This may seem like a silly question, but it's one that's been on my mind for
the past few days.

Will Nanotechnology give us the ability to rebuild Earth's crust so that
violent earthquakes are a thing of the past? Will we be able to prevent
future Tsunamis like the one that hit Southeast Asia a few days ago?

From:	Glenn Martin
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	31 Dec 2004 16:36:26 GMT

"Bootstrap Bill" wrote in message
news:cr2j2i0q4i@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> This may seem like a silly question, but it's one that's been on my mind
for
> the past few days.
>
> Will Nanotechnology give us the ability to rebuild Earth's crust so that
> violent earthquakes are a thing of the past? Will we be able to prevent
> future Tsunamis like the one that hit Southeast Asia a few days ago?
>
No. The pressures and heat in the crust would break down even the toughest
nano-machinery and devices. Earthquake-proofing buildings and crash-proofing
cars are much more doable. A small artificial gill tht fits on a necklace or
even an inhaler on same that coats the lungs with a hydrolytic membrane are
also much easier design tasks. (No. I don't know where the hydrogen would
go.)
In othere words, it would be easier to modify us than the Earth.

Glenn Martin

From:	Rory McLean
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	1 Jan 2005 00:53:11 GMT

In article , Glenn Martin
wrote:
>
>
> "Bootstrap Bill" wrote in message
> news:cr2j2i0q4i@enews4.newsguy.com...
> >
> > This may seem like a silly question, but it's one that's been on
> > my mind for the past few days.
> >
> > Will Nanotechnology give us the ability to rebuild Earth's crust so that
> > violent earthquakes are a thing of the past? Will we be able to prevent
> > future Tsunamis like the one that hit Southeast Asia a few days ago?
>
> No. The pressures and heat in the crust would break down even the toughest
> nano-machinery and devices. Earthquake-proofing buildings and crash-proofing
> cars are much more doable. A small artificial gill tht fits on a necklace or
> even an inhaler on same that coats the lungs with a hydrolytic membrane are
> also much easier design tasks. (No. I don't know where the hydrogen would
> go.)
> In othere words, it would be easier to modify us than the Earth.

There might be some possibilities...

Nanotech might make it a lot of easier to have a network of
sensors that would give effective warning of earthquakes.

Also, I understand that some research has been done on inducing
micro-quakes, by pumping water down into the place where the two
tectonic plates are rubbing against each other, to act as a
lubricant.

This isn't ideal, but it means that the energy is gradually
released, rather than all in one, very damaging burst. I'm pretty
sure nanotech could be used to at least help build a system to do
this.

Rebuilding the Earth's crust, until we fully understand it's
dynamics, is not a good idea. If you tried it, the energy might
build up to a much higher level, before being released in an
earthquake. Bad. Also, all the energy needed to do the rebuilding
would end up as heat, and that would have to go somewhere.

So, nanotech might help us better understand what's going on, and
adjust things a bit, but trying to fix things on a permanent
static basis, would be unadvisable.

As for modifying us, we would want to know more about exactly how
the human body works, before introducing things to our insides,
on anything more than a very short term basis. The suggested
membrane would also need to get the energy to work from
somewhere.

Some sort of general-purpose external nanotech tool, that people
could carry around, and would adapt itself to various problems, a
"nanotech swiss army knife", is a good idea though. As long as it
has a suitable dense, reliable, and safe power storage system
(solar power wont be suitable if sudden bursts of activity are
needed).

> Glenn Martin

--
Rory McLean
rory@romsys.demon.co.uk

From:	John S. Novak, III
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	3 Jan 2005 05:35:10 GMT

In article , Rory McLean wrote:

> There might be some possibilities...

> Nanotech might make it a lot of easier to have a network of
> sensors that would give effective warning of earthquakes.

_Our Molecular Future_ by Mulhall, is a science-disasturbation book
with at least a few passages on tsunami (and the soon to be if not
already fashionable megatsunami.) The point of the book is mostly
that things can go Seriously Wrong (at Any Time!) and nanotech can
make the early warning systems and evacuations and rebuilds as
painless as possible.

> Also, I understand that some research has been done on inducing
> micro-quakes, by pumping water down into the place where the two
> tectonic plates are rubbing against each other, to act as a
> lubricant.

My faith in current geoengineering to actually get this sort of thing
right and not induce total catastrophe might actually be less than
zero.

