The Science of Hob, Kind Of Ever wonder why extremely advanced
machines in science fiction often have an organic look and are
sometimes able to morph in decidedly unmechanical ways? The term
nanotechnology is tossed around a lot as an explanation, but
that covers a very wide range of technologies and can have a lot
of meanings. One particular way of achieving such a
sophisticated machine is to use utility fog, or foglets for
short. Foglets are hypothetical microscopic robots that are able
to extend and retract their arms in such a way that would allow
them to perform complex structural reconfigurations, similar to
how carbon, depending on its lattice structure, can take the
form of different substances like diamond or graphite. Since the
color, hardness, shape and opaqueness of an object depend on the
spacing and orientation of its molecules, foglets would be able
to take on virtually any appearance. Extending their arms widely
enough and they could become invisible and seemingly intangible
(hence the name “f