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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Industrial Grade Nano-Paste, Planet's most valuable commodity, can also be one of its most dangerous. Simply pour out several canisters, slide in a programming transponder, and step well away while the stuff cooks. In under an hour the nano will use available materials to assemble a small factory, a hovertank, or enough impact rifles to equip a regiment."''
|'''Col. Corazon Santiago - "Planet: A Survivalist's Guide"''', ''[[Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri]]''}}
In Latin, ''nanus'' means "dwarf". In science, the prefix ''nano-'' means "one billionth" of something. Nanotechnology is technology on a scale of 1-100 nanometers (1 nanometer being one billionth of a meter.)
For a long scale of sizes see e.g. [http://www.falstad.com/scale/ here]. But of what's relevant to nanoscale construction - a hydrogen atom is about <ref>on this scale things don't ''look'' blurry, they ''actually are'' quite blurry</ref> 0.1 nanometers across, ribosomes <ref>the part of a cell that builds proteins to received arbitrary data</ref> are around 20 (prokaryotic) to almost 30 (eukaryotic) nm long; [https://web.archive.org/web/20160809135552/http://classes.midlandstech.edu/carterp/courses/bio225/chap04/lecture2.htm bacteria] are in range of 200-2000 nm; visible light has a wavelength of 400-800 nm, a human cell nucleus is about 1700 <ref>it holds [https://web.archive.org/web/20160216134617/http://bitesizebio.com/8378/how-much-information-is-stored-in-the-human-genome/ about 1.5 Gb]] worth of raw data - but note that it's ''the whole'' storage unit (though there's also another vital, but self-contained unit - in mitochondria), and in a form optimized for several uses and, shall we say, viable level of resilience, not for sheer density</ref>, and a human hair is about 100,000 nm wide. Which gives a good idea of limitations and complexity involved - and raises a question of at which point you have a nanorobot if you start with "cyborgizing" some bacteria.
Nanotechnology has become an all-purpose [[A Wizard Did It|magic]] substitute for soft science fiction and sci-fi-flavored fantasy. Nano is the latest [[Sci Fi Name Buzzwords]]; it is the new pseudo-Greek for [[Phlebotinum Du Jour|phlebotinum]]. Nanotech supplies a myriad of exciting powers with a satisfying patina of plausibility.
In an apparent contradiction, nanotechnology leads to interesting plots and settings in [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness|hard science fiction.]] If one could make a tiny robot
Once you have a vast mass of these robots, all ready to accept orders and shuffle stuff around at the molecular level, they can potentially do anything nature does and much, much more. Real-life nanomachine research is being done in areas such as medicine, manufacturing, and chemical engineering.
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Note that real-life physics puts constraints on what nanomachines could accomplish; for instance, without some source of energy, they will just sit there being molecules, or at best work veeeery slowly using ambient energy. But most writers [[Did Not Do the Research|rarely study the subject in any detail]]; it's easier to just use them as [[Green Rocks]] that can do anything the plot requires.
One reasonably common science-fiction scenario involves nanomachines being programmed to build copies of themselves using materials in their environment. If not stopped, such nanobots could theoretically grow exponentially, turning all available material on Earth into more nanobots and ending life as we know
Because it is so powerful, in settings where science is ''inherently'' bad expect nanotech to be right up there on the [[Scale of Scientific Sins]].
Nanotech is a fairly common cause for the drastic scenario called [[The Singularity]]. The concepts of supply and demand change utterly when humanity becomes capable of mass-producing machinery that can turn anything into anything, ensuring supply is as close to infinite as is possible. And our basic nature is thrown up into the air once we direct nanites to work on ''us''.
Nanites themselves will usually either be [[Sliding Scale of Robot Intelligence|dumb as bricks]], or [[Hive Mind|networked into a fully sentient mass]]. Some works may invoke [[Mechanical Evolution]] to make the nanomachines smarter/better/deadlier.
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* The Otome from ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' receive their powers via nanomachine injections; they self-destruct when the female body's [[Virgin Power|exposed to semen.]]
* The series ''[[Kiddy Grade]]'' bases a lot of technology on "Nano-mist"
** ''[[Kiddy Grade]]'' kicks [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]] in the teeth throughout the series, and explains ''everything'' by [[Hand Wave|handwaving]] some nonsense about nanomachines. While changing clothes in seconds or maybe even the "make a whip out of lipstick" trick are somewhat old hat, one pair of characters ''[[You Fail Physics Forever|has the nanomachine-induced physics-warping superpower]] [[Gravity Sucks|of manipulating black holes with their bare hands]]''.
** It was however suggested in-story (and confirmed in the sequel) that this is malarkey even inside the story; the ES members' abilities are not nanomachine-powered, but in fact seem to be actual (possibly Clarkian) magic.
* In ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' exposure to terraforming nanomachines had an interesting effect on humans born on Mars. "Image Feedback System" Nanomachines were also used to interface with various machinery. On Mars, IFS nanomachines were required for pretty much any heavy equipment, but on Earth they served only as the [[Unusual User Interface]] for [[Humongous Mecha]] and other military vehicles. This led to Martian civilian Akito getting a lot of flak from [[The So-Called Coward|Earth-natives who assumed he was a military deserter]], and eventually getting [[The Call Knows Where You Live|press-ganged]] into piloting.
* ''[[Getter Robo]]'' [[Hand Wave|hand waves]] its [[Transforming Mecha]] in the Armageddon OVA by attributing the transformations to nanomachines.
