[extropy-chat] Re: Self replication again (was MARS: Because

[Stephen J. Van Sickle]

> BTW, the idea that mechanochemical disassembly (turning complex 
> molecules into feedstock) is a natural correlate of assembly (turning 
> feedstock into complex molecules) is one of the most pervasive errors in 
> popular understanding of MNT.

Hmmm....then this brings up the question of how one safely and cheaply
disposes of used/defective/outdated devices. Ideally you would want to
close the material loop and turn it into feedstock, but as you say it is
not obvious that this is simply an inverse operation of construction. 
Worst case, I suppose, would be some sort of high pressure and
temperature decomposition, but the costs would be significant,
especially in comparison to the cost of manufacture.  However, it seems
a necessary area to investigate when trying to evaluate the cost or
effectiveness of large scale MNT.

sjv