From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Tue Aug 05 2003 - 17:50:11 MDT
--- Anders Sandberg <asa@nada.kth.se> wrote:
> > >I wonder if this research can lead into
> > >the electricity in -> ATP/Glucose out.
> > >People powering PDAs with a little blood
> > >or spit is cute, people running on electricity
> > >no farms, no food, no obesity, etc would be
> revolutionary.
[snip]
> Clearly we need more than energy to function. We
> need nutrients to
> build new protein and lipids for various functions,
> replacements for
> lost molecules and of course lots of water.
[snip]
> So in the end the device might be less useful than
> it seems. If it
> nanofactures other nutrients, e.g. from recycled
> waste, then it
> would be more useful.
Which in theory wouldn't be too hard to do, although
it might still require pills (proteins can be
nanofactured; raw elements like sodium can not). The
practical problem is finding the exact balance of
said nutrients. It's not completely understood even
in the general population, and it tends to change
from person to person and in the same person (time of
day - for some, caffiene in the morning but not at
night - or extra vitamin C upon significant levels of
viruses in the blood).
That's probably the major research block.
Nanofacturing proteins can be done with cloned human
tissue - sealed inside the device if there is any
question of biocompatibility, and possibly needing
replacement every ten years or so. Then again, if
you're accepting service appointments for the body,
then assuming 50% efficiency at producing energy as
glucose from electricity, how much does a
(100*(1/.5)*24*365=)1752 kWh set of batteries weigh,
and how practical would it be to leave such in a body
for a year? Assuming some people couldn't be trusted
to recharge themselves, or the battery was not
rechargeable for some reason. I suspect time-release
capsules of non-nanofacturable elements sufficient
for a year would less than double the battery's
weight and bulk, although water consumption would
still be necessary: storage for a year would be
prohibitively massive, construction would require a
source of hydrogen, and absorption of water vapor
likely would not produce enough for all-environment
use.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Tue Aug 05 2003 - 18:00:22 MDT