The rise of nanometers

October 3rd.

Huang Xiuyuan returned to his homeland from Baker Island in the Pacific.

In Chang'an City, I met Lu Xuedong, whom I hadn't seen for a long time. Lu Xuedong introduced him to some recent scientific research projects.

In the Guanzhong Plain in October, the autumn wind was already blowing, and the street trees in the streets and alleys were dyed red and yellow by the weather.

At the 6036 Research Institute, which Lu Xuedong is responsible for, Huang Xiuyuan saw a very peculiar new technology. As mentioned before, Lu Xuedong, Zhang Jingjian and others have been engaged in technological innovation research on semiconductors.

But the directions of the two people are different.

Zhang Jingjian focuses on the research and development of chip technology, while Lu Xuedong focuses on the application of new processes.

I saw Lu Xuedong take out a small bottle from a small box, unscrew the bottle, and throw the bottle into the test site in front of him.

This test site is a wasteland that simulates the natural environment, with weeds, stones, sand and soil, and even some domestic garbage left over from human society.

After the bottle was thrown in, Lu Xuedong picked up a tablet and entered some instructions on it.

On a machine nearby, a row of equipment similar to searchlights constantly adjusts the illumination direction, and then emits a continuous stream of high-energy microwaves to the position where the bottle fell.

Suddenly, drastic changes began to occur around the small bottle.

A model "grows" rapidly at the location of the bottle at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In less than half an hour, a two-story building was grown.

"Is this your result?" Huang Xiuyuan looked at the building in front of him. He didn't seem to be too surprised. He knew this technology quite well.

Lu Xuedong nodded: "Yes, the nanorobots that can be initially applied are already ready for use."

That's right, this is the effect of nanobots.

This kind of nanorobot with a fixed program set in advance uses high-energy microwaves as wireless charging energy, and uses a small supercomputer as the main body of the program and computing power to realize the control of the nanorobot.

As for how nanorobots synthesize compounds, this is based on the "electric field synthesis technology" of Xie Qing's team, coupled with the semiconductor technology further developed by Lu Xuedong's team, allowing nanorobots to have some of the envisioned functions.

Huang Xiuyuan turned his head and asked: "How strong is the building?"

"It is stronger than ordinary reinforced concrete buildings, but not as strong as the material of integrated buildings. The advantage is that it is very fast." Lu Xuedong said while calling up a document from the database for him.

Huang Xiuyuan took the document and browsed it carefully.

The nanorobot named "Creation-52" is the nanorobot in front of us, and it is also the latest version developed by Lu Xuedong's team.

This nanorobot integrates technologies in more than a dozen major fields such as nanotechnology, electric field synthesis, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, wireless charging, and wireless communications.

The vial just tested weighed only 10 grams. With just this many nanorobots, it took 24.3 minutes to construct a two-story building covering an area of ​​100 square meters and a height of 8 meters.

And because it is a nanoscale structure, its strength is a small order of magnitude stronger than ordinary reinforced concrete buildings.

The key is to be fast enough. As long as there are enough nanorobots, microwave chargers and control computers, it is not impossible to construct a large building in an instant.

Of course, this kind of nanorobot is not without its shortcomings.

Huang Xiuyuan saw the last part of the document, which was the shortcomings of the nanorobot.

To sum up, the shortcomings of this nanorobot are that the control distance is limited, there is a certain degree of danger, the energy consumption is too high, the cost is too high, and the life is too short.

The current effective control distance limit is only about 170 meters. Beyond this distance, the nanorobot will lose control and either operate randomly or freeze and become silent.

This effective control distance is mainly limited by microwave charging technology and wireless communication technology.

Nanorobots are different from large robots. Such machines that are as fine as nanometers cannot currently be controlled over long distances.

As for the danger, it is mainly due to the microwave radiation during the microwave charging process and the working mechanism of nanorobots that cannot distinguish between friend and foe.

If the nanorobot accidentally enters its working range while it is working, even if it is wearing an exoskeleton armor, it will not be able to withstand it for a few minutes.

Pervasive microwaves and nanorobots will quickly destroy materials within the working range.

This is mainly because the raw materials for nanorobot creations are either prepared in advance by the construction party or obtained locally.

If it is a local material acquisition mode, then all materials within the working range are within the utilization range of nanorobots.

Nanorobots will not pay attention to the creatures existing within the working range. Even if some preventive programs are set in advance in the control computer, there is no guarantee of 100% safety.

After all, there is a delay in the machine. If a creature accidentally enters the working range of the nanorobot, a few seconds will be enough to destroy the skin and penetrate into the muscles and blood.

This is still a large animal. If it is a small animal, the control computer cannot detect it 100%.

"The cost is not a problem, but the service life is indeed a problem. It is indeed too short." Huang Xiuyuan commented pertinently.

Lu Xuedong also spread his hands: "There is no way. The damage caused by microwave charging to semiconductors cannot be solved for the time being."

At present, the service life of the "Creator-52" nanorobot, in the laboratory stage, can only be used continuously for about 85 hours, which is a little more than three days.

Compared with its cost of 75 million per gram, the price/performance ratio is indeed too low.

If real estate developers in the old era used this kind of nanorobot to build houses, they would probably lose money to grandma’s family.

This thing can only be used in specific fields for the time being, such as space garbage recycling and emergency construction of alien bases.

Of course, this is because the functions of this nanorobot are too complex. If it is a nanorobot with relatively simple functions, the cost is not that expensive.

For example, the "silicene-super carbon nanotube" previously developed by Xie Qing's team used special nanorobots and electric field synthesis technology to achieve rapid manufacturing.

Huang Xiuyuan returned the tablet to Lu Xuedong: "I am still optimistic about your plan No. 43."

"Division of labor type?" Lu Xuedong was stunned, and then nodded: "In a short period of time, division of labor nanorobots are indeed the best choice."

In fact, the Creation 52 nanometer robot is not the most mature technology of Lu Xuedong's team. After all, the most advanced technology often represents another characteristic, that is, "immaturity."

Creation 43 is the type that can be put into large-scale use. Its cost is only 350,000 per kilogram, its service life is about 1,300 hours, and its electrical efficiency is also good.

To use it, it needs to be used separately. Lu Xuedong’s team divided all the functions to be realized into 15 specific nanorobots.

When you need to use it, just follow the steps to construct it step by step, so the speed will be much slower.

To build a two-story building with an area of ​​100 square meters and a height of 8 meters, it takes about 273 minutes to create a 43 nanometer robot.

"The Ministry of Aerospace should be interested."

Lu Xuedong laughed: "Indeed, the Ministry of Space Affairs came for an inspection yesterday and planned to customize a batch of Creation 43 for testing on the moon."

Thank you for your support (ω｀)