Nanotechnology in fiction

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The use of nanotechnology in fiction has attracted scholarly attention.^[1][2][3][4] The first use of the distinguishing concepts of nanotechnology was "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", a talk given by physicist Richard Feynman in 1959. K. Eric Drexler's 1987 book Engines of Creation introduced the general public to the concept of nanotechnology. Since then, nanotechnology has been used frequently in a diverse range of fiction, often as a justification for unusual or far-fetched occurrences featured in speculative fiction.^[5]

Notable examples

In 1881 the Russian writer Nikolai Leskov wrote The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea, which included the concept of text that can be seen only through a microscope at 5,000,000 times magnification.^[6].

In his 1956 short story "The Next Tenants", Arthur C. Clarke describes tiny machines that operate on a microscale (millionth of a meter). While these machines are not nanoscale (billionth of a meter), they are the first fictional example of the concepts now associated with nanotechnology. Robert Silverberg's 1969 short story "How It Was when the Past Went Away" describes nanotechnology being used in the construction of stereo loudspeakers, with a thousand speakers per inch.^[5].

Michael Crichton's novel Prey was one of the earliest nanotechnology-themed books to reach a mainstream audience and is a cautionary tale about the possible risks of developing nanotechnology.^[7] In Prey, a swarm of molecule-sized nanorobots develop intelligence and become a large scale threat.

Neal Stephenson's novel "The Diamond Age" is set in a world where nanotechnology is common. For example, nanotechnological warfare, nano-fabrication at the molecular scale and self-assembling islands all exist.

J. C. Lansing's series "The Anki" rebuilds the our entire world using nanobots given by an Ancient Sumerian God Enlil. Using this technology the author rewrites what magic is to science. The series will span from the next evolutionary step of humanity, to the possible end. The first book in the series; "The Book of Kur", tell us the struggles and changes of Steve (the main character)

References

1. ^ Colin Milburn, Nanovision: Engineering the Future, Duke University Press, 2008 ISBN 0-8223-4265-0
2. ^ "Tiny Tech, Transcendent Tech – Nanotechnology, Science Fiction, and the Limits of Modern Science Talk" by Daniel Patrick Thurs in Science Communication, Vol. 29, No. 1, 65–95 (2007)
3. ^ Bridging the Gaps: Science Fiction in Nanotechnology by José López in International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 10, No.2 (2004), pp. 129–152.
4. ^ "The Literature of Promises" by Chris Toumey in Nature Nanotechnology, Vol. 3, No. 4 (2008), pp. 180–181.
5. ^ ^{a b} Bly, Robert W., 2005, The Science In Science Fiction: 83 SF Predictions that Became Scientific Reality, BenBella Books, Inc., ISBN 1-932100-48-2.
6. ^ English translation of The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea, Сhapter the fourteenth: "If you had a better microscope that could magnify five million times," he said, "you would see that each gunsmith had put his name on the shoes he made so that you know which Russian craftsman made which shoe." Google Books. Russian original of Levsha
7. ^ Schwarz, James A., Contescu, Cristian I., Putyera, Karol, 2004, Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, CRC Press, ISBN 0-8247-5050-0.