Programmable & Smart Matter

[@transhumanistgamer8963]

The idea of cloaks coming back into fashion proves that Isaac Arthur really does dream of a better tomorrow.

[@mikeohawk95]

We gotta make Issac rather as successful as Elon musk at this point

[@TheEventHorizon909]

Also entirely just a reference to Dune lol

[@tejing2001]

I'm very much on board with the "becoming smart matter" angle. It's a path to nigh-unkillability that needn't necessarily rely on centralized infrastructure, which is always a bit of a nightmare generator for these concepts, at least for me. If nothing else, the centralization means your biggest threat comes from societal upheaval, which is... problematic.

[@howdoichangemyprofilepictu9839]

I just wanted to bring this up to someone random, wouldn't cells be a type of smart matter, nevermind this just started being discussed in the video.

[@alexv3357]

I feel compelled to point out that basically everyone in the modern day is already completely dependent on social stability for survival, notably for transportation, energy, food production, medicine, and more, and we have already basically turned all of humanity into a vast hive mind with the internet. Even before the modern age that was still true, if to a lesser extent; even subsistence farmers are rarely wholly independent. Integrating technology directly into everyone's bodies doesn't mark a serious qualitative shift in social organisation, and given how dependent our whole world is on each other, it wouldn't even be all that terribly quantitative a change either.

[@JB52520]

I'd rather be made of information than smart matter. The living environment would be much more flexible, and it would be very hard to kill or damage someone with enough backups. Also, augmentation would probably be a lot easier.

[@tejing2001]

@@JB52520 I don't really see that as a mutually exclusive option. However much of a digital existence you are, you're still running on some kind of material substrate, and I'd still much prefer that that substrate be completely mine, not some communal system with a governance structure that might not be sufficiently trustworthy. Everyone's reliant on society to a degree, but needing society's resources to continue a sentient existence, on a timescale of seconds, is way too much reliance for me. So if your hardware is your own, what kind of hardware should it be? Smart matter is a pretty attractive option.

[@ivoryas1696]

@@howdoichangemyprofilepictu9839 Changing your comment because of something brought up in the video? Relatable.

[@CrossoverManiac]

8:33 - Odo was rather limited as a changeling. Some of the other changelings could mimic individual humans perfectly, turn into fog, and IIRC even into fire.

[@singletona082]

In fairness. Odo was effectively a baby. Another of the changelings sent out, las, was able to make a warp capible form to travel with.

[@NickFisherman]

He couldn't quite figure out ears.

[@donaldhobson8873]

A gun might be hard to form if the nanobots aren't held together firmly enough to stand an explosion.

[@dualityomk9854]

it could barely withstand a kinetic impact, so no, a t1000 gun would not work

[@khayyin359]

Audio: "Your cloak of smart matter..." Subtitles: "Your cloaca smart matter..." I know the auto-generated subtitles get things wrong sometimes, but the fact that a cloaca is a multipurpose thing seemed funnily appropriate 😅

[@TTheDDoctor]

I can think of no greater contribution to humanity's technical progress than a programmable smart cloaca. XD

[@JarodM]

Cloaca-cola~🥤👍

[@sigma6656]

@@TTheDDoctor It could make breeding more streamlined at least.

[@NickFisherman]

@@JarodM lol, that evidently means sewer tail.

[@digitalwojtya3669]

Imagine future world of smart matter where people look like *ABSOLUTE GIANT MUSCULAR CHADS* just to lift superlight carbon fiber chair and then transform to *THE CUTEST ANIME CATGIRLS* just to sit on it

[@OniMetsuki]

The liquid metal terminator could quite feasibly form a rail gun arm firing small parts of itself it can then re-absorb. It does have a powerful nuclear power source as I understand it. (no expert on the lore though)

[@himynameis3664]

Now this is the type of thinking I come to science based channels for.

