`20171202 Update Knowledge Forum Knowledge Thread
Reference #1 Page 25 Paragraph 1
Section: The best way for the world to end
In this section, Dr. Dartnell narrows the range of possible futures for which “The Knowledge” might be most helpful.
The paragraph that begins: “The problem is ...” reminds the reader that there is a risk that in the event of a global catastrophe, human survivors might revert to a “hunter-gatherer lifestyle”.
While “The Knowledge” will attempt to find a remedy for this risk through conventional means, I am interested in building upon Dr. Dartnell's careful exposition to try to work out how this risk can be mitigated by carrying our already sophisticated technology just a BIT further, so that a comparatively small community can sustain what we consider in 2017 to be comfortable living at a first world level.
As I have said before in this thread, reaching this goal would help communities who would set out to not only survive but thrive in locations away from Earth.
The key (as I am seeing the future now) is advancement of 3D Printing to approach the performance anticipated by “Star Trek”'s replicating machine, but I do not anticipate the speed of assembly of atoms one at a time to proceed more rapidly than nature shows us today, in living structures which assemble themselves an atom at a time. Nature can assemble an apple over the course of a few weeks, and an oak tree over several decades. Nature certainly uses parallel processing, and I would expect practical atom assemblers to do the same.
There appeared in a recent news item in the Internet feed to the effect that researchers at an academic institution have experimented with use of multiple laser beams to achieve much faster “assembly” speeds than has been achieved with a single laser beam. The medium is a transparent fluid capable of fusing into a solid under the influence of a laser beam of sufficient strength. The breakthrough demonstrated by the research team is to employ multiple lasers at a strength less that that needed to fuse the liquid material. The combination of multiple under-strength laser beams is able to fuse the material. I would guess that similar ingenuity will permit faster assembly of individual atoms than Nature demonstrates, but there is a distinct advantage to a slower assembly speed.
Thus, as the future is revealing itself to me right now, there would be an opportunity for citizens of a comparatively small community to own “manufacturing” facilities capable of assembling a complex electronic object such as a smart phone, or a simple tool such as a wrench, or a batch of useful material such as thread for weaving or metal thread for electronic wiring. The programming of these machines would be comparable in style to programming for 3D printers today, but (I admit) far more challenging. Thus, there would be plenty of opportunity for some members of the community to specialize in programming, while others specialize in producing particular kinds of objects or materials.
(th)