On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 11:03:58 -0800 (PST), Father Haskell
>However, the next best thing would be a machine that outlasts
>us, such as a solar-powered steam turbine. It would be
>indistinguishable from a pmm, since no one would live
>long enough to see it run down.
It would be readily distinguishable from a PPM, since it would have an
obvious external energy source. A machine that is engineered to run
forever isn't a PPM. A PPM must produce more energy than it consumes,
which is clearly impossible. (Technically, a PPM could simply operate at
100% efficiency, which isn't impossible, just not feasible. But
operating at 100% efficiency isn't useful, since you can't use the
machine to do any work.)
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
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