[@darrekworkman8685]

No Isaac is talking about the first liquid metal terminator sent back in the franchise. There was another one that had a liquid metal skin but a solid frame underneath that that had a gun as a part of it. The limitations of the first liquid metal version were silly and anyone human able to make such a thing would have figured out how to bypass all of the limitations fast. Heck you are trying to do it and there isn't a liquid metal robot yet. The reason it couldn't form a rail gun arguable is because for some reason it couldn't deliberately separate piece of itself. If it could do that it could easily form complex machines with separate moving parts. The first liquid metal terminators power source was not explored if I remember correctly. Terminators in general used nuclear power, but the liquid metal variety couldn't have because a nuclear power plant wouldn't have been able to shift the same as the rest of it did.

[@velnz5475]

Even possibly could spread that smart matter into the target turning them into a terminator themselves... or I suppose just shutting down a vital organ if necessary. This could be explained lore wise as the t-1000 may have evolved to only reabsorb matter if absolutely necessary. Afterall it couldve tried the rail gun approach and something could have gone very very wrong with that. Perhaps this being a distaste for organic terminators, or perhaps its more the uncertainty of parts of itself being lodged in things you may not get back even if it would make for wonderful tracking.

[@hughtonne1775]

This reminds me of a friend of mine, He was playing a D&D game and his character had come into possession of a small creature called a Mimc, which could take on the appearance of wood or metal inorder to fool it's prey. Well his mimic was much bigger than a coin, but he'd already found a use for it in Tax evasion and assassinations. A different kind of "Smart Matter"

[@js70371]

Was just watching Anton Petrov’s channel and saw the video from a few weeks back when he broke the news about his infant sons death. Just wanted to reach out to you as well and send much love and good wishes to you and your family Isaac. I’m a HUGE fan and it just feels appropriate to say thank you. For everything you do. Cheers from Canada brother. 🇨🇦💫🙏🏼🍻

[@Playa566]

Been listening to this guy for years love his work , only one that goes through so many concepts. Should be way more popular and paid is my favorite KZbin channel.

[@SKy_the_Thunder]

While never confirmed, the "Eridium" material in the Borderlands game series fits the description of smart matter extremely well, though leaning very into Clarketech. While humanity barely understands it and treats it more like a regular material with weird and exotic properties, the sheer amount of use cases, as well as its canonical connections heavily imply that. It seems highly energy dense as its most prevalent effect is that of matter transmutation and energy channeling, like adding elemental effects to regular weapons or powering machinery based on Eridian technology (the species Eridium originates from, hence the name). In a destabilized state (referred to as "Slag" since it occurs as a byproduct of the crude refining process humans use) it weakens just about any material and reacts violently to impact or sudden bursts of energy, as if malfunctioning. Long time exposure to Slag or other Eridium byproducts can cause moderate to extreme mutations in organisms - which can lead to death, but surprisingly often imbues them with additional abilities instead, ranging from generation of powerful acid, over erratic temperature all the way to things like energy beams, shields or fields, similar to what Eridian technology can create. Eridian technology, largely based on Eridium, is in many regards "magic" to all but the smartest minds humanity has to offer (who typically only got that far by being affected by Eridian tech themselves). It powers pseudo-living "Guardians" of varying complexity, allows for teleportation, wormholes, pocket dimensions, telekinesis and matter generation and is partially self-regenerating, allowing it to stay functional for eons unless damaged beyond repair. On top of all that, they created a planetary sized shell of Eridium to serve as a prison for an eldritch space horror known simply as "The Destroyer". It's presumably as a self-regenerating cell surrounding a pocket dimension strong enough to contain what was described as a being feasting on entire galaxies.

[@ThanksIfYourReadIt]

I always tought about cartoons and theire "toon powers" to be a super advanced civilization left nothing to discover anymore just goofing around waiting some unfathomable computation to be completed or just having a blast before a calculated end will come.

[@stuart207]

I like the idea that we're already impregnated with nano machines, viruses and bacteria. Our symbiotic relationship is absolute because we cannot survive without them and like their hosts they are evolving but into what? People around the world have different ratios and compositions of these so why? Great video Isaac and thank you for making me think.

