Grey goo

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Part of a series of articles on Molecular Nanotechnology Mechanosynthesis Molecular assembler Molecular machine Productive nanosystems Nanorobotics K. Eric Drexler Engines of Creation See also Nanotechnology  v • d • e

Grey goo (alternatively spelled gray goo) is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves—a scenario known as ecophagy ("eating the environment").

The term grey goo is usually used in a science fiction context. In the worst postulated scenarios (requiring large, space-capable machines), matter beyond Earth would also be turned into goo (with goo meaning a large mass of replicating nanomachines lacking large-scale structure, which may or may not actually appear goo-like). The disaster is posited to result from a deliberate doomsday device, or from an accidental mutation in a self-replicating nanomachine used only for other purposes, but designed to operate in a natural environment.

Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally described by mathematician John von Neumann, and are sometimes referred to as von Neumann machines. The term grey goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation.^[1]

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• Some Limits to Global Ecophagy by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, with Public Policy Recommendations
• Nanotechnology pioneer slays "grey goo" myths Paper critical of "grey goo"
• Online edition of the Royal Society's report Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties
• Goo and Paste Directory
• UK Government & Royal Society commission on Nanotechnology and Nanoscience