* ''[[Turn
** And they allow teleportation, regeneration and more.
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00
* ''[[Gunnm]]'''s Dr. Desty Nova is a specialist in Nanotechnology, and uses nanomachines to almost
* Taken to quite an extreme in ''[[Black Cat (
* The plot of the ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' movie centers on these devices, which it frames as proteins that {{spoiler|make its victims see thousands of butterflies before asphyxiating them nearly instantly.}}
* In ''[[Trinity Blood]]'', the Crusniks are super-powered über-vampires who feed on vampire blood. They transform from human form into Crusnik by activating the nanomachines in their blood.
* ''[[Sky Girls]]'' has nanomachines as the focus of the entire story. [[Monster of the Week]]? Nanomachines originally built to cure medical problems gone rogue. Pilots wearing [[Latex Space Suit]]? They are protected by nanomachine armor that only lasts ten minutes
* ''[[Strike Witches]]'', a show quite similar to ''[[Sky Girls]]'', features the alien [[Grey Goo]] version of this as ''all'' of the [[Monster of the Week|Monsters of the Week]].
* [[Theme Naming|Foo Fighters]] from ''[[
* In ''[[Ghost in
** Though, being written before "nano" became a popular buzzword they're called ''micro'' -machines.
*** If it collects substances that inevitably and spontaneously explode into fragments far too energetic to contain on its scale, it ''needs'' massive redundancy.
* Viluy from ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' attacks with nanomachines. {{spoiler|After one of Sailor Moon's attacks causes them to malfunction, they turn on their creator.}}
* Yami from ''[[To
** As expected of an Eve-expy.
** And now Yami has a 'younger sister', Mea Kurosaki with the same powers, presumably from the same source.
* In ''[[Blassreiter]]'', Amalgams/Demoniacs are created by nanomachines.
* In ''[[
* Pretty much the reason a [[School Shock|Vanguard]] is a [[Super Soldier|superior fighter]] against… soldiers, tanks, spider tanks and helicopters: Somehow, they make them superstrong, fast, agile etc.. They are also, however, harmful to the body, which is why Vanguards of the newer generations are euthanized after a certain period of time, bing a military asset and damn expensive. A bunch of little machines pushing you to your limits, possibly straining the immune system, wearing you down… yep, sounds like [[Deconstruction]].
* In ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'', the Branch of Sin powers come from femtomachines called the Nameless Worm.
* After suffering life-threatening brain damage that left her semi-paralyzed for months, Ai from [[Planetes]] finally get better after a long treatment involving nanomachines reconstructing neural pathways and such.
==
* ''[[The Authority]]'' - Authority member The Engineer replaced all of her blood with nanomachines. She can [[Green Lantern Ring|create nearly anything with these]], from [[Arm Cannon
* During Grant Morrison's ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' run, Cassandra Nova attacked the team on a cellular level with nanosentinels.
* In the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' [[Sonic the Hedgehog (
** NICOLE also occasionally uses those nanites to create a physical form for herself, though she just as often uses holograms instead.
* In the fourth volume of the ''[[
* ''Xombi'', from [[Milestone Comics]], is about a scientist who becomes a superhero after being injected with a nanomachine "virus" that's [[Healing Factor|capable of extensive tissue regeneration]].
* ''[[Iron Man]]'' - Tony Stark once killed [[Yellow Peril|The Mandarin]] with nanomachines, also his "Extremis" Armour is supposedly this.
** Iron Man's new bleeding edge armor is made completely out of nanites and liquid metal.
** His original suit was powered by "tiny transistors," the predecessor to today's nanomachines in terms of function and origin.
* By the unspecified future of ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'', "Makers", which use nanomachines to create food, clothing, and most other necessities, are commonplace. Spider Jerusalem sarcastically reminisces about his youth, where virtually everything he ate, wore, or owned was made from reprocessed lizard.
** One filler issue has an interview with a man who lost his legs stopping a [[Grey Goo]]
** Also there's the foglets, who are people who [[Brain Uploading|download their consciousness]] into a cloud of utility fog.
* In Adam Warren's version of the ''[[
** One villain uses nanobots to grant himself a [[Healing Factor]]; the Angels beat him up so much that the waste heat from the repairs does as much damage as the beating.
* [[Valiant Comics]] and the successor Acclaim Comics have multiple nanite-powered heroes. Valiant's Bloodshot has nanite-infused blood that, in the [[Valiant Comics]] incarnation, survives as the "Blood of Heroes" well into the 41st Century.
** Acclaim's Bloodshot's nanites may not be that long-lived, but were capable of healing any injury {{spoiler|provided they had enough raw material to work with}}, reshaping his appearance, and [[
* ''[[The Flash]]'' - Flash's enemy Abra Kadabra is a time traveler who uses technology to simulate magic. At least one recent story described most of his tricks as being based on nanotech.
* The magic behind virtual reality in ''[[Kimmie 66]]''.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* The last gasp of the remaining members of the American bloc of the Collective in ''[[The Secret Return of Alex Mack]]'' is an attempt at a nanobot-based plague which goes [[Grey Goo|"worst case"]].
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic ''[[The Arithmancer]]'', Hermione Granger creates a magical nanite weapon that she calls [[Narnia|"The Deplorable Word"]], and which she uses to defeat Bellatrix Lestrange at the climax of the story.
* Used in the [[Phlebotinum Du Jour]] and [[Magic From Technology]] senses of the trope in the [[Mega Crossover]] ''[[My Apartment Manager is not an Isekai Character]]'', and usually supplied by [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|Washuu-chan]]. Nanotech has been used to give multiple characters [[Heal Thyself|ridiculously fast medical treatment with a side-order of life extension]].
== Films ==
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* The source of KITT's superpowers in the 2008 ''[[Knight Rider]]'' [[Pilot Movie]]. It's even what keeps the armor together; when the computer is turned off, the car's an ordinary non-[[Immune to Bullets|bulletproof]] [[Product Placement]]... I mean Mustang.
* In ''[[Virtuosity]]'' an evil AI named Sid 6.7 enters the real life by creating itself an avatar using nanotech. He/It absorbs glass to heal.