[@himynameis3664]

Evolving into their final form... The chest burster 😨😨

[@stuart207]

😆

[@himynameis3664]

@@stuart207 and they just burst out as Mr.Bean with his hand like you have in your profile pic 😂😂

[@deathsyth8888]

"PROGRAMABLE MATTER!" - Neil Breen, 'Twisted Pair' (2018)

[@TTheDDoctor]

Prior to watching this video, I had a very similar idea of humanity's future, except with the more conventional idea of nanomachines instead of catoms. I never knew who originally conceived the idea of humanity being entirely made of synthetic nanoscopic parts, but I hope to live long enough to take that idea and run with it!

[@kingmasterlord]

I'm actually working on this right now. I've got a macroscale version: a fractal gearbox, and I'm looking into 3D printed fabrics and chains

[@mikerodgers7620]

Where are you?

[@skipperofschool8325]

@@mikerodgers7620 Earth

[@hughtonne1775]

@@skipperofschool8325 What kind? Clay valley or open savana?

[@mikerodgers7620]

@@skipperofschool8325 University? Who do you work for? I have friends working with nanotechnologies now at the University of Michigan.

[@kingmasterlord]

I consider myself the dominant organism on the planet and acknowledge no authority that considers itself over me, translation I'm freelance.

[@ENCHANTMEN_]

A smart matter man sits in a smart matter house. Is he made out of house? Or is the house made out of flesh? He screams, for he does not know

[@TheSkullConfernece]

Finally! A video about the kinds of technology found in the novel Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson! Nanotechnology is my all time favorite 🧬🔗🔬

[@basilpines2201]

A young lady's illustrated primer!!!!

[@barahng]

I was much more of a fan of Anathem, it's so unique for a scifi setting. Just learning the etymology and history of the words being used thousands of years in the future is an adventure in itself. The little excerpts detailing the origins of certain words and phrases in the "Mathic world" are so good.

[@TomLisankie]

I always recommend Diamond Age before Snowcrash!

[@bandersong4650]

Eh not quite. When I think of smart matter that book does not come to mind but the Cixin Liu Trisolaran trilogy and their Sophon (programmed super computer into a proton). In The Diamond Age there is a centralized place where matter is processed and sent out via a kind of internet.

[@AshtonCoolman]

It was also in Anathem

[@silent_stalker3687]

“I know you cheated, don’t make me get the school Union issued lobotomy kit out to prove it, Timmy!” - Future public schools.

[@barryon8706]

While smart matter may not have a lot of structural strength, I think smart matter and dumb matter in combination might be stronger than just dumb matter if the smart matter could heal microscopic fissures or deformations quickly.

[@commode7x]

It would result in slot of waste, as well as high energy consumption, but it would be useful for things like shielding or regenerative armor plating.

[@howdoichangemyprofilepictu9839]

Wouldn't shape memory alloy metal be better for this? There might be specific applications though.

[@seandees3028]

An argument for the gradualist replacement of failed neurons, tissues, etc would be the artificial version that replaces the original organic could be better engineered for the environment it finds itself in. As an example, long distance space travel would likely cause increased radiation exposure. If the replacement were to be more resistant to radiation induced failure it may be preferable to the original which would likely be damaged again in short order. It could then be replaced with the organic version when a suitably low radiation environment becomes the norm. The idea that the replacement could also be more conductive (ie - faster) could also be preferable. Slow improvements to cognition speed and accuracy could ameliorate the potential psychological damage a massive and sudden change could induce.

[@ts25679]

Who wouldn't love being made of smart matter? The scope of what and who you could be and achieve would expand almost exponentially. I think I would love to try being a matryoshka planet nurturing and educating my citizens.

[@howdoichangemyprofilepictu9839]

You are already made of smart matter, they are called cells, also radical tra sformation would likely destroy the concept of, "you" unless you keep to small or very gradual changes that would likely take decades to notice, but who knows what technology will look like 100 years from now.

