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| rabbit... |
 Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:49 am |
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| what is the entropy of grey goo? Is it high or low? |
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| dlzc... |
| Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:49 am |
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On Sep 9, 10:49 am, rabbit <rell... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:
[quote:5aa6a930b2]what is the entropy of grey goo? Is it high or low?
[/quote:5aa6a930b2]
The magic 8-ball says, "Ask Again Later"
Grey goo is at maximal entropy.
David A. Smith |
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| dlzc... |
| Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:12 am |
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Dear rabbit:
On Sep 10, 11:22 am, rabbit <rell... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:
[quote:14ba164384]Jim Logajan wrote:
rabbit <rell... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:
what is the entropy of grey goo? Is it high or low?
In other words, your question appears poorly
formed. What is it you really want to know?
Which of the several meanings are you using
for the word "entropy"?
Okay, after consulting wikipedia, I see your
point. There is the "energy available to perform
work" then there is the "measure of the amount
of information". I know that the second law
applies to both,
[/quote:14ba164384]
I am not so sure about it applying directly to information per se, but
OK...
[quote:14ba164384]but I am pretty ignorant of information theory.
But I can imagine two worlds, light years apart,
both of which were overcome by grey goo. What
can we say about the past of these worlds?
Very little, I think.
So information entropy is high.
[/quote:14ba164384]
Life in general is a net producer of entropy, and so far, intelligent
life is yet a better producer / increaser of entorpy still. Covering
a planet with grey goo will maximize entropy, since life finds new
niches to fill, and new food sources to act on.
[quote:14ba164384]Wikip* says that classical entropy refers to a
system in thermal equilibrium which wouldn't
be the case here (?)
[/quote:14ba164384]
It would be, yes. Unless you think the grey goo will net increase /
decrease the planet's temperature, or somehow modify its sun?
David A. Smith |
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| rabbit... |
| Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:26 am |
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dlzc wrote:
[quote:12cfa4dd9d]On Sep 9, 10:49 am, rabbit <rell... at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:
what is the entropy of grey goo? Is it high or low?
The magic 8-ball says, "Ask Again Later"
Grey goo is at maximal entropy.
[/quote:12cfa4dd9d]
Are you sure? I believe you are right. But grey goo seems very ordered
at one level which
makes me think low entropy. On the other hand, a world overtaken by grey
goo would have no information and loss of information means high
entropy. One grey goo world would look like any other...
rK |
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| Jim Logajan... |
| Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:55 am |
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rabbit <rellick at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:
[quote:9b479d264d]what is the entropy of grey goo? Is it high or low?
[/quote:9b479d264d]
What is the entropy of a primordial sea of prokaryotes?
What color is a complex number?
In other words, your question appears poorly formed. What is it you really
want to know? Which of the several meanings are you using for the word
"entropy"? |
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| rabbit... |
| Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:22 pm |
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Guest
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Jim Logajan wrote:
[quote:b20b1cf13a]rabbit <rellick at (no spam) aol.com> wrote:
what is the entropy of grey goo? Is it high or low?
In other words, your question appears poorly formed. What is it you really
want to know? Which of the several meanings are you using for the word
"entropy"?
[/quote:b20b1cf13a]
Okay, after consulting wikipedia, I see your point. There is the "energy
available to perform work" then there is the "measure of the amount of
information". I know that the second law applies to both, but I am
pretty ignorant of information theory. But I can imagine two worlds,
light years apart, both of which were overcome by grey goo. What can we
say about the past of these worlds? Very little, I think.
So information entropy is high.
Wikip* says that classical entropy refers to a system in thermal
equilibrium which wouldn't be the case here (?) |
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