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I also think that a fundamental issue with using carbon for compute is that we don't actually have a lot of it, and what we do have we largely need for all that
by px43 3y ago
I also think that a fundamental issue with using carbon for compute is that we don't actually have a lot of it, and what we do have we largely need for all that organic chemistry that keeps us alive.
For reference, carbon makes up about 0.18% of the earth's mass, whereas silicon makes up 27.7%. The moon basically has zero carbon, and the regolith is 20% silicon.
- AdamH12113 3y agoFar more of the silicon (from sand) goes into concrete and glass, though. And it's not like we're short on hydrocarbons. From what I can gather, the total yearly worldwide production of concrete is tens of billions of metric tons, fossil fuels are billions of tons, and silicon is millions of tons -- barely a blip on the radar.