[@sigma6656]

Ultimately there will probably always be people who prefer the analog, traditional human form. At least for as long as the stars are burning. That's a part I really like about Hamilton's Void trilogy. The clear gradient of humanity from the rim of human space to the heart of it. Normies on the frontiers, post-scarcity toga wearing aristocrats in the middle, and magical space wizard AI constructs on Earth.

[@sigma6656]

@@wobbleagent8835 Maybe some would turn into their own mecha-azathoth. If that were the case though, i'd happily become a smart-matter mega-monster hunter. Talk about a hell of a good time. Sleep for 10,000 years, slaughter dark god, party as a human avatar with the surviving indigenous population, rinse, repeat. It's a bit wanky but sounds fun. I might write a short story about that

[@sigma6656]

@@wobbleagent8835 I rarely seek out existential despair in my fiction. Real life is fucked up enough as it is. Also, in that situation (meeting god, finding out he's a complete prick) I think most reasonable people would probably just fly into a sun and get it over with. At that point you'll have been gallivanting around the galaxy for AT LEAST 10 million years unless you just made a bee-line to the edge. Although it would be pretty fun to do some shenanigans with neutron stars and black holes. That might keep you occupied for another million years before you delete your consciousness.

[@rosalynredwood4542]

Neil Breen would have LOVED this video😂 he keeps of using these jargons without knowing their full meanings..and as usual,great work Isaac!

[@Satellite_Of_Love]

@25:43 I love that you mentioned Hank Green. His narration on the Microcosmos KZbin channel is very engaging, I highly recommend it!

[@sagethelemur]

what if you make catoms that "melt" into a harder material, minus one that deconstructs the now "dumb matter" into more catoms. so it can retain/have the tensile strength of various materials. but how would they get the heat 🤔

[@aaronmcdaniel7768]

I feel like you glossed over the power delivery mechanics for smart matter. Any rapid assembly/disassembly would be pretty energy intensive and there would probably be a pretty limited amount of uses before it had to refuel. Something like clothes made of smart matter would have to be light and couldn't carry a lot of fuel with it. I wonder if some sort of photosynthetic energy production would work well

[@numoru]

Inductance

[@Soken50]

An atom IS fortunately named, as removing parts of it (be it electrons, protons, neutrons or quarks) alters its properties, it is thus the smallest unit of a given element

[@dennisroberts4282]

A sci fi novel you may have missed is "The Silkie" by A. E. Van Vog. He describes a designed human varient the is at home in most importantly outer space. I would not be surprised to see our decendents take that path. With smart matter components they might morph into what ever stucture was needed to function well in free space. A state where the difference between the ship and crew would be non-existent. Rendevous with Rama is a bit like that also.

[@PhilipMurphy8Extra]

You seem like you know about this subject at least, Education is key.

[@squirlmy]

@@PhilipMurphy8Extra sci-fi fiction is not the equivalent of actual science. It's closer to religious knowledge of gods or saints and their miracles. It is simply a collection of fairy tales.

[@barahng]

Have you ever read House of Suns? Instead of aliens it has humans that have evolved (both naturally and selectively) over the millennia into hundreds of different sub-species including ones adapted for vacuum and low gravity.

[@addisonchow9798]

I can finally learn how to make the real life equivalent of energon from transformers.

[@quantranhong1092]

maybe energon is just a smart matter fabricator not something too magical

[@CoryVirok]

Great video! I was hoping to hear about what sort of computation would be needed to run some of the use cases described in this. E.g. if smart matter makes up a human, what sort of computational complexity, speed, memory would be needed to orchestrate and operate such a thing? And where would that computation happen? Would it be distributed, consolidated, etc?

[@Signal_Lost.]

Alright, I'm saying it: I want a spaceship that can shape-shift.

[@anthonymorris9061]

I want to be a spaceship that can shape-shift.

[@Signal_Lost.]