* When used as directed, the nanobots on the salvage ship in ''[[
* Nanomachines are used in the ''[[I, Robot (
* In the remake of ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'' nano-insects ([[Grey Goo|grey-goo]] style) {{spoiler|[[Kill All Humans]]}}.
* ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'' was the first time the Borg were shown using nanotech as an assimilation tool (see below under Live Action TV).
* The [[MacGuffin]] in ''[[Ballistic
* ''[[Transformers Film Series]]'' - According to [[All There in the Manual|The Official Movie Guide]], Protoforms are made up of densely packed nanomachines. This is the semi-official [[Hand Wave]] for any transformation "cheats" in the films and where, for example, the rubber for Optimus' tires comes from.
* ''[[G.I. Joe:
* One of the plots in the unproduced ''[[Plastic Man]]'' movie explained the technology which gave the titular character's powers. {{spoiler|It involves the use of a experimental chemical liquid that rubberized anything that comes in contact with... But to stabilize the transformation, the test subject has to have a nanomachine (inside its body) as a catalyst to render the liquid product safe in its organism. If the nanomachine isn't used in the process, the liquid continues to rubberize the subject until it decomposes from the liquid's grey goo attributes. According to the script's text, it described the nanomachine that it has the shape of a snowflake}}
* What the major antagonists are made up of in ''[[Ben 10: Alien Swarm
== Literature ==
* Greg Bear's novelette and later novel ''[[
* The Monoliths in the 1982 book (and 1984 movie) ''2010: Odyssey Two'' act like nanomachines, but are great big self-replicating machines. They turned the planet Jupiter into a star by igniting its core. The proper term for macroscale replicators are Von Neumann machines.
* ''[[Prey]]'' - A swarm of sentient nanomachines was the central premise of the [[Michael Crichton]] novel.
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* The counterculture novel ''How to Mutate and Take over the World'' ends with {{spoiler|nanomachines transforming the entire world into key-lime pie filling}}.
* In the second of the ''[[Thursday Next]]'' series of novels by Jasper Fforde, Thursday's inventing uncle Mycroft invents some nanomachines. Her time-traveling [[Time Police|Chronoguard]] rogue father who does not exist in real time (that's a mouthful) eventually {{spoiler|has to time travel to the beginning of life on Earth with the nanomachine colony (instructed to convert all organic material into Dream Topping) in his fist, to prevent the world ending in a sugary, confectionery manner. Turns out we are all evolved from Dream Topping. Which actually explains a lot}}.
* The epilogue of ''Look To Windward'' by [[Iain M Banks]] features an artificial shape-shifting assassin composed of "E-Dust" (Everything-Dust), originally intended as a building material but inevitably turned to darker purposes. ''[[The Culture]]'' in general seem to have progressed beyond nanotech, referring to 'picofoam' as the building blocks of their AI Minds
** "Picofoam complex" is the ''backup'' computational substrate for a mere ship drone's AI core, as described in ''[[The Culture/Excession|Excession]]''. Most of [[Deus Est Machina|a true Culture Mind]] actually exists in hyperspace, where it may function unburdened by pesky nuisances like the speed of light and neutron decay.
* The anti-Descolada virus designed by the heroes in the ''[[Ender's Game]]'' sequels. Ironically, {{spoiler|the original Descolada virus counts too, as it was engineered by an unknown alien race as a terraforming agent}}.
* The plot of the ''Moonrise'' and ''Moonwar'' by Ben Bova revolve around nanomachines. A subversion occurs when one character proposes making nanomachines that act like dust, to blind the invading army, and another character suggests just using dust instead.
* Nearly-omnipresent nanotechnology is an important part of the setting and plot in [[Neal Stephenson]]'s novel ''[[The Diamond Age]]'' (So named because with nanotech, diamond becomes literally ''as cheap as dirt'', making it a useful building material.)
* The ''eyves'' in Sergey Pavlov's novel ''Moon Rainbow'' aren't as much nano''machines'' as they are [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum|alien microorganisms]], but they ''do'' grant people superpowers. Much of the book is devoted to exploring [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|psychological]] and [[Fantastic Racism|social]] consequences of this. In the sequel, though, they are just an excuse for the hero to [[Badass|kick some ass]].
* Nanomachines figure prominently in Nancy Kress's novel ''Beggars and Choosers'' (1994), the middle book of a trilogy beginning with ''[[
* In ''Specials'', the third book of Scott Westerfeld's ''[[Uglies]]'' series, it is revealed that the Specials have nanobots in their blood that allow them to heal faster than normal humans. Nanos can also be really bad, though, as in the scene where Tally and Shay end up destroying a museum by accidentally unleashing some. (This scene is referenced for comedic value in ''Extras'', when Shay's solution to a problem is an excited cry of "Nanos!")Nanos are also what allow the Holes in the Walls to work like they do. In fact, nanos are everywhere in that world.
* In the ''Nulapeiron Sequence'' (and the prequel, ''To Hold Infinity'') by John Meaney, nanotech is considered rather crude and almost everything is instead done using 'femtotech', comprising 'engineered pseudatoms', whatever that might mean. References are even made to 'attotech', engineering using the fundamental building blocks of spacetime, referred to as Twistors.
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* In Ringo's ''[[Posleen War Series]]'', the Galactic economy is based primarily on control of nanomachines used to build material from the atomic level up. With the new threat introduced in ''The Eye of the Storm'', Mike O'Neal, Jr kicks this in the head, thanks to [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Darhel]] interference with the human forces supposedly defending against hostiles making them varying degrees of useless.
* Luckily the Samothrace operative in ''Drakon'' has a small Faber which can make whatever he wants, diamonds, components for Plasma rifles, anything small enough. The Draka he's chasing was caught in an accident so it doesn't have these luxuries, and it can think of better ways to commit suicide then use the enemy's weapons.
