Can Teleportation and 3D Printing Change Civilization and Trade?

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter fleur-de-lis
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Teleportation
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of teleportation and 3D printing on civilization and trade, exploring theoretical connections between these technologies and their potential impact on resource exchange and societal norms. It includes speculative questions about the nature of teleportation, its feasibility, and ethical considerations regarding its use on intelligent beings.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that mastering teleportation could imply advanced 3D printing capabilities, suggesting a relationship between the two technologies.
  • Others argue that current 3D printing technology does not require teleportation, emphasizing that they are distinct processes.
  • One participant mentions that trading resources between solar systems may become obsolete if teleportation and advanced 3D printing are available, with a focus shifting to information and technology exchange.
  • Concerns are raised about the ethical implications of using teleportation for intelligent beings, with discussions on the potential pros and cons of such a practice.
  • A later reply questions the feasibility of teleporting macroscopic objects, suggesting that advanced 3D printing would be necessary for such processes.
  • Another participant highlights the second law of thermodynamics, arguing that creating clones or teleporting beings would require consuming more information than could be generated, challenging the notion of living on information alone.
  • One post raises concerns about copyright laws affecting the trade of information and technologies across solar systems.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between teleportation and 3D printing, with no consensus on whether one implies the other. The discussion includes multiple competing perspectives on the feasibility and ethical implications of teleportation, particularly regarding intelligent beings.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include unresolved assumptions about the technological capabilities of future civilizations and the implications of the second law of thermodynamics on information and resource generation.

fleur-de-lis
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
1st question:
Am I correct in thinking that civilization that mastered teleportation can also 3D-print ... well basically anything? Because it is based on the same principal? And that as result even if FTL space travel/wormholes/something is available - they will be practically no trading for resources between different solar systems, mostly just for information and technologies?


2nd question, somewhat related to the 1st:
As I understand teleportation - it's basically very hi-tech suicide/cloning process. Are there any argument (maybe not good, but plausible) for using teleportation on intelligent beings in everyday life, (and not when there is some big interstellar war going on, 'cause that I can explain). Pros/Cons?


ps: sorry if I wrote something wrong, I am ESL
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Teleport macroscopic objects with the help of quantum teleportation? I would be surprised if that is possible without very advanced 3D-printers on a molecular level.
You could trade isotopes - 3D-printers can just use existing atoms.
And FTL/wormhole/whatever delivery might be easier than printing in some cases. In a similar way, you can send arbitrary data via the internet - but if you want to transfer several TB, conventional mail with hard drives is quicker.

Are there any argument (maybe not good, but plausible) for using teleportation on intelligent beings in everyday life
It could be considered as regular travel method. 3D-printers so advanced that they can print life will certainly influence ethics a lot. Instead of the physical body, the state of the body and mind might become more important - and that can travel digitially to the teleportation target as well.
 
fleur-de-lis said:
1st question:
Am I correct in thinking that civilization that mastered teleportation can also 3D-print ... well basically anything?
We hardly need "teleportation" in order to "3D-print". In fact, we already have fairly effective 3D printing but are no where near "teleportation".

Because it is based on the same principal? And that as result even if FTL space travel/wormholes/something is available - they will be practically no trading for resources between different solar systems, mostly just for information and technologies?


2nd question, somewhat related to the 1st:
As I understand teleportation - it's basically very hi-tech suicide/cloning process. Are there any argument (maybe not good, but plausible) for using teleportation on intelligent beings in everyday life, (and not when there is some big interstellar war going on, 'cause that I can explain). Pros/Cons?


ps: sorry if I wrote something wrong, I am ESL
 
Second law of thermo says that entropy must be non-decreasing, which also means that information can't be gained. This means that any fantastical 3D printer would have to destroy more information than it creates. In order to actually create a clone of someone requires detailed information on every particle that makes up the being. This is a lot of information that must be consumed by the machine, in the form of some kind of fuel. So it isn't correct that such a future civilization can live on information alone.
 
Don't know if this'll get locked for non-science, but just a point about this:
they will be practically no trading for resources between different solar systems, mostly just for information and technologies?

Copywright laws...
 
This isn't an acceptable thread starter in any of our forums. Feel free to post questions regarding the real (not fictional) topic of teleportation and/or 3D printing in the relevant forums if you wish to learn more.
 

Similar threads

Graduate Is teleportation just advanced cloning?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Current and Future AI Threats to Humanity and the Human Response
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
5K
Deciding between Electrical and Mechanical
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
Dimensions of Science Fiction - Hard to Soft, Optimism to Pessimism
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
6K