Its an often heard cry, what does nanotechnology offer the developing world? Well, development is not just about nanotechnology, it requires the application of science and technology across the board, not just in one area, as recently reported by the United Nations. Before you can do very much there are the basics of energy, water and health to consider. Without solutions in those areas any other technological progress will be impossible.
Of course nanotechnology may hold the key to unlock some solutions, but it is not a solution in its own right. Even the most futuristic of tabletop assemblers will require a power source before they start churning out the mythical steak sandwiches as in this ancient example of food processing taken to nightmarish limits.
Let’s say you’ve ordered a juicy 8-oz steak, medium rare. Following Drexler’s “exemplar manufacturing system” (Ref. 10), a 6-kg population of 1017 nanorobots fills a volume of 3000 cubic centimeters and assembles the steak in 4 seconds. The work volume is flushed clear, the atmosphere replaced. The force field lifts, and there’s your sizzling steak on a plate, ready to eat… By 2100 AD, farming will be an historical curiosity.