“There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” is a lecture, which was given on December 29th 1959. The presenter was Richard P. Feynman who was a famous physicist. Feynman’s lecture had several sections, which include the problem of manipulating and controlling things on a small scale, and there may be certain advantages to making elements smaller. It is a great exploration to lead technology to advanced level. Feynman played an important role in nanotechnology. He is a pilot to give the path into new concept. Feynman’s idea seems to achieve the maximum density in a limited space. Before accomplishing the purpose, there are many obstacles to be overcome.
First of all, Feynman mentioned how far miniaturization has progressed today. The example he used in his lecture was to write the entire 24 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica on the head of a pin. No doubt, minimizing things would have been difficult in the past, but it is not the only challenge. To minimize things was not just making the scale become small. The following step would have been to make sure it could work. Feynman expressed that by using an optical microscope running backwards, it could demagnify the image. However, this proposition presented some intensity problems. For example, using a beam of focus light on a piece of paper, it could burn the paper. The other issue was getting everything else on a small scale without loss of resolution. It seems a very big challenge.
Feynman clarified the topic, as “There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom “not just” There is Room at the Bottom,” which means that the critical point is scale. When the scale of items is getting smaller, the same volume can contain more elements. If the capacity is huge, then there is no reason to waste the bottom space. Since the space is limited, the goal is to achieve the maximum of capacity.
Feynman presented an interesting idea in considering such small machines. It is not an easy work to make the tiny model move as a real one. There will be several problems, which need to be solved. For instance, the magnetic properties on a tiny scale are not equal to a large scale, and the problems are also connected to the electrical part of the system. The electrical equipment is not easy to scale down. The problems of manufacture of reproduction of substances will be completely different. These issues imply the need, which to redesign to work again, and mechanics will figure out the solution in the future.
In this lecture Feynman introduced the small scale to students, which creates a research field in science. Feynman has this great idea to reduce the size; it is a hint to help scientists discover nanotechnology. The possibility of manipulation and control of small objects does not violate the physics principle, and we may need to think about the atomic scale. In the same production line and time consuming, there may even be an economic benefit to this business of making things very tiny and small. When we have the ability to manipulate materials on an atomic or molecular scale, we might have chance to move forward to advanced level. Moreover, we may find out many novel phenomena in the tiny world.
留言列表
