Madrox:
Making this was pretty fun. I spent the week in a class 10 cleanroom attempting to make these. After five days, I'm taking back to my lab with 5 wafers, each with approximately 200 robots. The robots were created by using a bunch of lithography masks and photoresists, and some chrome/copper sputtering and nickel plating. Lithography's a real bitch though - I spent freakin' hours on that machine trying to line masks up for different layers.
Anyways, here's how the wafer looks after all the processing. The robots are located in the top left - they're the specks in the dark square.
For a proper comparison of how small the robots really are, here's a photo I took today of a glued robot right beside a needle. The robot is the dot in the middle of the blue marks.
Teufel:
Well, it's not as hard as you think to start - just talk to professors and get a few people together to start research. And no, it's not my job - this IS what I do in my spare time.
Spacegirl:
Uh, I swear this isn't the prototype of the T1000.
Jager:
Railguns are cool too. The cap banks required are pricey though. Coil guns are simpler and last longer.