@@anthonymorris9061 Weird, but understandable. We can dream. *pew pew*

[@bradhaaf4749]

me to since was like 10.. Flight of the Navigator kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYfIk4N7js6kaNE

[@Signal_Lost.]

@@wobbleagent8835 I just want a spaceship. *pew pew*

[@wobbleagent8835]

@@Signal_Lost. understandable but if you become it you can enjoy it much better. Plus you don’t have to worry of danger of operating a spaceship in normal body.

[@jacktribble5253]

I would like to thank you. Your work has improved my problem solving skills, my knowledge of cosmology and even my outlook on life. Best of Days to you and yours.

[@Not_Pulsus]

Issac, thank you for having kick-ass playlist organization.

[@code4chaosmobile]

Really good video this week. the idea of catoms reminds me of some of the tech presented in the comic series "Transmetropolitian", one of the story lines is about the social group of identities that go from biological to fogilogical really neat stuff. Keep up the great work to one and all who bring this to life

[@rayceeya8659]

I'm currently reading Neil Stephenson's "Diamond Age", and this reminds me of the world in that book. Everyone has a Matter Converter that can make whatever you want from simple atoms. The world is saturated in nano-tech. But scarcity and hunger still exist. In fact it's reached crisis level. Machines that can make things but can't make food. I'm really enjoying it so don't spoil it for me.

[@kingmasterlord]

for the material weakness thing you give it interlocking plates of denser material that it can move along its surface starfish foot style

[@bombfog1]

I’m glad I’ll likely be dead by the time this becomes a mature technology, though I worry for my kids. I cannot conceive of a world where governments wouldn’t use this technology to further erode the liberties of its citizens.

[@spencervance8484]

Conversely the citizens using this tech to be less reliant on government. Remember, government moves much slower than companies or people

[@bombfog1]

@@spencervance8484 True, but major tech companies heretofore seem to have a very cozy relationship to those in power and I just don’t think there are enough tech savvy people with the will to subvert the political winds blowing ever closer to outright tyranny.

[@kingmasterlord]

22:03 why make internal what can be wearable?

[@darksquirtle3041]

This has to be your best video yet! Keep it up. !

[@atk05003]

While he was talking about smart matter cloaks I kept thinking about the utility towels from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They were not depicted as smart matter, but I find the idea of carrying a smart matter towel amusing.

[@a_Minion_of_Soros]

I tried locating that short story from Robert A. Heinlein. I am having some trouble. Where is Waldo?

[@sizanogreen9900]

Sorry to be off-topic but *litho-break* is still one of my most favorite words the english language has to offer. It is just so delightfully scientific. When first hearing it I thought it was just a joke-term for KSP.

[@jeromebirth2693]

Remember the Stargate episodes with self replicating nano machines that were taking over the entire universe. We must be very careful in programing new technologies.

[@mheermance]

Do you want shogoths? Because this is how you get shogoths.

[@spencervance8484]

Whats a shogoth?

[@mheermance]

@@spencervance8484 In H. P. Lovecraft's fictional universe they were living construction equipment created by aliens called the Elder Things. After the latter went extinct the shogoths became feral monsters and attacked anything that got near them. They could be programmed to assume any form.

[@hunterpatton1370]

I think an interesting video idea could be on a topic that was covered by Cody’s Lab not long ago. He talked about the idea of slamming a meteor or two into Mars to create a depression, inside of which you could build a city where pressure suits are unnecessary, due to the increased atmospheric pressure from the decreased elevation, as well as the increased temperature from the impact, the now trapped air and the closer proximity to the center of the planet. Just an idea.

[@obsideonyx7604]

What's the name of the background music starting at 1:25

[@TheAssassins5310]

Thank you, I have been creating a superhero who uses catoms in his suit and this video was very helpful in making it accurate to how it would be in reality

[@ModernandVintageWatches]

Great video. As always, you open my mind to new ideas, new frontiers.

[@mjk9388]

Another excellent video Isaac and team!

