11-20-2020, 02:25 PM
Fascinating! And agreed - wicked neat! 
This stuff seems to span the gap between 'dumb matter' (what we basically use now) and 'smart matter' (matter that reacts in a predictable active way to stimuli - usually imagined to involve microscopic machines although that isn't strictly necessary). It's not actively computer controlled, but it still actively does things. And the lego like structure seems tantalizingly close to ufog. For that matter, I wonder what ufog built from this kind of stuff might do in addition to the stuff we already theorize?
Given that it's already been demonstrated not just in a lab, but on a race track (admittedly in a lab demo type setting), it seems more than reasonable that applications of this tech could start appearing in the next few years to decades. And in the OA setting we might presume that it is in common use even early in the timeline.
Admittedly, given this exists now it also means we'd be potentially violating our general principle of not getting too deep into the next 100 years. But it seems unreasonable to just ignore this or pretend it doesn't exist.
I suppose we could try to imagine something even more advanced than what is described in the article - a second or third generation form of it - and then play with that later in the timeline (the Interplanetary Age and beyond) or the like. Or just take this as described and run with, adding in advancements as we think of em over time?
Also - would you be interested in writing up an article on this stuff?
Thoughts?
Todd
This stuff seems to span the gap between 'dumb matter' (what we basically use now) and 'smart matter' (matter that reacts in a predictable active way to stimuli - usually imagined to involve microscopic machines although that isn't strictly necessary). It's not actively computer controlled, but it still actively does things. And the lego like structure seems tantalizingly close to ufog. For that matter, I wonder what ufog built from this kind of stuff might do in addition to the stuff we already theorize?
Given that it's already been demonstrated not just in a lab, but on a race track (admittedly in a lab demo type setting), it seems more than reasonable that applications of this tech could start appearing in the next few years to decades. And in the OA setting we might presume that it is in common use even early in the timeline.
Admittedly, given this exists now it also means we'd be potentially violating our general principle of not getting too deep into the next 100 years. But it seems unreasonable to just ignore this or pretend it doesn't exist.
I suppose we could try to imagine something even more advanced than what is described in the article - a second or third generation form of it - and then play with that later in the timeline (the Interplanetary Age and beyond) or the like. Or just take this as described and run with, adding in advancements as we think of em over time?
Also - would you be interested in writing up an article on this stuff?
Thoughts?
Todd