Na to Nd

The use of automatic government and law-enforcement by nanomachines or robots, without any human control

a distributed system of nanodevices and structures constructed by them that self-organizes in a bottom-up manner without any central control; in analogy with ecology. Sometimes used to denote the entire nanosphere of a world, even when parts of it are under top-down control.

generic term for a molecular or nanoscale device. A nanite may be biological (bionano) or mechanical (dry nano). The latter are also called nanobots.

Nanite soap is a active bionano cleaning product used among during bionts who bathe.

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Nanotech Startup Companies, early Interplanetary age

The Nannies were the brash new fad of their day, and investors threw money at them. The mood was not unlike Silicon Valley during the late atomic / early information age computer revolution in the end 20th century; although in this case it might be more properly called "diamond orbital" since most are located on the Space Habitats, with a few on the Moon and Mars and the remainder on Earth. Most companies were fairly small and relied on automated engineering expert systems. Designs were constructed and first tested virtually by nanotechnologists and their software, then built physically (and usually the designs had to return to a virtual version several time before the bugs were fixed). Entire nanotech labs could be housed in a suitcase, although the extra equipment tend to require well-stocked macroscale labs. Companies like NanoAssemblage Holdings, Mymach, Mechanosynthetic Systems Inc, DrexTech and TRI Supermolecular Chemistry Department Inc. scrambled to explore what could be done with nanotechnology when the main limitations have been overcome. They were not so much competing as co-evolving (being first with something is more important than being the only one with it after a few weeks). Many experts moved freely between the companies.

NanoAdhesives Board - an industry-wide agency amongst the NoCoZo, it regulates and approves nanoadhesives for compatibility with a sheaf of publicized standards.

Common replacement for normal means of bodily cleansing such as showers nano bathhouses are found on many worlds.

a thin film material which prevents nanotic devices affecting it, or penetrating it.

a nanoscale robot, capable of picking up single atoms and placing them with atomic precision to build molecular components.

There are a number of ways nanobots could be powered, and are powered from clade to clade and polity to polity. Some possibles include (but are not limited to)

• glucose burning (tiny alcohol engines, at an atomic scale. Or ATP, or any other high-energy chemical)
• beamed energy (e.g. solar cells at basically a molecular level)
• flywheel delivery systems (little wheels spinning very fast, spun up or down via mag inductance, on mag bearings and in vacuum bubbles - inside an aerostat nano's float, for instance)
• For all its limitations, brownian motion (just for the technical challenge, perhaps, or because they've got a limited database, or because their AI's somewhat perverse)

Hylonano or bionano devices existing inside living cells, participating in their biochemistry (like mitochondria) and/or assembling various structures. A type of nanosome.

A biont heavily enhanced with nanotechnological subsystems, beyond mere symbiotic parts like nanochondria or nanofabricated implants.

The design of materials and goods using nanotechnology.

Catastrophic event caused by out of control nanoswarms that almost destroyed terragen life and civilization (at least in the Sol System).

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layers of dead nanomachinery sedimenting in the dust, on the bottom of lakes and elsewhere.

One who designs or programmes assemblers or nano-devices, or designs functional structures on the atomic scale. nanoengineering is based on applications from quantum mechanics, applied thermodynamics, chemistry, MEMS, mesotech, robotics, and swarm theory. Most nanoengineers are cyborgs or vecs who incorporate extensive pragmatic nanoborg augmentations, and generally work in a specific field of application, or as dedicated sophonts for a higher toposophic. Contrast with nanohacker.

nanofabrication unit, autofab, autovac, matter compiler.

The fabrication of goods, especially but not necessarily macroscale items, using nanotechnology. Fabrication may occur on a large industrial scale, or from a small personal autofab unit

The danger, although slight, is always present that nanodust or loose nanite assemblers may become predators on the tame nanite population... Eventually, a nanoswarm, if it is not cared for...

Fever resulting from nanoinfection or response

One who designs or programs assemblers or other nano-devices, usually for the love of it, but sometimes for profit.

Optimization of a polity, asteroid, moon, planet, star system, or empire, for nanodesign and nanofacture on a large scale. Most (but not all) of the old core capitals and inner sphere and regional power centers are heavily nanoindustrialized.

musical instruments on the nanoscale

generic term for a microscopic or molecular mechanical (non-biotic) device, for example a hylonanite or nanobot. It is important to note that nanomachines (and indeed nanites in general) do not have to be nanoscale; they may simply be microscale machines that can manipulate nanoscale objects.