[@harvbegal6868]

First time I heard the term "programmable matter" was in Star Trek Discovery. The thought that the liquid metal in Terminator could be considered programmable matter as well never crossed my mind but after hearing it here, makes sense. I thought it was interesting that programmable matter in that show (Yes I know, die hard trekkies hate it) was considered technology more advanced in the 32nd century than an energy to matter replicator devices used in the 24th century when programmable matter actually seems to be far more plausible than the replicator.

[@mattisvov]

Gotta love this channel. On a science channel, someone says "he plays a shapeshifting, time-traveling evil robot". AND IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

[@gives_bad_advice]

A friend of mine, a synthetic biologist, taught bacteria to play tic tac toe. No joke.

[@spencervance8484]

Nice

[@ghislainbugnicourt3709]

I'm so happy to hear you say that a human being isn't just his cells and their DNA. We host as many microorganisms as we have cells (roughly), and they are essential for our survival just like "our" cells. We also have around 35% of our mass as extracellular stuff like bones, blood plasma or extracellular matrix. This matter isn't made of cells but is essential to form us as well. For those interested, one can even shift the definition of what is a human being as follows : a collection of mitochondria that inhabit "houses" called cells. From this point of view cells aren't even alive, only the mitochondria are. I'm not saying this as a truth, but as an interesting perspective shift that's as valid as the usual view.

[@seditt5146]

Catoms will almost surely get their power through thermal fluctuations in Graphene as the needed tech has already been created and it basically converts ambient vibrations into electricity, like.... guided entropy at the end of the day.

[@Soykuya1]

Isaac love your work have been listening for years but of late I just can't stop going through all your library of content.

[@Hi-TechHillbilly]

I really feel like you missed a good opportunity for a Stargate reference. But I suppose that would probably lean more towards nanotechnology I.e the replicators

[@seditt5146]

The problem I tend to consider is the factor of Thermodynamics. Many of these magical transformations we talk of might end up doing some really weird things such as burst into flames or freeze to 2 Kelvin because if we attempt to form structures at any relatively decent speed it is highly likely to generate so much heat it turns to plasma or requires so much energy from its surroundings it instantly freezes anything it touches.

[@jurybery]

The expanse has protomolecule that is the best "smart matter" representation i have seen in a scifi so far

[@absintel]

Looking forward to this, having just finished (not spoiling how it happens) The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu I am pumped to hear more of this topic.

[@absintel]

@Abhi Prakash Mostly the computer, as the nanoparticles are just manufactured that way rather than being "smart".

[@CyVinci]

Did you read Dark Forest and book 3?

[@pranavpandhare554]

Would be fun to make fractals with it!

[@Compnerd1]

Been excitedly awaiting this one for a while now! Happy Thursday to all!!

[@achosenone44]

thursday is devil minion thors day!! all this demonology will be destroyed by my Father Almighty the Most High as you became wise you all became fools to my Father Almighty The Most High you sickos!!!

[@mikeohawk95]

1:42 by t2 the matter robot still had limits of its formations and designed, but was improved by t3-genesis and so on even dark fate

[@evensgrey]

What sold me on Memory Metal alloy frames was I had had a problem with sitting or lying down on my glasses and bending or breaking them. Oddly enough, I never did that since I got the frames, although they did eventually (after about 12 years, I think) they simply snapped of their own accord. (I really need to go get the frames replaced or some proper bridging on them.)

[@WilliamDye-willdye]

Those interested in this topic would do well to read about "utility fog" by Josh Hall and others. Some interesting concepts were explored under that moniker.

