# What would the analogy for simple machines be at nanoscale?  It can’t be as straightforward as just very small simple machines (which I think is the fallacy that [[Eric Drexler]] and others fell into). Chemical, electrical, optical, and mechanical forces become much more … mushy at nanoscale. Perhaps that is a thread to pull on: converting between all of these different things — light -> chemical, chemical -> electrical, etc. ### Related * [[What role could each of the precision-chemistry-adjacent thrusts play in a positional chemistry system?]] [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/What+would+the+analogy+for+simple+machines+be+at+nanoscale) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/What+would+the+analogy+for+simple+machines+be+at+nanoscale)