Mike Stay <metaweta@gmail.com> wrote:
Actually, you just need to have a neutron tunnel from one nucleus to the other across the barrier.
True, but the adjacent carbon atoms are so distant from each other on a nuclear scale that what you're describing is a C13 decaying by emitting a neutron, and that neutron eventually being captured by a C12 nucleus. If C13 (or C12) decays by that or any other means with a half-life of less than about 10^21 years, I'm sure someone would have noticed by now. Several isotopes of much less common elements are known to have half-lives of 10^21 up to more than 10^24 years. Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:
If we're going to store the entirety of human history & culture in a diamond lattice, it makes sense to ensure that the info won't degrade for a while, at least!
I agree. That's why I think diamonds make more sense than other crystals. Diamonds are more durable. They're also no more expensive, given that carbon is ubiquitous and any such crystal would have to be assembled by molecular nanotechnology in any case. So the rarity of natural diamonds is irrelevant. They're also lighter, atom for atom, than most other crystals. And less toxic. And prettier.
BTW, suppose that some civilization has *already* encoded its information in diamond & sent it Fed Ex (via meteorite drone) to Earth. Why are we wasting time with SETI instead of reading every diamond we find?
Reading every diamond we find might be worthwhile once we get molecular nanotechnology. We're *already* in the era of big data. They may already be doing automated scans of images from nearly all cameras viewing the public, for images of wanted criminals. In a few years they may test all trash for fingerprints and DNA traces, and all sewage for DNA traces, for the same purpose.
Also, BTW, it looks like DNA data storage may be a lot closer to hand than C12/C13 diamond storage. Is there a way to somehow crystallize & stabilize DNA at room temp (or higher) for stable data storage over thousands of years?
I don't know. DNA is notoriously fragile. And bacteria eat it.
Alternatively, is there an error-correcting information coding scheme for DNA that "heals" itself automatically against evolutionary pressures so that we could store the DNA info in real biologic organisms -- e.g., bristlecone pines ?
I doubt it, given that DNA was naturally selected to be capable of mutation. (If there was ever a race of organisms using a more stable genetic substrate, it was outcompeted by DNA-based organisms, as the latter were more capable of adapting to their ever-changing environment.)
Perhaps some of this "noncoding DNA" is *already* a message from the past -- e.g., intelligent dinosaurs that were destroyed 65Mya.
There are any number of ways to plant a message that could survive on Earth for millions, or even billions, of years. But if the goal is also for it to be *noticed*, well, see my April Fool's Day post of last year.