The reception by the scientific community has been favorable. The detailed analyses show quantum chemists and synthetic chemists how to build upon their knowledge of bonds and molecules to develop the manufacturing systems of nanotechnology, and show physicists and engineers how to scale down their concepts of macroscopic systems to the level of molecules. This is the book for starting the next century of engineering. In short, Nanosystems provides the hard core of technical analysis around which a new field and a new technology will form. It provides a coherent picture of what molecular manufacturing can look like, and a coherent lower bound to the capabilities it will be able to achieve.
Every key equation is illustrated with a graph to aid intuition and understanding.
Several dozen molecular mechanisms are shown in full atomic detail, and the accompanying text describes their performance and function. The summary of molecular mechanics provides a clear picture of how atoms interact, and what interactions are important for molecular machinery. While Nanosystems provides only lower bounds on the performance of future systems, this lower bound is a quantum leap beyond today's technology and moves the discussion of what is possible into a new realm. It will take some time for the conclusions in Nanosystems to sink in, but sink in they will. Several discussion groups have already formed, and the debates on computer networks about nanotechnology have taken a refreshing turn for the better.