Engines of Creation

'Engines of Creation is by far the best book I have seen about the consequences of new technologies. It is ambitious and imaginative and, best of all, the thinking is technically sound.' Marvin Minsky, Donner Professor of Science, MIT

Engines of Creation addresses the coming revolution in machine building, the new found technology which will enable us to construct machines a thousand times smaller than a microchip or the same size as an enzyme. The field of 'nano-technology' (nano- means the billionth part) will revolutionise research into all areas of our lives from within the heart of the living cell to the depths of space itself. These machines will be able to analyse and construct virtually anything that can be conceived, atomic layer by atomic layer. Machines might be programmed for example to enter individual human cells and repair damage to destroy diseases, even prevent the very processes of ageing. Or small machines could be sent into outer space to construct space ships or complex scientific equipment out of basic ingredients that need be nothing more than earth and air. Beyond belief? Eric Drexler is never less than entirely convincing in his look forward to the next technological revolution.