degradation. The nature of the
strong interaction is such that excited nuclear states tend to be very unstable (unlike the excited electron states inRydberg atom s), and there are a finite number of excited states below the nuclear binding energy, unlike the (in principle) infinite number of bound states available to an atom's electrons. Similarly, what is known about the excited states of individual nucleons seems to indicate that these do not produce behavior that in any way makes nucleons easier to use or manipulate, and indicates instead that these excited states are even less stable and fewer in number than the excited states of atomic nuclei.The hypothetical
hafnium bomb can be considered a crude application of femtotechnology.References
External links
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041025030505/http://www.cs.usu.edu/~degaris/essays/femtotech.html Femtotech? (Sub)Nuclear Scale Engineering and Computation]
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