"If you rearrange the atoms in coal, you get diamond.
If you rearrange the atoms in sand, you get silicon. How atoms are arranged is fundamental to all material aspects of life," says Ralph Merkle, currently senior research chair at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing. He's a large, pear-shaped man who, as he speaks, waves his arms.......
Source:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/11/singularity-university-rearranging-atoms-with-ralph-merkle/
