The word ‘nanotechnology’ covers a broad range of scientific and technical disciplines. Fortunately, it will not be necessary to consider each separately in order to discuss the global catastrophic risks of nanotechnology, because most of them, which we will refer to collectively as nanoscale technologies, do not appear to pose significant global catastrophic risks. One discipline, however, which we will refer to as molecular manufacturing, may pose several risks of global scope and high probability. The ‘nano’ in nanotechnology refers to the numeric prefix, one-billionth, as applied to length: most structures produced by nanotechnology are conveniently measured in nanometres. Because numerous research groups, corporations, and governmental initiatives have adopted the word to describe a wide range of efforts, there is no single definition; nanotechnology fits loosely between miniaturization and chemistry. In modern usage, any method of making or studying sufficiently small structures can claim, with equal justice, to be considered nanotechnology. Although nanoscale structures and nanoscale technologies have a wide variety of interesting properties, most such technologies do not pose risks of a novel class or scope. Interest in nanotechnology comes from several sources. One is that objects smaller than a few hundred nanometres cannot be seen by conventional microscopy, because the wavelength of visible light is too large. This has made such structures difficult to study until recently. Another source of interest is that sufficiently small structures frequently exhibit different properties, such as colour or chemical reactivity, than their larger counterparts. A third source of interest, and the one that motivates molecular manufacturing, is that a nanometre is only a few atoms wide: it is conceptually (and often practically) possible to specify and build nanoscale structures at the atomic level. Most nanoscale technologies involve the use of large machines to make tiny and relatively simple substances and components. These products are usually developed to be integral components of larger products. As a result, the damage that can be done by most nanoscale technologies is thus limited by the means of production and by the other more familiar technologies with which it will be integrated; most nanoscale technologies do not, in and of themselves, appear to pose catastrophic risks, though the new features and augmented power of nano-enabled products could exacerbate a variety of other risks.
Global Catastrophic Risks
Annotate
Get help with access
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.