"Grey goo" is a term coined by Eric Drexler in his 1986 book about nanotechnology, Engines of Creation. In one section of the book, Drexler speculates about what could happen if we created self-reproducing "nanobots." If they got out of control, they could conceivably use the resources of the entire planet to replicate in an exponential manner akin to bacterial replication. Every living creature, every useful mineral, would be converted into more of the "gray goo."

Recognized as a mathematical prodigy, he began to study advanced calculus under Gábor Szegő at the age of 15. On their first meeting, Szegő was so astounded with the boy's mathematical talent that he was brought to tears. Along with Teller and Stanislaw Ulam, von Neumann worked out key steps in the nuclear physics involved in thermonuclear reactions and the hydrogen bomb.