ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

NanoTechnology 199
finger tips to realize Feymans vision of molecular manipulation. Rudimentary
nanomanipulation has already been described. Ringger and colleagues (1985)
have described STM nanolithography: atomic scale surface etching. Becker,
Golovchenko and Swartzentruber (1987) of Bell Labs have reported a single atom
modification of the surface of a nearly perfect germanium crystal by the tungsten
tip of an STM. They conclude that manipulation of atomic sized structures on
surfaces will lead to “new frontiers in high density memories, new devices whose
electrical properties are dominated by quantum-size effects, and modification of
single, self replicating molecules,”—supporting the earlier predictions of
Schneiker. In its first few years, STM has imaged single atoms, probed atomic
forces, manipulated atoms, and won a Nobel prize. Eventually STMs and their
spinoffs may enable researchers to alter and communicate with genes, viruses,
proteins, cytoskeletal assemblies, and perhaps biomolecular consciousness.
Figure 10.7: Nanotechnology workstation is envisioned as a synergistic
combination of multiple STM tips mounted in an optical microscope. By Paul
Jablonka (Schneiker and Hameroff, 1987).