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In conventional chemical synthesis or chemosynthesis, reactive molecules encounter one another through random thermal motion in a liquid or vapor. In mechanosynthesis, reactive molecules are attached to molecular mechanical systems, and their encounters result from mechanical motions bringing them together in planned sequences, positions, and orientations. Mechanosynthesis can avoid unwanted reactions by keeping potential reactants apart, and can strongly favor desired reactions by holding reactants together in optimal orientations for many molecular vibration times.

Mechanosynthetic systems resemble some biological mechanisms (and primitive forms of mechanosynthesis have been performed using scanning tunneling scraping electron microscopes). So far, early molecular engineering has relied on such devices.

Broader exploitation of mechanosynthesis awaits more advanced technology for constructing molecular machine systems - including a molecular assembler or precursors thereof.

It has been suggested, notably by K. Eric Drexler, that mechanosynthesis will be fundamental to molecular manufacturing based on nanofactories capable of building macroscopic objects with atomic precision. The potential for these is disputed by some, most notably Nobel Laurate Richard Smalley, leading to a famous dispute between the two of them - see nanotechnology.

In part to resolve this and related questions about the dangers of industrial accident s and runaway events equivalent to Chernobyl and Bhopal, and the more remote issue of ecophagyAs originally coined and first defined by Robert Freitas, the term ecophagy means, literally, the consuming of an ecosystem. Thus global ecophagy is the consumption of the entire worldwide ecosphere, for instance, by out-of-control self-replicating nanoro, grey gooGrey goo refers, usually in a science fictional context, to a hypothetical human extinction event involving nanotechnology, in which out-of-control virus-like self-replicating robots consume all life on Earth while building more of themselves (a scenario and green goo (various potential disasters arising from runaway replicators, which could be built using mechanosynthesis) the UK Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. The Royal Irish Academy, founded in 1782, is also closely affiliated with it. The Royal Society of Edinburgh (founded 1783) is a separate S and UK Royal Academy of Engineering in 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U commissioned a study to deal with these issues and larger social and ecological implications, led by mechanical engineeringMechanical engineering is the application of physical principles to the creation of useful devices, objects and machines. Mechanical engineers use principles such as heat, force, and the conservation of mass and energy to analyze static and dynamic physic professorA professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. Overview Professors give lectures and seminars in their field of study, such as science or literature. They also do advanced research in their fields and are supposed to d Ann Dowling . This was anticipated by some to take a strong position on these problems and potentials - and suggest any development path to a general theory of so-called mechanosynthesis.

However, the Royal Society's nanotech reportThe Royal Society's nanotech report was inspired by Prince Charles' concerns about nanotechnology, including molecular manufacturing. However, the report spent almost no time on molecular manufacturing. In fact, the word "Drexler" appears only once in the did not address molecular manufacturing at all, except to dismiss it along with gray goo.

See also: chemosynthesis