Jupiter Brain
Encyclopedia : J : JU : JUP : Jupiter Brain
A Jupiter Brain is a theoretical computing megastructure the size of a planet. Unlike a matrioshka brain, a Jupiter Brain is optimized for minimum signal propagation delay, and so has a compact structure. Power generation and heat dissipation are formidable concerns for a Jupiter Brain implementation.
While a rigid solid object the size and mass of a rocky planet or gas giant could not be built using any known material, such a structure could be built as a low-density lattice with a mass comparable to a large moon or a small rocky planet but a far larger volume, or as a solid but non-rigid structure with the mass and density of a planet (as long as the internal heat gradient is carefully controlled to prevent convection).
Fiction
- Earth is a form of Jupiter Brain in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Built by the Magratheans and commissioned by mice, it is frequently mistaken for a planet by its inhabitants (who are part of the program to determine the question of "Life, the Universe and Everything", given the answer 42 found by Deep Thought).
- In Life, the Universe and Everything, also by Douglas Adams, Hactar is a planet-sized computer who was ordered to construct a weapon of universal destruction. However, he found the idea distasteful and deliberately introduced a flaw into the design he came up with. When his masters learned of this, they pulverized Hactar, greatly diminishing his powers but failing to destroy his consciousness in the process.
- One of the main "characters" in Ken MacLeod's The Cassini Division is the planet Jupiter, which is the home of transhumanists who uploaded their personalities.
See also
References
- Sandberg, A (22 Dec. 1999). [The Physics of Information Processing Superobjects: Daily Life Among the Jupiter Brains] (non-refereed)
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.