* [[Larry Niven]], aware that [[Tech Marches On]], [[
* Used in various ways in the ''[[
* ''Quickies'' (or "shustrs" in original Polish text) are the mainstay of Lusanian society in [[Stanislaw Lem]]'s ''Observation on the Spot''. They do ''everything'', from providing energy and material wealth to enforcing laws of ethics as laws of physics. In Lusania [[Ape Shall Never Kill Ape|"man" doesn't kill a "man"]]
* In his ''Peace on Earth'' nanomachines are also the ultimate stage of [[Mechanical Evolution]] of human weaponry.
* Walter Jon Williams novel ''Aristoi'' covers these, in various aspects, in great detail. Nanomachines are pretty much the basis for the entire economy, and a great deal of effort is expended in making sure the few people authorized to design new ones know what they're doing. The novel goes into more than usual detail on what it would take to actually get one running, including troubles such as getting rid of the heat such things would generate, especially in a vacuum. Gray goo does come up a couple times, at least once as a malicious attack.
* The ''[[Plague Year Series]]'' details the effects of a devastating nano-tech plague which disassembles all warm-blooded life forms below 10,
* An entire manufacturing
* ''The Days of Solomon Gursky'' by [[Ian McDonald]]. It starts in a near-ish future where nanomachines are routinely used to build virtually anything. Out of diamond if you like. And then the protagonist invents a process that uses nanomachines to entirely replace the cells in a living creature (such as a human). This essentially converts the creature into a new immortal form entirely constructed from nanomachines. The rest of the novella explores the full astounding ramifications of this over the following centuries and millennia.
* [[The Diving Universe]] has "nanobits", a [[Lost Technology]] used by the [[Precursors]] in the Fleet 5,000 years ago. Very few of them are still operational, and those are generally mistaken for a strange natural phenomenon.
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* Introduced as the way that people from the future take over human hosts (including {{spoiler|protagonist Tom Baldwin}}) in the fourth season of ''[[The 4400]]''.
* ''[[Star Trek]]''
** ''[[Star Trek:
** On ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', one of the aforementioned Borg becomes part of the crew and in later episodes the nanoprobes are used to do [[New Powers
** The Borg's nanoprobes are also revisited during their appearance in ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''. Although the details behind their ability to assimilate a ship from the inside out had been previously left offscreen, it's revealed that the Borg simply inject the nanite tubules into a wall panel, causing a wave of Borg technology to begin spreading and consuming the ship.
* In ''[[Andromeda]]'', High Guard ships of the line have nanomachines as part of their self-repair systems, their medical equipment and their anti-intruder defences. In the [[All There in the Manual|background information]] for the series (and sometimes alluded to on-screen) it's stated that nanomachines are ubiquitous in people as well as defense for nanomachine attacks. And Beka Valentine has them in her hair to make it change color.
* Nanomachines called "Nanogenes" ran amok to trigger the major crisis in the ''[[
* ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'': "Prisoner of the Judoon"
* Season eight of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' introduced the Nanites, who could do anything from hairstyling to blowing up planets. Lampooned because they were usually too busy dealing with the social problems of their microscopic society to actually do anything useful.
* In a later season of ''[[
* ''[[The Outer Limits]]'' had featured a plot designed around nanobots created to [[Harmful Healing|heal]] human infirmities; the nanobots [[Instant AI, Just Add Water|spontaneously develop an artificial intelligence]] and begin "repairing" what they perceived as "design flaws" of those human bodies- creating some rather ''weird'' things like an [[Nausea Fuel|armored ribcage]] and even [[Body Horror|eyes in the back of the head]]! According to opening titles, the main plot (The New Breed) was also based on ''Blood Music'', mentioned below under Literature.
* ''[[Stargate]]'':
** Nanites appear in several episodes of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', although the earlier ones appear to be an evolution of a less-sophisticated group of Replicators which seem to have been independently created.
** Fanon and the Expanded Universe hold that the unsophisticated ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' Replicators encountered the advanced ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' Replicators at some point in the past or during the series and cribbed the ability to create human-form Replicators from them. However, canon explicitly states that the Milky Way replicators got the idea for human form from Reese:
{{quote|
'''Second''': Our brethren are composed of ungainly blocks.
'''Third''': We are composed of millions of cell units, microscopic in comparison, that combine to create this form. }}
** ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' features a nanovirus that kills several members of the Atlantis Expedition and nearly kills many more [[Stargate Atlantis
* A common [[Fanon]] explanation for the "smoke monster" on ''[[Lost]]'' is that it is a cloud of nanites. Though the writers have [[Jossed]] this theory more than once, it nonetheless appeared in the [[ARG]] ''[[The Lost Experience]]''.
* An injection of
* Used in an episode of ''Now and Again'', in which the nanomachines used in Mr. Goodman's construction start spreading from his body, devouring all the ink in the world and destroying all literature. Turns out it was all just a dream.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''Cyberpunk 2020'' has a variety of nanotech, to go along with its various cyberware. Things get more interesting in ''Cybergeneration'', its sequel. ''Cybergeneration'' introduces the 'Carbon Plague,' a nanite-based disease of uncertain origin. (How uncertain? The writers [[Lying Creator|intentionally made incompatible statements to fans]]). At first, the Carbon Plague horrifically deforms and kills people, but later, [[Only Fatal to Adults|kids]], then adults, start to survive. Some of the kids aren't quite the same after, now possessing one of several super-powers; morphing limbs, wireless net-hacking, electrical blasts, pseudo-telepathy (via brainwave scanning), matter manipulation, or whatever power a [[Game Master]] can figure out a way to justify with the little [[Unobtainium|hexite]]-manufacturing and manipulating nanobots that is the Carbon Plague.