[@memeticmaster]

So what happens when 3d printers can make this at scale? What happens when people can network their 3d printers to work together on projects by different parts of the projects being assigned to compatible printers? I have long wondered why the printers aren't really networked. To me this is the next obvious evolution of social media. Imagine instead of donating a few dollars to go towards housing someone. A person could print up a smartbrick that would serve multiple life sustaining functions. So for example you could have plants growing in the brick, and it could also purify water for the house as well as temperature control. I imagine a network that could expand in a controlled exponential way. If for example each printer had to print up 3 parts for other printers in demand. I imagine a network that could also print upgrades for the devices on the network. So the capability of the network would always be expanding. As people specialized their automated production tools more and more then they could earn more money over time. I imagine keeping people at the base of this network could be very important to keep cyberwarfare from becoming too much of a problem. If an automated factory got hacked it could make some serious problems for all. If on the other hand a node got hacked then someone might see its a problem.

[@squirlmy]

I think the question should be "when will a few rich arseholes get this technology and use it against the rest of us, who will effectively be techno-feudal peasants?" Otherwise, I think it a lot more likely groups of people will be manufacturing guns rather than "smartbrick" housing. and using them.

[@purcedure]

@All - Smart matter is just a nudge towards a matter assembler, these aren't just words mashed together. They have context and meaning behind them.

[@MrRussiancoma]

In my head, the first cells were bags that formed in puddles that formed and dried over and over and spontaneously self replicated and smaller ones had a advantage then continued for a few million years and became those round colonies in ancient oceans with some migrating to ocean vents...

[@irvingchies1626]

Imo not being able to transform into complex machinery or even a gun seems quite plausible, specially since it got destroyed by falling to the foundry and every gunshot actually caused it some damage, albeit not permanent, for sure some of its own matter got destroyed each time it was getting shot, so turning himself into a gun barrel would have make him look like a flower each time he would shoot a round, and the complex machinery part would be more about him being a single entity hence if he transformed into several pieces he would lose control over some of them which would either not transform back into liquid, or most likely would instantaneously transform into liquid and try to reach his body once those parts lost the connection to him like when he got turned into ice, got shattered and then melted back

[@SkylerLinux]

At the end you said it was kinda spilt in two ways, but I felt it was very well mixed.

[@RayDrouillard]

I expect that a lot of the tiny catoms that are used to build macro sized objects will be long strands of nanotubes. They will be able to hold the objects together much the same way that fibers used in composites do.

[@betsybarnicle8016]

They're using creatures like hydra vulgaris to hold nanometals in their DNA and for their ability to replicate indefinately. Check into MagNI.

[@singletona082]

Ship of theseus. At what point in replacing oneself with these catoms do you stop being you? Do you ever stop being you? is there continuity of self?

[@spencervance8484]

Philosophers have been asking that question for years. We still dont know.

[@palladin9479]

The T1000 could form a gun, could even form the machinery to make bullets, but would have to get the raw materials for those bullets from elsewhere. Doing any of that would of given it away as an alien / future piece of technology and since it was primary an infiltration / spy robot it used weapons that could not be traced or identified.

[@calvingreene90]

Last time I was this early iron was the new cutting age.

[@Its-Just-Zip]

I want to be able to replicate my conscience onto a clockwork mechanism just some giant table of gears and switches that I can have a conversation with and it be like me talking with myself

[@Celestial_Reach]

this is a concept that has been in my head since i was a child. thank you for this amazing video

[@RealmsSMPStudios]

Raiden: WHY WONT YOU DIE!? I BROUGHT NANOMACHINES MYSELF THIS TIME! Armstrong: PROGRAMMABLE MATTER SON, THEY ASSEMBLE IN RESPONSE TO ‘NANOMACHINES SON’!!

[@iambiggus]

Great vid, thank you for the time you put into these.

[@leeroyjames7463]

I found mysel on a journey of imagination rather quickly good sir, as such, i missed the definition of "Catom" and i'm gonna have to rewatch. That's okay though, we always rewatch, multiple times.

[@wolvenar]

Always a nice way to start the day.

[@mcconkeyb]

Lithobraking is by far the best new word I've heard in the past decade. Nice wordsmithing! :-)

[@TheSageDad]

No mention of Star Trek Discovery??? Basically, the whole fleet is now a programmable matter.

