one side of the tiles, and negative connectors on the other side, the tiles might self-assemble into flat sheets. Self-assembly is very important if you want to build big objects from very small pieces.” He waved his hands in an attempt to illustrate. “This would be easier if I could show picture.”
“Dim.” Molari waved a hand and the windows slowly faded, becoming opaque. Of course.
Jie pulled out his omni. ‹Image Search. Nanoglass tile assembly.› He flicked the picture to the point on the wall where the window had been.
“This shows how Nanoglass tiles fit together,” he said. “Not as easy as it looks. Tiles like to, what’s the English word… corrugate… making folds and loops. I had to redesign the edges to give more rigidity.”
“And have you sold a lot of this?” asked Molari.
“No,” Jie admitted. “So far nobody is interested in buying Nanoglass except a few universities.”
“You research types are all the same,” Molari laughed, shaking his head in wonder. “Technology in search of purpose. But you, Jie, may have gotten lucky.”
Singh scribbled on his scroll, then leaned forward, eyes drilling into Jie. “How do you make the sheets?” he asked. “Your journal article said you created a continuous strip of Nanoglass a meter across. I can’t imagine you did that with molecular tweezers.”
Jie laughed out loud. “Molecular tweezers. Very funny! No, we modified a 3D printer to spray tiles in overlapping pattern. The magnetic edges cause self-assembly. Here, I will show how.” He flicked another image onto the screen.
“Image this times a billion,” he said.
Singh stood up and started pacing along the wall. “This has potential,” he admitted. “Normally when I think glass, I think fragile which is why our material was based on spider silk. But with this, we could ship the raw tiles and only assemble the completed sheets in space. Do you think your sprayers could work in a vacuum?”
“My sprayers require a vacuum,” said Jie. “Air currents are like hurricanes at nanoscale.”
“Hmmm.” Singh nodded. “What’s the largest piece of Nanoglass you’ve produced?”
Jie would rather have avoided that question. They’ll find out. No sense trying to disguise it. “We only did one big piece,” Jie admitted. “For the article. A square meter. The Nanoglass tiles are difficult to make in volume. You wouldn’t believe the manufacturing problems.”
Singh and Molari looked at each other for a moment. A frown formed in Singh’s wrinkles. He sank back into his chair.
Bái chī, Jie! The biggest deal in my life. Don’t tell them about manufacturing problems! “That’s to say… It’s not like the problems…” Jie stammered.
“We need to cover ten million square kilometers,” Singh interrupted. “Can you scale to that volume?”
“Ten mill… You said ten million square kilometers?” A gaping pit opened below Jie. In the game world, there would be poisonous spikes on the bottom. “I should be able… Yes… I could do it.” He tried to sound convincing. Nanotechnology always had issues moving to mass production. The business types never seemed to understand that.
“A minute ago you said manufacturing was difficult,” Molari pointed out.
“Yes, but… Nanoglass is a new material,” said Jie. “We only made small quantities, which is expensive. Bulk manufacturing is mature process. Ten years old. Cheap once we get it started. I can create any amount of Nanoglass you need…”
“If?”
“… if you give us a few months to work out the steps.”
Singh seemed unconvinced. “And your raw materials are just silicon and iron? No trace elements?”
“Yes. It’s glass with wires in it,” said Jie. “The molecular structure is complex. Like an organic molecule. But ingredients are simple.”
Singh exhaled, groaning audibly. “Our whole design is built around Spidex, Tetabo. We know the risks.” He turned to Jie. “I’m not doubting your
“Dim.” Molari waved a hand and the windows slowly faded, becoming opaque. Of course.
Jie pulled out his omni. ‹Image Search. Nanoglass tile assembly.› He flicked the picture to the point on the wall where the window had been.
“This shows how Nanoglass tiles fit together,” he said. “Not as easy as it looks. Tiles like to, what’s the English word… corrugate… making folds and loops. I had to redesign the edges to give more rigidity.”
“And have you sold a lot of this?” asked Molari.
“No,” Jie admitted. “So far nobody is interested in buying Nanoglass except a few universities.”
“You research types are all the same,” Molari laughed, shaking his head in wonder. “Technology in search of purpose. But you, Jie, may have gotten lucky.”
Singh scribbled on his scroll, then leaned forward, eyes drilling into Jie. “How do you make the sheets?” he asked. “Your journal article said you created a continuous strip of Nanoglass a meter across. I can’t imagine you did that with molecular tweezers.”
Jie laughed out loud. “Molecular tweezers. Very funny! No, we modified a 3D printer to spray tiles in overlapping pattern. The magnetic edges cause self-assembly. Here, I will show how.” He flicked another image onto the screen.
“Image this times a billion,” he said.
Singh stood up and started pacing along the wall. “This has potential,” he admitted. “Normally when I think glass, I think fragile which is why our material was based on spider silk. But with this, we could ship the raw tiles and only assemble the completed sheets in space. Do you think your sprayers could work in a vacuum?”
“My sprayers require a vacuum,” said Jie. “Air currents are like hurricanes at nanoscale.”
“Hmmm.” Singh nodded. “What’s the largest piece of Nanoglass you’ve produced?”
Jie would rather have avoided that question. They’ll find out. No sense trying to disguise it. “We only did one big piece,” Jie admitted. “For the article. A square meter. The Nanoglass tiles are difficult to make in volume. You wouldn’t believe the manufacturing problems.”
Singh and Molari looked at each other for a moment. A frown formed in Singh’s wrinkles. He sank back into his chair.
Bái chī, Jie! The biggest deal in my life. Don’t tell them about manufacturing problems! “That’s to say… It’s not like the problems…” Jie stammered.
“We need to cover ten million square kilometers,” Singh interrupted. “Can you scale to that volume?”
“Ten mill… You said ten million square kilometers?” A gaping pit opened below Jie. In the game world, there would be poisonous spikes on the bottom. “I should be able… Yes… I could do it.” He tried to sound convincing. Nanotechnology always had issues moving to mass production. The business types never seemed to understand that.
“A minute ago you said manufacturing was difficult,” Molari pointed out.
“Yes, but… Nanoglass is a new material,” said Jie. “We only made small quantities, which is expensive. Bulk manufacturing is mature process. Ten years old. Cheap once we get it started. I can create any amount of Nanoglass you need…”
“If?”
“… if you give us a few months to work out the steps.”
Singh seemed unconvinced. “And your raw materials are just silicon and iron? No trace elements?”
“Yes. It’s glass with wires in it,” said Jie. “The molecular structure is complex. Like an organic molecule. But ingredients are simple.”
Singh exhaled, groaning audibly. “Our whole design is built around Spidex, Tetabo. We know the risks.” He turned to Jie. “I’m not doubting your
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