[ExI] Von Neumann Probes

[John Clark]

On Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 9:43 AM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

>>> Answer my question from my previous email: how many non-reversible
>>> computations can be performed for two computers at those two temperatures,
>>
>>
>> *>> That depends on the mass of the computers in question. Regardless of
>> what temperature the computers are at, the maximum number of bits of
>> information one kilogram of mass can process per second is 1.36*1^50 bits .
>> If all else was equal a computer with a black hole heat sink would be able
>> to process  **0.0064699999983% more information than a computer that
>> used empty space as a heat sink. Does that improvement seem worth crushing
>> Jupiter into a 20 foot wide Black Hole to you? *
>>
>
> *> I see your error.*
>

*MY ERROR?!*



> *> You are confusing wasted energy for useful energy.*
>

*My confusion?!  **The total amount of energy produced has nothing to do
with the temperature of the cold heat sink, it does have an effect on the
theoretical limit of how much of the total energy can be turned into work.
AND the amount is almost exactly the same for both, 0.99353 % can be if
empty space is used as a cold heat sink, and 0.9999999999983%  can be if an
unspecified method is used to crush Jupiter into a 20 foot wide black hole
and that is your cold a heat sink. *

*I think the gargantuan amount of energy required to crush Jupiter into
such a dense state, FAR greater than the amount of energy the sun will
produce in its entire lifetime, could more productively be used in other
ways.*


*> See my email in the other thread which shows how this difference yields
> a 3.8 billion fold increase in the number of computations that can be
> performed. (Because it is wasted energy that has been reduced, not the
> amount of useful energy that has been increased).*


*If I had written that email I'd be embarrassed by it and not be urging
others to read it again.  *

*John K Clark*
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