If the final product of nanotechnology is any nanoscopic device then quantum electronic devices satisfy the criteria for being called so. As the properties of those products depend on how the atoms are arranged, the Solid State Physics approach aims at building atomically precise structures at Angstrom scale. Whether quantum electronics can deliver such a device remains a challenging question. Moreover, another essential element of the envisaged nanotechnology products is their motility. The intent of this robotic arm specification is a device demonstrating the controlled motions needed to manipulate and assemble individual atoms or molecules into larger structures, with atomic precision.
Physical experiments are quite tedious at nanometer level even with the advanced present technology.
Then the goal of understanding how nanomachines might work within known and well understood physical laws is competitively pursued through computational nanotechnology. Molecular modeling, using either quantum or molecular mechanics, can be used to probe nanomachines that might soon be developed. The best example in computational nanotechnology might be the work performed at NASA Ames Research Center published in a recent issue of Nanotechnology Journal . The paper presents a molecular dynamics simulation of a pair of molecular gears virtually constructed from carbon nanotubes with benzyne gearing teeth grown on the cylindrical surface. Eric Drexler , the director of Foresight Institute, promoted the idea of self-assembling systems of molecules that could act as molecular machines.