* Flowstone, the rocklike substance that made up most of the artificial world of Rath in ''[[Magic:
* ''[[GURPS]]'' tech level progression is explicitly based on the idea that nanotechnology will take off between [[TL 9]] and [[TL 10]].
* Averted in ''[[Traveller]]'' except as an occasional [[MacGuffin]]. Sourcebooks explicitly state that this was done to [[Rule of Cool|protect their system]].
* Eden Games' ''Conspiracy X'' supplement ''Atlantis Rising''. The Atlanteans (immortal aliens) use nanotechnology for everything, including altering themselves.
* Ubiquitous in ''[[
== Toys ==
* ''[[Bionicle]]'': [[Incredibly Lame Pun|very small]] subversion, the inhabitants of {{spoiler|Mata Nui}} can be considered this. Given that {{spoiler|Mata Nui}} is a 40,000 foot tall [[Humongous Mecha]], the inhabitants would be like nanobots to him. Also, in a more literal sense, the microscopic Rahi, Protodites, could be seen as nanobots. Zaktan's body is entirely composed of them after a unfortunate encounter with the Shadowed One.
== Video Games ==
* The nanobot work crews in Portal2
* Nanomachines (called Nanites) fuel the war effort in ''[[
* ''[[
** [[Parrot Exposition|Nanomachines?]]
** In ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2:
* Vanilla H's healing ability in the ''[[Galaxy Angel (
* In the ''[[Galaxy Angel (
* While ''[[
* ''[[Total Annihilation]]'' used nanobots (via "Nanolathes") for construction. One of the creators explained it thus: "It would have been too complex and time consuming to have little guys with hammers and scaffolds every time something was built in the game. It also wasn't futuristic enough. We needed something like magic, but with a thin veneer of science around it. Nanotechnology to the rescue!"
** Ironically, this has turned out to be a fairly reasonable use of nanotech. Now imagine a game of total annihilation that drags out for months, and apply to the real world. ''[[Total Annihilation]]'s'' [[Spiritual Successor]], ''[[Supreme Commander]]'', uses Nanolathes as well, but calls them "Protocrafters" and gives each faction's unique graphics.
** ''Total Annihilation'' used nano''technology'' but not nano''machines''. The two are very different! ''Nanolathing'' is the process by which solid objects are created by fabrication systems, eg Commanders, Factories and Engineers. Things must be actively constructed by a fabricator; they cannot self-assemble. Once built, non-fabricating units and buildings cannot replicate or regenerate: they're just perfectly normal (albeit very high-tech) machines. A select few buildings can upgrade, but most buildings and units cannot and no unit can change itself dramatically. A nanolathe could be visualised as a very fast, very powerful, multi-material 3d-printer with molecular-scale resolution.
*** It takes over enemy robots, however.
* The plotline of the video game ''[[Hostile Waters]]: Antaeus Rising'', by [[Warren Ellis]], is based on nanotechnology. In the year 2012, nanotech "Creation Engines" were developed and released to the world at large. Able to dispense anything a person could want, at any time - on demand - they cause [[The Singularity|"the world to go sane"]]; Revolution happened, [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|power cliques]] were overthrown and the world becomes a [[Utopia]]. The game takes place is the fictional year 2032, where {{spoiler|the old power elites have perverted nanotechnology for their own uses, creating weapons of war with which to blackmail the rest of the world into servitude again. Or so it seems, at first...}}
* ''[[
** The sequel, ''[[Deus Ex
* ''[[Sid
{{quote|Already we have turned all of our critical industries, all of our material resources, over to these...things...these lumps of silver and paste we call nanorobots. And [[AI Is a Crapshoot|now we propose to teach them intelligence]]? What, pray tell, will we do when these little homunculi [[Grey Goo|awaken one day and announce that they have no further need of us]]?|[[The Fundamentalist|Sister Miriam Godwinson]], "We Must Dissent" }}▼
** On one hand, upon researching Industrial Nanorobotics, you hear an excerpt from one of Miriam's screeds against new technology:
▲{{quote|Already we have turned all of our critical industries, all of our material resources, over to these...things...these lumps of silver and paste we call nanorobots. And [[
** On the other hand, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKcEwUcVBHs Santiago's opinion on the subject]. On another note, the video and accompanying voiceover [[Shown Their Work|indicate that, as usual, the developers did the research]]: the bots are networked, seem to draw power from their canisters, and have to get their raw material from somewhere (the video shows them devouring a battlefield, including a [[Nightmare Fuel|dead body's hand]], to make one hovertank).
* ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'' uses Nanotech to explain the existence of hitpoints. After a set point in the first game, the Nanotech can be upgraded to increase the health of Ratchet.
* Also the game ''Size Matters'' central plot revolves around a tiny civilization naked to the human eye called the Technomites who are responsible for creating technology (at least in one galaxy).
* The ''[[
* The spiritual predecessor, ''[[
* In ''[[System Shock|System Shock 2]]'', nanites are a mixture of nanomachines and base material used with replication technology to make items, and they have become the world's default currency. Quite naturally, replicators in the game are set by their [[Mega Corp]] manufacturer to rip off the consumer by skimming off the top with each transaction, which explains why the player (and according to in-game logs, everybody else) can hack replicators for better prices. In addition to buying things, nanites are used to power all the technical skills; hacking the replicators would use up nanites to create new circuit bypasses, repairing your weapon would need replacement parts, etc. Well, in theory, since in the game it's all [[Hollywood Hacking|just a minigame]].
* ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has the appropriately named Omni-tool, a holographic tool that can dispense medigel, conduct electronic warfare, and function as a datapad, and repair vehicles and a certain plasma vent. It is also a definite threat in combat; if you bring her along, the tech-focused party member will brandish one as a threat while others draw weapons or take up their [[Pstandard Psychic Pstance]]. Since that description does nothing to suggest that this has anything to do with the trope: Omni-tools contain nano manufacturies, which permit them to create small items out of raw materials on the
* The Necris from the ''[[Unreal]]'' series are humans who had all their blood replaced with Nanoblack, a "black goo" of nanomachines. The Necris are technically [[The Undead|undead]] (as the name implies), since Nanoblack is harmful to living organisms and the blood transfusion only works on dead people.
* ''[[
* The entire ''[[Wild
* The GenSelect Device, from ''[[Wing Commander (
* All of the ''[[Red Faction]]'' games feature nanotechnology, primarily as plot points. Used quite realistically in the first and third games; not so much in the second.
* In ''Cyberstorm,'' a [[Turn
* In ''[[Escape Velocity|Escape Velocity Nova]]'', the Krypt [[Hive Mind]] reacts to any interesting phenomena in its region of space by having a pod release a colony of nanites to "explore" it. Although the game's documentation insists that nanites are not really weapons, their effect on ships gives no good reason for players to consider them as anything else, [[Blue and Orange Morality]] notwithstanding.
* ''[[Super Robot Wars Alpha]] Gaiden'' has nanomachines known as Machine Cells {{spoiler|as part of the Black History backstory and are being used by the [[Big Bad]]: the Magus and her minions.}} Also used in [[Super Robot Wars Original Generation]] 2.
* The Vasari from ''[[Sins of a Solar Empire]]'' make extensive use of nanomachines, with most of their special abilities being built around either spacetime-warping technology or nanomachines.
* [[Anarchy Online]] takes this trope to heart and runs with it, using nanobots for frickin' ''everything.'' "Magic" is essentially just free-floating nanobots in the air being told to do something, your [[Mana]] is [[Call a Rabbit
* A little-known RTS game from the DOS era called ''War, Inc.'' puts you in charge of a [[Private Military Contractor]]. The vehicles are manufactured by nanobots from raw materials that you must harvest in-mission (and your infantry is made by incredibly high-speed cloning).
* One of the main resources in the RTS ''[[Achron]]'' is called Liquid Crystals (LC for short) and is made of a mix of common atoms and nanobots in a liquid-crystal framework. When you order a unit to construct a building the unit drops a tiny transponder seed which signals local teleportation infrastructure to teleport the right quantity of LC to that location. The nanobots in the LC then assemble the building using the atoms contained within it. When you build a unit the LC is teleported into the factory where it assembles into the units gear in a similar way (and the pilot is supplied separately).
== Web Comics ==
*
* Most of the advanced Martian technology in ''[[
* ''[http://www.littlelevers.com/Angels/ Angels and Aliens]'' is based on a secret group of humans given nanotechnology-based abilities such as speed, strength and healing by mysterious aliens. Drawbacks include rapid depletion of energy and oxygen while using the abilities, and the one-size-fits-all female template for the transformed humans - even if the recipient was [[Gender Bender|originally male.]]
* ''[[Alien Dice]]'' has healing nanites, one use ones used for repairing a particular injury, after which they deactivate, and ones that provide a permanent [[Healing Factor]], as well as the "relays" which are nanotechinologcal communications devices which implant themselves in your brain, they basically function as a form of machine assisted telepathy.
* In the ''[[Blade of Toshubi]]'' a nano-virus was used in World War IV to rid the Earth's surface of Humans & is believed to have caused the mutation of animals to a sentient, humanoid form.▼
* At least two types of nanomachines showed up during the [[Crossover Wars]], mini-gnomes from ''[[Magical Misfits]]'' were sent to the Evil Overlords headquarter to sabotage things and nanite versions of ''[[
* In ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' nanomachines are almost omnipresent, and several Story Arcs have featured them heavily. Note that they generally are of very specific limited use and/or act as a part of large and complex systems. The types that can survive in the open at all still have heat capacity and resistance to radiation reasonable for their size - hardened ones are vacuum-capable but all are killed if anyone fires in their general direction anything from a powerful searchlight and up. Or if they run into "antiseptic", like [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2007-09-11 anti-nannotic film].
** "Nanny-cams", bugs that are dispensed from a squirt-gun. While devices on the scale of light wavelength obviously can't use ray optics, it's the right size for antenna arrays.
** Medical. Regeneration vats are awesome, but they include external control and support systems, and expensive. The only common piece of multi-species medical equipment in the field is a body-bag that keeps the brain alive in anabiosis.
** "Blood-nannies" - self-sustaining swarms of medical nanobots controlled by implanted microcomputers, sometimes interfaced to the user's brain, as explained [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2011-03-08 here]... of course, implanting stuff in the brain is made safer by using yet another nanobot system to do all the cable-work. Uncommon at best.
*** The "[[Super Soldier|soldier boosts]]" - the same, plus augmentation of tissues and enough of integration with neural system to avoid [[Does Not Know His Own Strength|control problems]]. [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2004-12-03 Really expensive] to install and restricted in many polities. High-end ones may include "weapon package", so when an operative is disarmed, there still are surprises, since micro-implants, let alone swarms of nanobots spread through the body, are either overlooked as fairly common or left alone because it's hard to remove or disable them without killing the host (short of throwing the latter in a jar swarming with your own for a while).
** Weaponized nanites - not much good for an open battle ([http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-11-14 vulnerable] to heat and ionizing radiation, and as such [[Kill It with Fire|purged with fire]] in small areas and [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-06-08 swept with beams] in large), but a very nasty assassination weapon. They are targeted (for example, [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-07-29 eating their way along nerves to the victim's brain, then make it non-recoverable]) and self-destruct later. Variants [[Typhoid Mary|keeping a live carrier intact]] may be voluntarily controlled by the carrier or even nanobots may have limited control over one's body - for designs carried in humans, the all-time favorite delivery method is [[Vomit Indiscretion Shot|projectile vomiting]] a [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-11-13 full stomach of] stuff lethal in mist-droplet quantities.
