Using small active solar sails to recover mass driver pellets in solar orbit was described in _The Helix and the Sword_ by John C McLoughlin, around 1983. Excellent novel of genetic engineering in the distant future, without a singularity of course.
Anders Sandberg wrote:
>
> Spike Jones <spike66@ibm.net> writes:
>
> > Anders Sandberg wrote: An idea that came up due to some email discussions:
> > have a big sail,
> >
> > > built from nano- or micro-machines. Let debris rip through it, making
> > > some easily repairable holes and leaving some of the machines on the
> > > debris. When they are removed from the sail, they start digesting the
> > > debris and converting it into a small, inert sail. Using some simple
> > > navigation (make an angle of X degrees with light of this spectrum)
> > > they either drift away from orbit, or merge with the sail which can
> > > digest them.
> >
> > Anders this is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. Did you
> > think of it? spike
>
> Well, yes. I'm not sure I was first, as Gina pointed out Drexler might
> have thought about it too. And likely several others.
>
> I arrived at this idea due to my sf/roleplaying interest (again): I
> was originally thinking some years back (around 91 or so) about
> space-living creatures, and the concept of living solar sails came
> up. Since then I have occasionally developed the idea a bit further.
>
> Of course, building the above stuff is likely tricky. But a fun
> exercise in smart materials and distributed control.
>
> --
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension!
> asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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-- Doug Jones, Rocket Plumber Rotary Rocket Company