Hey, sorry, I thought I’d responded to this one and apparently hadn’t.
I think my black hole discussion is essentially my answer to (1). I don’t think I could think of a way to make it work with an asteroid or similar setup. I am not entirely sure your discussion of cosmological degradation is well-defined enough to answer more precisely than that.
For (2), my other comments about you can of course do work to create a gradient you then consume, and get some of the work back. But as written, no, that doesn’t mean the setup as described can work.
Hey, sorry, I thought I’d responded to this one and apparently hadn’t.
I think my black hole discussion is essentially my answer to (1). I don’t think I could think of a way to make it work with an asteroid or similar setup. I am not entirely sure your discussion of cosmological degradation is well-defined enough to answer more precisely than that.
For (2), my other comments about you can of course do work to create a gradient you then consume, and get some of the work back. But as written, no, that doesn’t mean the setup as described can work.