- this small (3cc tube) contains the feedstock, CPU, power supply, demarcation tool, and remote control for a nanoswarm designed to clean up an area. It was only recommended to only be used to clean non-porous materials, as some of the nanites involved may enter pores and, encountering unexpected materials, cause structural damage, but later versions changed this with better 3D location modes (using 4 transmitters that the device would extrude, allowing for 3d location finding among the nanites).
In the original modality of this device, an area was 'demarked' with a special marker (often capped at one end of the device). This deployed a barrier material - often a complex hydrocarbon with a low rate of evaporation. The user 'drew' the area to be cleaned (carefully avoiding any cracks or crevices), being certain to 'close the loop'. They then put the pen in the middle of the area, hit the activate button, and carefully avoided touching the area for approximately 15 minutes, or until a red light on the controller
turned green.
At that time, all non-standard materials (as determined by the object the pen was in contact with) were atomically disassociated, with non- safe materials being fullerene-encapsulated or oxidized, whichever had the least toxic side effect.
After a very brief period of time for initial processing of environmental conditions, the "nanomaid" nanites trooped out and were spread out until the boundary conditions were detected and mapped. At which point, the 'streams' of nanites (often looking like crystalline threads) used a fractal space-filling modality to cover the surface and begin work. As material was encountered it was drawn into the container where it was either oxidized or encapsulated, as need be. These waste products often were drawn into a diamondoid bubble (created from atmospheric CO2) for ease of handling and disposal.
There were significant safety issues with such devices, leading to early accidents when the boundary was improperly drawn (including porous materials or not closing the boundary into a single loop) or when non-trash materials were found in the delimited area.
Additionally, there were incidents in which nanomaids were used to destroy criminal evidence to various degrees of efficiency.
Once this was noticed by authorities, it was banned and made illegal in many polities. Eventually, with enhanced computronium, a later version was made as a compromise with authorities. It stored data on all materials destroyed prior to destruction, and used a complex series of data filters to help determine when it was being used in a less-than-legal manner.
One early false-positive was the scrambling of a fast-reaction police squad to the site of a Cannibal Court ceremony, in which carefully designed, non-sentient human stock was slaughtered for mass consumption as part of the 'high rites' of the religious organization.
With the advent of yet more computronium resources, an improved power source, uninterruptable communication with the local angelnet, and other similar procedures, nanomaid devices became part of most angelnet deployments to be used in conjunction with macroscopic fog manipulators to handle sterilization and cleansing.

The use of nanites to repair damage and boost the biont immune system.

Using industrial and assembler nanotech to manufacture of specific metals or metallic configurations on the molecular scale.

Popular cybernetic (or occasionally bioborg) implant, common among medium-tech biont clades, and those who like to do their own engineering and surgery. Nanonails consist of telescoping, fractal nano-manipulators that extend from the ends of the user's regular digits.

Mental disorder affecting some sophonts.

On, or working with or at, the scale of individual molecules. A nanometer is 10^-9 meters, which is the width of five carbon atoms. A baseline human hair, by way of comparison, is about 85,000 nanometers in diameter.

nanotech seed, a self-contained and sealed capsule containing assemblers and replicators pre-programmed with templates or instructed. The seed is "planted" on a substrate, and activated with energy or a nutrient spray. It then grows into the desired product, using locally acquired resources and ambient energy (e.g. sunlight) or - in the case of some large nanoseeds, a small amat battery

Generic term for any nanodevices (whether hylo or bio) existing symbiotically inside biological cells, doing mechanosynthesis and disassembly for it and replicating with the cell.

Generally, the part of a - usually nanoindustrialised or nanodeveloped - world (or more rarely habitat) that is pervaded or saturated by nanodevices - the realm of nano-interaction. Angelnets for example constitute a nanosphere

bionano or hylonano augment or application that completely covers the wearer/user's skin, forming a second dermal layer, and providing environmental protection and intelligence augmentation

the designing and manufacturing of products (whether on the nano, meso, micro, or macro scale) with atomic precision, literally atom by atom; that body of technology in which products and other objects are created through the manipulation of atoms and molecules; the use and application of nanites and biological and mechanical nanobots.

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"Mix and match designs. Trade with your friends. Build monsters and stomp space colonies to dust."
satirical advertisement from the period.

a molecular-sized transistor

Elongated fullerene carbon molecule of a tubular configuration, nanotubes are cylinders of graphite one atom thick that are 10 times stronger than steel and a fraction of the weight.

O class supergiant in the far outskirts of NoCoZo.

NP's are data files that have a similar affect on non biological sapients as narcotic chemicals have on humans.

Maker and distributer of various nanite based cleansing agents.

Bioist/mysticist sect during the early consolidation era that espoused dualism and that aioids lacked inner experience.

The process by which certain traits or qualities in an organism (whether biological or alife) are favoured (able to best survive), and hence randomly selected by local environmental pressures. This leads to changes in the genetic makeup of the species and, eventually, to a new species.

A naturally occurring singularity is a very rare event occurs when a toposophic level equal or greater than S=1 is achieved by a living species without the use of technology.

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