[@dualityomk9854]

an STD fleet... no wonder the show sucks

[@ghrey8282]

This brought " Heterodyne Castle", or "Castle Heterodyne", which ever is more correct, from the Girl Genius series to mind.

[@uncleanunicorn4571]

In fairness to the t1000, turning itself into a gun would require it to shoot off part of itself, and convert part of itself into gunpowder

[@soheil527]

it is speculative claptrap

[@evensgrey]

If smart matter is using carbon nanotubes, it's got a near-ideal electrical conductor built in for any task where an external electrical power would be useful. There's also lots of exploration in how people might actually use nanites/smart matter implants in the extremely NSFW "Journal Entries" by Elf Sternberg. And also how people might use other slightly crazy tech, since both teleporters and temporal statis fields are considered extremely mundane in the setting. To the extend that at least one civilization uses them in place of hoses, pipes, refrigerators and freezers. (This is briefly considered philosophically, then the character concludes that there's nothing wrong with using the tech you have to make things better. Stopping time works BETTER than freezing and reheating food, so why not? A teleportation system that functions almost like portals works BETTER than hoses, so why not?)

[@lanebowles8170]

You might want to look into the 1980's book series "Isaac Asimov's Robot City" and "Isaac Asimov's Robots and Aliens". They are full of such programmable matter/"nano-machines".

[@nullpoint3346]

I keep thinking about Mimics from D&D and Prey, organisms that take on the appearance of common objects as a predation tactic...

[@andyf4292]

'tea from a microwave'???? what fresh madness is This??

[@alexv3357]

It's still amusing to me that nano- and microtechnology is still basically just reinventing the wheel that life's been using for billions of years but with more energy available

[@glassboi5401]

Make a video about how we theoretically could make genetic engineered super soldiers in humans using programmable matter from the show invincible

[@Paraphen]

you know, this channel has made me consider a lot of pretty out there concepts but an alternate timeline where Terminator 3 was good is not one I ever expected

[@altha2008]

this is one of the better ways for construction in space reminds me of the old clip from the Roswell crash think it was on unsolved mysteries where they took that one little piece of the craft crumble it up and it unfold by it self

[@Zetalpa187]

Ya know.....I'd like to think of myself as somewhat intelligent. Then some simple, probably well-known piece of information comes along and makes me feel incredibly stupid. For instance, I've been wearing glasses my entire life (when not using contacts anyway) and it took me til just now to find out that running hot fucking water on them makes it easy to shape. Like, the first clue I clearly missed playing football, was hot water is used to shape mouth guards....how the hell did I even graduate middle school let alone manage a physics degree. I hate myself right now 🤦‍♂lol

[@KM-04]

Transformium!!! I've been asking science KZbin channels to talk about programmable matter for years!! Thanks!

[@marvinratchford7913]

excellent presentation. thanks. Star Trek DISCOVERY season 3 episode 6 SCAVENGERS : in this episode, USS Discovery is retrofitted with 32nd century technology, including detached warp nacelles, programmable matter interfaces and advanced combadges for the crew (but no 32nd century uniforms yet). Book's starship cruiser is often portrayed exploiting programmable matter technology...

[@no2party]

This brings back some fond memories of reading the Kris Longknife series.

[@punggung666]

Thank you! I was just wondering about this.

[@youngimperialistmkii]

Wow! This is how you could build Getter Robo! Very cool.

[@Lusa_Iceheart]

Dang, if I live long enough for this smart matter to be invented and get filled with it, I can live out my lifelong werewolf fantasies. Definitely a future I'm praying for.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

Can't wait for Realdoll's to be made of smart matter.

[@joeradford1055]

I'd like to see and episode about what things might be like if the nanomachines that repair our cells and stitch our bodies back together deviated far enough during their self-replication to essentially become an infectious disease, as well as how the nanomachines guarding our body would react to them. Would they simply repair the cells as always, and would some evolve to fight the deviants like a secondary immune system? Perhaps specialized immune nanomachines would be part of the system from the start to neutralize deviations, like how natural killer cells deal with forming cancers.