It made a difference for the androids on Planet X. They built their civilization around a novel initial condition on their planet (much like our usage of fossile fuel).
I want to plant a conceptual seed, though: Perhaps there are more structure to be found, that would allow us to convert ambient heat into useful energy, as the initial structure gets depleated. This post is also the starting point for introducing a more perplexing thought experiment in another post (that I can’t post yet, due to lack of Karma).
I guess I have so much physicist-brain that to me it doesn’t seem like there’s a big difference—all I can spot is “thing has high free energy content, we can extract free energy from thing”.
It just so happens that the densest free energy resources in our immediate neighbourhood hold it in either chemical or nuclear form. I really doubt there’s any greater insights here to be found because anything that simply begs to roll to a lower free energy minimum will when given the chance. There’s no large untapped reservoirs of low entropy stuff just begging to absorb heat from the environment so that it can undergo a phase change on Earth’s crust or nearby space that I can think or speculate of.
Thanks! That seems like a fruitful way of looking at things, most of the time.
There’s no large untapped reservoirs of low entropy stuff just begging to absorb heat from the environment so that it can undergo a phase change on Earth’s crust or nearby space that I can think or speculate of.
That is not the only place one might look. I certanly do not know the future, but I do know this: Many a times have humanity dismissed things like novelity, that have later on turned out to be very important. The way I see it, you are a physicist, where as I am more of a head in the clouds visionary (with a Masters degree in Physics). I love interacting with those who know more than I do! My second thought experiment is still not useful, but perhaps you will find it more novel, once I post it.
It made a difference for the androids on Planet X. They built their civilization around a novel initial condition on their planet (much like our usage of fossile fuel).
I want to plant a conceptual seed, though: Perhaps there are more structure to be found, that would allow us to convert ambient heat into useful energy, as the initial structure gets depleated. This post is also the starting point for introducing a more perplexing thought experiment in another post (that I can’t post yet, due to lack of Karma).
I guess I have so much physicist-brain that to me it doesn’t seem like there’s a big difference—all I can spot is “thing has high free energy content, we can extract free energy from thing”.
It just so happens that the densest free energy resources in our immediate neighbourhood hold it in either chemical or nuclear form. I really doubt there’s any greater insights here to be found because anything that simply begs to roll to a lower free energy minimum will when given the chance. There’s no large untapped reservoirs of low entropy stuff just begging to absorb heat from the environment so that it can undergo a phase change on Earth’s crust or nearby space that I can think or speculate of.
Thanks! That seems like a fruitful way of looking at things, most of the time.
That is not the only place one might look. I certanly do not know the future, but I do know this: Many a times have humanity dismissed things like novelity, that have later on turned out to be very important. The way I see it, you are a physicist, where as I am more of a head in the clouds visionary (with a Masters degree in Physics). I love interacting with those who know more than I do! My second thought experiment is still not useful, but perhaps you will find it more novel, once I post it.