This post raises a large number of engineering challenges. Some of those engineering challenges rely on other assumptions being made. For example, the use of energy carrying molecules rather than electricity or mechanical power which can cross vacuum boundaries easily. Overall a lot of “If we solve X via method Y (which is the only way to do it) problem Z occurs” without considering making several changes at once that synergistically avoid multiple problems.
“Too much energy” means too much to be competitive with normal biological processes.
That goalpost should be right at the top and clearly stated instead of “microscopic machines that [are] superior”. “grey goo alone will have doubling times slower than optimised biological systems” is definitely plausible. E-coli can double in 20 minutes in nutrient rich conditions which is hard to beat. If wet nanotech doubles faster but dry nanotech can make stuff biology can’t, then use both. Dry for critical process steps and making high value products and wet for eating the biosphere and scaling up.
Newer semiconductor manufacturing processes use more energy and materials to create each transistor but those transistors use less power and run faster which makes producing them worthwhile. Dry nanotech will be a tool for making things that may be expensive but worthwhile to build like really awesome computers.
Wet nanotech (IE:biology) is plausibly the most efficient at self-replicating but notice humans use all sorts of chemical and physical processes to do other things better. Operating in space with biotech alone for example would be quite difficult.
This post raises a large number of engineering challenges. Some of those engineering challenges rely on other assumptions being made. For example, the use of energy carrying molecules rather than electricity or mechanical power which can cross vacuum boundaries easily. Overall a lot of “If we solve X via method Y (which is the only way to do it) problem Z occurs” without considering making several changes at once that synergistically avoid multiple problems.
That goalpost should be right at the top and clearly stated instead of “microscopic machines that [are] superior”. “grey goo alone will have doubling times slower than optimised biological systems” is definitely plausible. E-coli can double in 20 minutes in nutrient rich conditions which is hard to beat. If wet nanotech doubles faster but dry nanotech can make stuff biology can’t, then use both. Dry for critical process steps and making high value products and wet for eating the biosphere and scaling up.
Newer semiconductor manufacturing processes use more energy and materials to create each transistor but those transistors use less power and run faster which makes producing them worthwhile. Dry nanotech will be a tool for making things that may be expensive but worthwhile to build like really awesome computers.
Wet nanotech (IE:biology) is plausibly the most efficient at self-replicating but notice humans use all sorts of chemical and physical processes to do other things better. Operating in space with biotech alone for example would be quite difficult.