Slashdot Mirror


User: pomegranatesix

pomegranatesix's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
34
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 34

  1. Re:Reproduction? on Robotic Nanotech Swarms on Mars... in 2034 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's true. Evolution is one wily mother. Kinda blurs the line between what's alive and what's machine. I can't even fathom how it'd even reproduce: would it just construct copies of itself? Or would it pass down traits in the form of genes? Would there be mutations, and if so, would there be any sort of selection force? Especially if there aren't predators or really any factors that would influence the viability of any particular mutation over another. After all - these aren't organic. They don't have metabolisms or much beyond a certain energy requirement. (I don't even know what I'm talking about, except this really interests me as a first year biochemistry major.)

  2. Re:Reproduction on Robotic Nanotech Swarms on Mars... in 2034 · · Score: 1

    I don't know - might not be so bad if it was constantly being generated. (I don't know anything about atmospheric science, but it's an interesting thought nonetheless.)

  3. Re:Reproduction? on Robotic Nanotech Swarms on Mars... in 2034 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm scared of things that have the potential to be pathogenic. Not to mention terrestrial bacteria might not be so hapyp on Mars, though some have been found in some pretty harsh conditions. Robots might be a tiny bit safer; just wipe out their circuits with a giant electromagnetic pulse. (I read that in a scifi novel way back, heh.)

  4. Reproduction? on Robotic Nanotech Swarms on Mars... in 2034 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Will they have the ability to reproduce themselves?

    After the initial exploring and scientific investigations - we could have other uses for the nanobots.

    It'd be pretty cool if they could spread all over Mars and begin terraforming.

    We could have different "species" of nanobots - ones to fix nitrogen, another to break down CO2 into O2, etc etc. Mars would be livable in a couple hundred/thousand years.

  5. Re:Chemical Bonding? on A New Kind of Chemistry · · Score: 1

    It's motherfuckin' ALCHEMY! That's what it is. Transmutation. Ah, my chemistry professor will have me burned at stake. Anyone think the ancients were on to something? Maybe there's some truth to dragons too. (Sorry, I'm a fan of anime, and I just saw Full Metal Alchemist.)

  6. Chemical Bonding? on A New Kind of Chemistry · · Score: 1

    What kind of chemical bonding binds the iodine atoms to the aluminum? I don't really 'get' how it works. Aluminum, if I remember correctly, normally has a +3 charge. Iodine is variable, but likes to be at -1. So in "normal" chemistry, compounds like AlI3 are pretty common. How does this "new" chemistry work? I know they substitute an aluminum atom into a chain of iodine atoms, and the iodine 'wraps' around the aluminum, making it a core. It's not really like iodine just kind of clumps together around an aluminum atom naturally -- wouldn't it decompose and break off into I2, lowest energy form? What keeps the iodine attached to the single aluminum atom? It's not the usual ionic forces, and definitely not a covalent force. Aluminum has 13 electrons (correct me if I'm wrong,) so theoretically it could have a +13 charge, so I guess you can attach 13 iodine atoms with a -1 charge, but would that require A LOT of energy to remove all those electrons? Gah. I'm a first-year Chem major, and this is puzzling the hell out of me.

  7. Re:The Tim Curry of Lobsters?! on Fisherman Catches 2-Tone, Gender-Bending Lobster · · Score: 1

    I know :P But have you ever seen a non-red lobster in a Disney movie? This lobster is very in touch with his feminine side. I wonder how it gets it on with the other lobster in the ocean?

  8. The Tim Curry of Lobsters?! on Fisherman Catches 2-Tone, Gender-Bending Lobster · · Score: 1

    Wow, but I thought all lobsters were red though. It's a mutant!

    I'm imagining it starring in the next Rocky Horror Picture Show, with other sea creatures.

  9. Re:What's he doing? on Jet-Powered Wheelchair · · Score: 1

    Think it's been done before. On a bus to summer camp a few years back, I saw an old guy on some suped-up wheelchair driving at least 60mph on the highway. No kidding. He even popped a wheelie! Between that guy and Giuseppe Cannella, I'm not sure who'd win at http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/features/chamber/59 478 wheel chair chicken.