Damian Allis

Ringing in 2026 with a very big/very small deal. #apm #apf #nanotech #mechanosynthesis #stm #cbn arxiv.org/abs/2512.24431

The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (March-April 2026) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure in English, Italian, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese at astropublishing.com.

@organoidinajar @BagOfNeurons arxiv.org/abs/2505.05693 - the heat dissipation assessment on page 18 for the design (and similar) was good for a chuckle - and for reminding us to mention the many benefits of reversible computing at this scale (h/t @MikePFrank). And, maybe, "don't do that."

@BagOfNeurons But I also find it scary that there is a limit on how much nanotechnology we can have on earth ☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

Holy shit. I've never thought about it like this. If we don't invent new biome/terraforming technologies, most nanomachinery is going to have to be in space

@MarkFriedenbach @MojaveCrow @BagOfNeurons We're closer to the you-know-it's-gonna-happen competition between the nanomechanical equivalents of AC/DC or VHS/Beta than we've ever been. But the ideas have brought about some innovations, which have definitely been a long time in coming. And @nealstephenson always FTW.

@MojaveCrow @BagOfNeurons @somewhereville I'm not sure glacial pace is fair.. it took that long for base capabilities to reach levels necessary for bootstrapping APM. But now that we're there, expect exponential progress!

Just got Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age". Lets see if I can fall in love with molecular nanotech even more this weekend.

Backing out 18 orders of magnitude from the last post, the most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (January-February 2026) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure in English, Italian, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese at astropublishing.com #astronomy

It's an absolute treasure trove of olde school theory software!

The computational chemistry advisor some people never had, available (here, on USB) in its entirety from @jlabanow with the closure of active contributions to ccl.net. The community has been and remains highly appreciative. server.ccl.net/cgi-bin/ccl/bu…

@valitev @philipturnerar @mechadense I respect the perspective. But, given how inexpensive this isn't, there's going to be a lot of expectation-tempering to be had on the road to broad accessibility.

@philipturnerar @mechadense @somewhereville while the elites are slowing down. Enthusiasts step on the gas. That's good, because that's how replicators get to the people. I really wish they were open-source and accessible to everyone.

Ringing in 2026 with a very big/very small deal. #apm #apf #nanotech #mechanosynthesis #stm #cbn arxiv.org/abs/2512.24431

@valitev @philipturnerar @mechadense Groundbreaking tech will rise + fall before we get near the address of this for replicators. The US NNI rollout is a history lesson in the unexpected consequences of a community wanting A and getting B when it gets to legislation (which is really, really important).

@InternetH0F Ben Burtt's father (Sr.) was a highly regarded prof. in the @SyracuseU Chemistry Dept. (my alma mater). It was reported by a few profs during my time there that the 4th floor of Bowne Hall (pumps, a/c, etc.) was the background sound of the Death Star.

How the iconic Star Wars blaster sound effect was made

@mechadense @philipturnerar Invited book chapter, excited to be committing my aged perspective on aspects of the field to the written word. Also currently too long. But will def. keep posted.

@somewhereville @philipturnerar Curious about more details.

@philipturnerar And I continue to appreciate that you appreciate it. From a chemical perspective, there is definitely a needle being threaded.

@somewhereville I am surprised you can get a current at all. Both surfaces are insulating. Bias voltages are an incredible 3 V, almost like the field-emission level voltages to image diamond with STM (5 V).

@mechadense @philipturnerar Been writing in the background a little about this for another project. It will be interesting to watch the "dual-use dilemma v2" debates over APM play out as [it/those times] approach, especially having seen how it's gone for AI in the past two years.

@philipturnerar @somewhereville In fact I came to the belief that an "oh 💩 it happened moment" is and will stay astronomically unlikely for all of the bootstrapping pathways. Not for averting regulations. Regulations should & do address real near term risks. Like release of poisonous chemicals in early 🧑‍🔬🧪s.

@austinhill Many thanks, Austin!

@somewhereville Congratulations on the paper being released Damian.

@MarkFriedenbach A small nudge for the entire field. And appreciated!

@somewhereville Congrats on getting it out!

@philipturnerar Do me a favor, Philip. Save this stuff for your own feed.

@somewhereville ...and a grim foreshadowing of what happens when anyone on Earth can get their hands on replicative technologies.

@SOPHONTSIMP Correct - a molecular tool deposited on a surface and accessed under positional control. Classic(al) mechanosynthesis. The molecular tools are based on R+R's single-bridgehead-atom tool designs.

@somewhereville Quick question, what’s the major differences between this and Zyvex’s hydrogen depassivation lithography? Is it that it’s more like the Habst tool from the minimal toolset thing.

@SOPHONTSIMP Well put.

@somewhereville Oh shit

And very limited commentary - somewhereville.com/2026/01/01/inv…

@BjarturTomas You need to meet some hipper chemists.