[rolph]

3d printing was a thinedge of the wedge, i think we will see leaps and bounds regarding atomic scale assembly of materials and compound items. lasers are becoming much more precise, and materials science is making gains. i think very soon we will have crystal perfect alloys, and JIT manufacture of assemblages that will not only be ultrapure but self healing.

Micro generation and actuation is another avenue. 25 years ago when carbon nanotubes were a curiousity i could see world changing potential. we are now learning to produce nanotubes and nanosheets of graphene in deliberate fashion versus throw everything into the alchemical oven and sort through the mess for the good pieces. The potential to fabricate atomic scale objects and the potential to manipulate quantum phenomenon is growing tremendous, regarding energy generation, computation , communications, and weapons technology. that being said, warfare is going to become something of a nightmare never before imagined. TRUE AI with real world based experiential machine learning and the ability for these {devices?} to design and manufacture themselves is in its infancy, and may lead us into a realm of artificial consciousness. We have nearly cracked the code of life itself, with the advent of artificial unicellular devices, and have gone into directions in a perhaps irresponsible manner. CRISPR is not as new as its being made out to be. It was far to irresponsible to develop such tech 20 years ago but someone did it. It is only a matter of time before someone makes a tremendous mistake in these areas, similar to the early concerns that a large enough fusion bomb would ignite a nitrogen fusion event in the atmosphere and burn it all. the final nail in this coffin is particle physics, and high energy physics. we may get to a point of understanding the nature of spatial structure itself, and actually manipulate the fundamental structure of spacetime [for lack of a true descriptor] if so such things as quantum weapons [singularity weapons or string manifold devices] or artificial spacetime constructs may be feasible.