BY LETTER
Molecule
1. Traditionally, two or more atoms or ordinary matter, joined together by properties of a shared electron cloud and forming a chemical bond. The smallest unit of a substance that can retain all the properties of that substance.
2. Two or more exotic atoms, linked together in a way that is analogous to the bonds formed between ordinary atoms. The forces involved may not involve ordinary electrons and protons in such cases, and the analogy is rather loose. No natural "molecules" of this kind are known to exist; the "atoms" that give rise to them are composed of particles that are extremely rare or naturally short-lived. All such materials are apparently the result of advanced sophont or transapient technology, whether Terragen or otherwise.
2. Two or more exotic atoms, linked together in a way that is analogous to the bonds formed between ordinary atoms. The forces involved may not involve ordinary electrons and protons in such cases, and the analogy is rather loose. No natural "molecules" of this kind are known to exist; the "atoms" that give rise to them are composed of particles that are extremely rare or naturally short-lived. All such materials are apparently the result of advanced sophont or transapient technology, whether Terragen or otherwise.
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- Molectronics - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Electronics at the molecular (mesotech and nanotech) scale. - Molecular Biology - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Branch of biology that deals with organic life on a molecular level. Includes the macromolecular organization within and between the various cell components, knowledge of different types of proteins, the metabolic function of individual cells, differing mechanisms of genetic expression during embryonic development, cell differentiation, and ageing. Molecular Biology goes hand in hand with Gengineering. - Molecular Computer - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Any computer based on logic gates that is constructed on principles of molecular mechanics (as opposed to principles of electronics) by appropriate arrangements of molecules. Since the size of each logic gate is only one or a few molecules, the resultant computer can be microscopic in size. As with any nanotech, limitations on molecular computers arise from the physics of atoms and chemical bonds. Molecular computers are massively parallel through having parallel computations performed by trillions of molecules simultaneously. The early molecular computers (Middle Information Age) were constructed from the DNA molecule; later on, more adaptable artificial organic and artificial organic molecules were used instead.
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Development Notes
Text by Stephen Inniss
Initially published on 31 December 2005.
Initially published on 31 December 2005.
