Eventually, we will be designing tiny devices so that every atom is there for a particular reason.
History is a graveyard of futuristic visions that fell flat.
But scientists and engineers across a spectrum of disciplines agree that the ability to miniaturize everything from microchips to motors will define the next technological age the way transistors and chips have come to characterize the present era. What makes this so compelling is its feasibility. Science is already well on its way into this invisibly small landscape, most notably in an emerging new field known as MEMS, short for micro-electromechanical systems. If you haven't heard of them yet, you will. MEMS represent the marriage of supersmall computer chips with tiny sensors, probes, lasers and actuators.