Matter reorganization

Matter is just particles. "Quarks and leptons," as Lee says, also in chapter six. The ability to manipulate matter at its constituent level is not very advanced at the moment, but there is no fundamental reason why we can't do so more effectively with improved technology. Since there are only a few kinds of these elementary particles, theoretically you could break down atoms and then reconstruct them in any fashion you choose. Or extract the energy from atoms in a friendlier way than nuclear chain reaction. The possibilities of this kind of technology are endless.

Amazingly, scientists such as Ray Kurzweil believe that the exponential advance in human understanding of the world, combined with a similar advance in computing technology, will allow us to take control of matter much sooner than we might think. In the beginning computers were designed--slowly--by humans, but now we use computers to design computers, and it seems likely that technological advances will continue to come sooner and sooner. As long as we don't destroy ourselves first.

Nanotechnology is discussed further in my new novel, The God Particle.

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