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In the future, we may have materials able to change their form at the snap of a finger or wave

of a hand, and it is possible even that finger and that hand might be made

of such materials.

So today we'll be looking at the concept of smart matter and programmable matter, things

able to assume mini-shape, or perhaps even complex machines, and organic structures in

moments.

We will be looking at varying levels of this technology

and what roles and uses it might have, and even if it might be the fate of a future humanity.

Now it is common to think of smart matter as more or less being nanobots, tiny machines

that can do virtually any job, including self-replicating, or latching on to each other to form

shapes, and so today we'll also be asking what, if anything, differentiate smart matter from nanobots?

Probably the way the concept of smart matter got out into the public eye was with the 1991

blockbuster Terminator 2 Judgment Day, where Robert Patrick plays the T-1000,

the time-traveling and shape-shifting evil robot made of liquid metal. This was a pretty vague thing

in terms of function, as he could appear like any human, including clothes and equipment, but couldn't

...