Self-assembly
Gregor Purdy
I was thinking about the holding-hands devices that would comprise
something like T2. If such devices could be constructed, could they be
used to make, say, a 10-speed bicycle?
I imagine a small (how small?) cube of material with some sort of
carrying handle and a button to initiate reformation. When you set it
down and push the button, it starts reorganizing itself into a tubular
structure with gears, etc. The hardest part, I imagine would be the
tires and brakes.
The question is, can these hand-holding devices provide enough structural
strength to support themselves + a rider + the stresses of use?
How long would it take for the thing to change form? Would it get hot?
How much would it weigh (at a minimum)?
Presumably, it would store the energy it needed to change form by
stealing some while you ride (when it needs it).
Is this sort of thing possible?
--Gregor
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Gregor N. Purdy, NeXT Campus Consultant | "I am that which is not everything
OIT, University of Michigan | else." -- Gregor N. Purdy
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 +-------------------------------------
gre...@oit.itd.umich.edu | One species, one government!
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[Definitely possible. I've done enough analysis of the Utility Fog to
have a good idea of what its capabilities in that regard might be.
Yes, you could make a bicycle out of Fog, it would be lighter and of
roughly the same strength as today's bicycle, it might and might
not be possible to power it from your muscles. And it would look
different.
--JoSH]