Talk:X prize proposals

From Wise Nano

Basic diamondoid-building capabilities  by 212.163.218.32 21:07, 6 Dec 2004 (CST)

I'm enthusiastic about Dr. Freitas proposal of focusing the MNT X-Prize on a diamond-building tool tip. I think that the most important point is how to make the challenge as temptatingly easy as possible while retaining the demand to develop the most basic and crucial technological steps so that future development based on the work of the winning team is fast and straightforward.

In that spirit, I ask, is it possible that even Dr. Freitas' reasonable proposal is too ambitious? I'm worried about the requirements to recharge the tool. I think I've read that a hydrogen abstraction tool would be needed for that purpose, at least if the dimer deposition tool is the one recently described by Dr. Freitas. Is that correct? Wouldn't it be a bit too difficult for such a short time frame?

If the rechargeability turned out to be too much to ask for a start, then it would make little sense to demand that a copy of the tool be built. What should be required instead in this case? I would suggest three things:

1) Ability to build individual, arbitrary-shaped diamondoid elements like beams, plates, blocks and fastening devices (nuts and bolts) within certain size limits, on demand, in a reasonable time (but no matter how painstakingly).

2) A manipulator arm that can stick those diamondoid elements together under human direction to build arbitrary structures within certain (microscale or bigger) size limits. It must be made of diamondoid elements, so it must be able to build a copy of itself.

3) Ability to create all the site-specific covalent bonds (other than the dimer deposition) which may be needed for the eventual development of the recycling mechanism. I'm thinking of covalent bonds between diamond and transition metals, for the hydrocarbon "metabolism" described by Merkle, and the like.

Martin Baldan