Lighter computers and lighter sensors would let you have more function in a given weight, which is very important if you are launching things into space, and you have to pay by the pound to put things there. – Ralph Merkle
Many people in the world today are not starving because there is an inherent inability to produce food, they are starving because they are caught in the middle of political fights and blockades that have been used as weapons. – Ralph Merkle
Today we see a human population of over 6 billion people, many of whom have serious medical conditions, which either cant be treated or cannot be treated economically. – Ralph Merkle
We can grow crops less expensively because molecular manufacturing technology is inherently low cost. – Ralph Merkle
A permanent base on Mars would have a number of advantages beyond being a bonanza for planetary science and geology. If, as some evidence suggests, exotic micro-organisms have arisen independently of terrestrial life, studying them could revolutionise biology, medicine and biotechnology. – Paul Davies