Re: MBrains: living longer

From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Tue Oct 22 2002 - 04:57:06 MDT


R. Bradbury noted:

<<The merge occurs (generating one would
presume some really great fireworks) [at this point you had better have
your fingers crossed that the simulation got it right because some of the
other outcomes of star collisions of various types are *not* so pretty].
After you have finished listening to the 1812 Overture, the MBrain
Uber-lord gives the order to "Recloak the newborn lifegiver". Ok, now you
have a star about with twice the mass of the originals.....
....Given hundreds of billions of possible stars to collide with and knowing
that the longest lived are the most abundant it would seem that this ups
the maximum lifetime of MBrains to at least a hundred billion trillion
(10^23) years.
Robert>>

Why such a ram and cram procedure? I speculate that a Matrioshka Brain or
other such cosmological intelligence would opt for a gentler means of star
harvesting. Lets look at some of what the late, space-plasma physicist Hannes
Alfvens could teach us. Using pure electromagnetics; the M-Brain forms
several columns and spinnerets to syphon-off material from an M-Class star.
There is also the possibility of performing such actions on a more plentiful
stellar body, the Brown Dwarf. Again electromagnetics here provide the
solution.

More significantly, (even though this is merely hand-waving) is the notion
that by the time M-Brains are functional, they may feast on ever more potent
energy supplies. These may be ones we are unaware of, or under-appreciative
of. Two-hundred years ago, humanity was largely, and equally,
under-appreciative of petroleum as a resource. And hasn't this recent
petroleum age been nothing, if not fun, hmmmm?

-Mitch



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