** The "cloud AI" types stand out, but from what we have seen, given enough of time and challenges those are prone to [[Zeroth Law Rebellion|evolving out of their initial rules]] one way or another even more than conventional fixed-hardware AI.
** Also, one big and already metal-rich ecosystem seems to have co-evolved (over millions of years) into symbiosis with what is implied to be runaway nanobots, formerly used by the cyborgized sophonts who owned the place, and now electroplate bones and carapaces of local fauna (and at least one of these species also have developed sapience over this time).
* Featured prominently in the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' [[Story Arc]] "[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=000101 Kiki's Virus]," where nanobots turn into a deadly virus thanks to [
* Both used and subverted in ''Triquetra Cats'', nanites are a miracle cure for most any medical condition however each use increases your chances of contracting a disease called NCDS (nanite cellular disintegration syndrome) where the nanite user's cells can no longer support themselves and break down.
▲* Most of the advanced Martian technology in ''[[A Miracle of Science (Webcomic)|A Miracle of Science]]'' is based on nanites.
▲* Similarly, much of Earth's technological superiority over New Abilene in ''[[Afterlife Blues (Webcomic)|Afterlife Blues]]'' is based on nanotech.
▲* Featured prominently in the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' [[Story Arc]] "[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=000101 Kiki's Virus]," where nanobots turn into a deadly virus thanks to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem Y2K]. Nanotechnology is also used by Dr. Crabtree for more outlandish, [[Shape Shifter|shapeshifting]] purposes.
▲* In the ''[[Blade of Toshubi]]'' a nano-virus was used in World War IV to rid the Earth's surface of Humans & is believed to have caused the mutation of animals to a sentient, humanoid form.
▲* At least two types of nanomachines showed up during the [[Crossover Wars]], mini-gnomes from ''[[Magical Misfits]]'' were sent to the Evil Overlords headquarter to sabotage things and nanite versions of ''[[Mindmistress]]'' were left there to monitor things.
* In ''[[Umlaut House|Umlaut House 2]]'', nanites first appear when [[Mad Scientist|Sissy]] steals some assemblers from [[Mad Scientist|Dr. Lyse]] to build her fortress. Later it seems that nanotech is used for home replicators and when Peggy Seus asks the Dragon what it is it tells her to "ask Dr. Lyse about foglets". {{spoiler|And now it seems that Lyse has replaced every cell in his body with foglets and the Dragon tried to take over his body.}}
*
** For those interested - assuming one device is a cube 2 μm (volume 8 μm<sup>3</sup>), the total volume of devices uniquely addressed by 6 bytes would be <ref>(2×10<sup>-6</sup>m)<sup>3</sup> × 2<sup>(8×6)</sup> = 8*10<sup>-18</sup>m<sup>3</sup> × 2.815<sup>14</sup> ≈ 0.0225 m<sup>3</sup></ref> about 22.5 liters. Of course, they won't hold compactly, but it's not like something of this size is going to communicate over great range either.
== Web Original ==
* Nanotech is a big part of everyday life in ''[[
* Diamond, a [[Powered Armor]] heroine from the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' uses as a means of situational adaptiveness. Her armor (which is thinly plated diamond over a liquid layer of nanites) can be redesigned and rebuilt in seconds, depending on the precise function she needs from the armor.
* In the ''[[League of Intergalactic Cosmic Champions]]'' the heroes fought an AI that used nanites & a minor villain from the future had nanonanotechnology, amongst other uses.
* ''[[The Journal Entries]]'' seem to use nanotechnology mostly for medical purposes. Pendorians owe their enhanced health and immortality to being, effectively, nanotech cyborgs, but don't exhibit much in the way of actual 'superpowers'; they're mostly depicted as regular folks with an occasionally odd-seeming outlook on things and seriously extended lifespans.
* Sam Everheart is walking around in the [[Whateley Universe]] because Sam interrupted an attempt to steal a nanotechnology experiment and ended up getting the nanotech, which then did a whole-body alteration. Luckily, Sam survived it.
* The ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* Despite the reference, the ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode "Tick Tick Tick" isn't really a good example. The tick was visible to the naked eye, there was just one, and it didn't do anything but explode. But nano still sounds about a hundred times better. Just because it's big, doesn't necessarily imply it isn't made out of very small components, of course.
** A better example of nanotechnology in the series could be the Hephaestus Project, a sort of living metal capable of repairing, modifying, and increasing in size when given the proper commands. Drakken used this technology in [[The Movie]] to create an army of robots disguised as toys.
* ''[[Max Steel]]'' was just an [[Ordinary High School Student]] until an accidental injection of
* In the ''[[Gargoyles]]'' episode "Walkabout", [[Heel Face Turn|villain turned good guy]] Dingo acquires a living suit made of nanomachines, after helping the Gargoyles convince said nanomachines not to eat Australia.
* [[Big Bad]] Slade on ''[[Teen Titans (
* Alien nanomachines figure into the ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "Dark Heart", and manage to give the entire League a serious run for its money. Later on, things ''really'' get serious when {{spoiler|Brainithor}} gets a hold of that technology.
** Brainiac/Luthor is also an example. Years prior to those events (back in [[Superman:
** The [[DCAU]] version of Amazo the android was made of nanotech, which allowed him to evolve by duplicating whatever power he saw. Luthor and The Atom attempted to use this knowledge in an attempt to stop him, but he revealed that he had evolved beyond nanotechnology.