--
John S. Novak, III jsn@cegt201.bradley.edu
The Humblest Man on the Net

From:	Jimi
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	1 Jan 2005 18:09:18 GMT

I believe it will be possible to lock all the plates but a planetwide
cooling system would have to be put in place to prevent catastrophe on
a global scale. clearly, the world economy will not be able to
support a megaproject like this for many hundreds if not thousands of
years. by this time, of course, sufficient computing power will be
available to accurately design such a system.

From:	d.webb at mdx.ac.uk
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	13 Jan 2005 17:02:35 GMT

In article , Jimi writes:
>
>I believe it will be possible to lock all the plates but a planetwide
>cooling system would have to be put in place to prevent catastrophe on
>a global scale. clearly, the world economy will not be able to
>support a megaproject like this for many hundreds if not thousands of
>years. by this time, of course, sufficient computing power will be
>available to accurately design such a system.
>
Plate Tectonics is linked to atmospheric composition through the carbon cycle.
See http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~dilu/

Hence locking the plates would probably have a long term deleterious effect
on the biosphere.

Therefore as well as a global cooling system to ensure that you did not get
a continual pressure build up leading to an even more catastrophic outcome than
normal earthquakes you would also need to find a way of recycling carbon and
probably a number of other beneficial side-effects of plate tectonics.

David Webb
Middle University

From:	erincss
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	11 Jan 2005 01:30:13 GMT

>Jimi mraluminum

>I believe it will be possible to lock all the plates but a planetwide
>cooling system would have to be put in place to prevent catastrophe on
>a global scale.

Great point. If all of the plates were locked, and there was not a planetwide
cooling system, _SEVERE_ catastrophe could result. Remember the explosion of
Krypton in the fictional Superman genre? Something along those lines!

From:	Noah Arkwright
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	12 Jan 2005 17:31:09 GMT

Jimi wrote:

> I believe it will be possible to lock all the plates but a planetwide
> cooling system would have to be put in place to prevent catastrophe on
> a global scale. clearly, the world economy will not be able to
> support a megaproject like this for many hundreds if not thousands of
> years. by this time, of course, sufficient computing power will be
> available to accurately design such a system.
>

Earthquakes are caused by tectonic movement. Techtonic movement is
caused by the movement of molten materials beneath the earth's crust. If
you wanted to stop earthquakes, you would have to stop the energy source
driving them. I dont think nanotech would be enough to even slow the
huge energies pushing things around the core of the earth. Even if it
was possible, it would seriously affect magentic readings (compasses),
as well as probably having significant affects on global temperatures.

From:	Denis Loubet
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	4 Jan 2005 03:33:27 GMT

"Bootstrap Bill" wrote in message
news:cr2j2i0q4i@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> This may seem like a silly question, but it's one that's been on my mind
> for
> the past few days.
>
> Will Nanotechnology give us the ability to rebuild Earth's crust so that
> violent earthquakes are a thing of the past? Will we be able to prevent
> future Tsunamis like the one that hit Southeast Asia a few days ago?

Ok, how's this:

Create a world-wide atmospheric utility fog. Such a thing would amount to
total weather control. It would be able to absorb or reflect sunlight as
needed, and so dampen out hurricanes, tornados, and many other atmospheric
effects. It should also be able to sense a tsunami, and act to dampen it out
as it travels across a sea by simply pressing on the wave, or creating a
counterwave to cancel it out. If a utility fog can operate underwater, and I
don't see why not, then tsunamis would be a thing of the past.

Such a utility fog would not be able to do much about volcanoes or
earthquakes, but might be able to provide temporary external structural
support to endangered buildings during and after a quake.

Of course, in addition, you get all the benefits of a ubiquitous utility
fog.

How's that for insane?

--
Denis Loubet
dloubet@io.com
http://www.io.com/~dloubet

From:	erincss
Subject:	Re: Nanotechnology and earthquakes
Date:	7 Jan 2005 02:18:59 GMT

Excellent posts! Furthermore, true MNT could be used to sheathe individual
bodies with tremendously strong armoring that is also flexible, and even able
to keep someone afloat IF they were the victim of water pulling them under and
out into the sea. PS Such a suit could also be proof against the natural teeth
of sharks, and, the compressing force of their jaws. True?