[ExI] Von Neumann Probes

[John Clark]

On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 8:15 AM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

*>>>> You can't go faster than the speed of light, so if you want your
>>>> microchip to process a bit of information faster then you're going to need
>>>> to make the parts of the chip closer together. And you're going to need to
>>>> make the wavelength of the light that you use for communication between the
>>>> parts of the chip smaller. And the smaller the wavelength that light is the
>>>> more energy it has. And E=MC^2. If you keep trying to make the chip go
>>>> faster then eventually the distance becomes so small and the energy becomes
>>>> so large that a Black Hole forms. *
>>>>
>>>
>>> *>>> A black hole represents the fastest *serial* computer for a given
>>> number of bits. But note that operations per second of non-serial (parallel
>>> operations) is independent of the computer's density. You can have 10^51
>>> ops/s whether that 1 kg of computer is 1 cubic meter, or a microscopic
>>> black hole.*
>>>
>>
>> *>> In a parallel computer there can be an unlimited number of NAND and
>> NOR gates that can perform their operations simultaneously, but you don't
>> have a parallel computer, or a computer of any sort, unless the output of
>> those NAND and NOR gates can communicate with each other. So if you want
>> your machine to run faster then you're going to have to place those gates
>> closer together, and you're going to need to decrease the wavelength of
>> light that you use for communication,  and the shorter the wavelength the
>> more energy it has, so if you keep going eventually you're going to produce
>> a Black Hole.*
>>
>
> *> Think of it like a bunch of independent data centers spread across the
> globe that don't need to communicate with one another.*
>

*Then they can't be working on the same problem simultaneously. And if
they're spread over a large area then you can't be talking with them
simultaneously.  And they can't be talking with you simultaneously. *

*John K Clark*





>>
>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> *>> If you try to go beyond Bremermann's Limit the energy/mass
>>>>>>>> density would become so high that your computer would collapse into a Black
>>>>>>>> Hole, and then information could go in but it couldn't get out so the
>>>>>>>> machine wouldn't be of much use. *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ____
>
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