From: Leonardo Gonzalez (magos@extropian.net)
Date: Fri Jun 08 2001 - 02:56:36 MDT
This is exactly the sort of idea I was envisioning: engines that produce
power by creating entropy out of organized information. The most obvious
source to me was DNA; ordered base pairs are very organized and quite
readily available.
Now, for my second question:
I postulate that electromagnetic / mechanical power = political / military
power...
How could one possibly go about revolutionizing the power industry, creating
an inexhaustible and affordable supply of power, without getting killed by
the oil and coal industries?
As far-fetched as my first question might seem, I take it very seriously; so
too the second. This is the only public forum I feel semi-comfortable
discussing this in. If I am to work on an alternative source of power that
undermines the current power structure, how can I ensure both my livelihood
and the success of the project?
I fantasized about a win-win scenario where the oil and coal industries
could be invited to actually HELP with the project and take part in reaping
the rewards. This didn't seem feasible; they have too much invested in
their current infrastructure, and their profit motive impels them to
continue their model of economic and environmental exploitation.
My gut instinct was to develop it in absolute stealth mode. Having me as
the single point of failure, however, could compromise the project. Also,
the project is a formidable one and benefits from all the help I could get.
I saw the need for a decentralized, distributed research and development
architecture. So then, form some sort of R&D secret society that works
behind the scenes until *WHAM*, the product is unleashed to the world at
large? Or could the project be completely open, relying on its distributed
architecture to protect it from sabotage? Would the full anonymity of all
researchers and developers be required to protect their lives?
Thanks for your thoughts,
Leonardo
> Leonardo Gonzalez, <magos@extropian.net>, writes:
...
> > Might there be a way to harness the organized structure of
> information and
> > extract from it a form of energy?
>
> Yes, I have seen analyses in the theory of reversible computers which
> have this flavor. Organized information can serve in effect as an engine
> for driving computations.
>
> It turns out that you don't necessarily need energy to make things
> happen, you can use a source of anti-entropy. In chemistry we learn
> that a reaction will go forward if delta energy - T delta entropy is
> negative [1]. You can have the entropy increase or the energy decrease
> to achieve this.
>
> In asking for energy from information, you are thinking of the first
> term, delta energy to make things happen. But actually with information
> you are already in position to drive a mechanism using the second term,
> delta entropy. All that highly ordered information is just waiting to
> be randomized and turned into entropy.
>
> In principle you can use this to drive an engine just like you can
> use energy. I think there are some chemical and perhaps biological
> phenomena which can be thought of as entropy engines (evaporating water
> is a trivial example). I speculated some time back that Drexler's
> sorting rotors (which draw power to decrease entropy by sorting atoms)
> could perhaps be run backwards, producing power by turning information
> into entropy as separated groups of atoms mix.
>
> Hal
>
> [1] http://www.ucdsb.on.ca/tiss/stretton/chem2/entropy5.htm
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