* In a [[Crossover]] between ''[[Batman: The Animated Series
* In the ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' episode "Amnesia", XANA creates nanomachines that act like virus and [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|erase the memories]] of anyone infected. They are actually seen with a microscope, looking like minute spiders.
* One episode of ''[[Captain Planet]]'' had a variation on the usual plot by having a mysterious figure appear in a small town in Latin America and give people everything they wanted, which it did by firing mysterious beams at nearby natural resources. Said beams turned out to be nanomachines. Unlike most examples, they were always under control of the villain, who turned out to be a spirit of environmental destruction whom the team had met before.
* The second ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003
* <s> Nanomachines</s> Microbots create the first antagonist on Earth in ''[[Transformers Animated]]''. A cockroach is injected with them, and it grows, bursts out of the tube it's held in, and proceeds to merge with everything metal around it and grow into a skyscraper-sized, tentacled, rather blobby monster. In a later episode, the Microbots are reconfigured to eat garbage, and [[Grey Goo|again go out of control]] when exposed to an allspark fragment.
* In the title sequence of the [[Disney]] show ''[[
* Central to the premise of ''[[
* In the ''[[
* ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'' featured Technovore, a data and technology eating virus which infected a cluster of nanites, creating one of the most dangerous villains Iron Man has ever faced. [[The Points Mean Nothing|Bonus Points]] for the fact that [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|it was Tony who created the virus]]. In its initial appearance, it appeared that Tony destroyed it; however, [[From a Single Cell|a few of the nanites seemed to have survived]].
* One episode of ''[[
** Probably a stolen plot idea, since {{spoiler|[[Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker]] did it 3 years earlier.}}
== Real Life ==
* Nanotechnology, while not able to give people super powers and destroy the planet, still has some very promising prospective applications. [[Awesome but Impractical|None of these are practical]] ''[[Technology Marches On|yet]]'', but someday we hope they will.
** It's a common mistake to conflate nano''machines'' with nano''technology''. While nanomachines are not yet practical, nanotechnology has been in common use for a long time now. For example, CDs use pits around
** Nanofactories: A small, printer-sized device which isn't limited to shooting ink onto paper, ([[Mundane Utility|though it could if you want it to]]). If you have the raw material for it, you could print out entire electronic integrated circuits or other complex things.
** Nanomaterials: Super strong, very tough, and incredibly light, carbon nanomaterials. They are the [[Flying Brick]] of materials, in a sense. Variants include nanotubes, nanobuds, graphene sheets, etc.
** Nanomedicine: While we have no idea how to make ourselves immortal, superpowered badasses yet, doctors hope nanotechnology has the promise of eventually being able to cure the common cold. And HIV. And Cancer. The tricky part is actually getting the nanites to know what they should attack. This is being worked on mighty well. Nanites engineered to precisely exploit abnormally swollen pores in cancer tissue are in development. Ultra-tiny nanotube-based radio devices are also in development, which would allow for ''remote-controlled'' nanites, but those are somewhat farther away.
** Non-Newtonian liquid suspensions: Basically, funny-shaped particles made by nanoengineering, floating in thick oil. Flexible when subjected to the force of human muscles, but turn ultra-rigid when compressed by something faster. Like a bullet. Body armor that can stop a rifle round that also allows one to do crunches like it wasn't there. It's basically a man-made enhancement of the forces that allow [https://web.archive.org/web/20170814230258/http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=720f7702c5ab116120e0&page=1&viewtype=&category= John Tickle to walk on custard].
* If you think about it, nanomachines are actually much [[Older Than They Think]], since proteins are essentially naturally occurring nanomachines. They are quite small, and they can accomplish functions like [
** Monoclonal antibodies ''already'' meet most of the criteria for medical nanomachines. Cultivate some that adhere to tumors, stick a radioactive isotope on each one, and turn 'em loose in the body to hunt down their prey like itty bitty Terminators.
** Another impressive example of an existing natural nanomachine is ATP synthase, which makes both the electric motor <ref>specifically, a proton-motive electrostatic motor, complete with armature and stator</ref> ''and'' the reciprocating engine
** Another remarkable example of a natural nanomachine capable of manufacturing stuff is a Ribosome. These are the things that actually assemble proteins according to their encoding in DNA/RNA and are a vital component of all natural replicators such as bacteria or eukaryotic cells. They self-assemble from their component proteins, so they can trivially replicate themselves. They're also hackable; viruses propagate by injecting their own DNA or RNA into cells, and awaiting the ribosome-based production line to unwittingly start making copies.
** Given these examples the Cell in a biological system is a complete nanite in the classical sense. Able to consume external resources, duplicate seemingly endlessly, massive data storage (via DNA), the ability to manufacture anything on its to do list etc. Some of the closest stuff to grey goo is bacterium while most large multicelluar organisms (us for example) are large nanite colonies with hundreds of different types of nanite working in harmony from a single instruction set.
* This video, depicting [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxBy_Sz3Wc claytronics]. This is just a simulation, but it is running of actual software. Using a sort of nanobot programming language, a CAD file gets read in, and the nanobots reshape themselves to match it. The program is supposedly only a couple of pages long. For now this is just software, nothing to worry
* Middle Ages style stained glass contains gold nanoparticles. [[Clock Punk]] nanotech ahoy!
* One of TRIZ methods is trying to solve the problem with certain ideal machines. One of which, coincidentally, is a mass of "tiny people" who can do basic things like holding together or moving, know what they have to do and when. If you can do this, the next step is to move toward conventional sizes and methods until your machine actually can be built, of course.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Applied Phlebotinum]]▼
[[Category:Futuristic Tech Index]]
[[Category:Robot Roll Call]]
▲[[Category:Applied Phlebotinum]]
▲[[Category:Tiny Tropes]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
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[[Category:Transhuman Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Nanomachines]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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