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From: moews_b@h-sc1.UUCP (david moews)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: matter transmission, etc.
Message-ID: <587@h-sc1.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-Oct-85 18:54:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: h-sc1.587
Posted: Mon Oct  7 18:54:03 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Oct-85 06:40:48 EDT
References: <> <331@proper.UUCP> <144@codas.UUCP>
Organization: Harvard Univ. Science Center
Lines: 26

> Imagine that you can digitise a computer, in order to restore it exactly
> to the point it was at which you digitised it, you must also store the 
> information in it's memory, this is not matter, it is energy. The problem
> comes when you try to restore all of the processes running in the computer
> that you had when you started, and make it all continue.
> [...]
>                                         =======
>      Mikel Manitius                   ==----=====    AT&T
>      (305) 869-2462 RNX: 755         ==------=====   Information Systems 
>      ...{akguc|ihnp4}!codas!mikel    ===----======   SDSS Regional Support
>      ...attmail!mmanitius             ===========    Altamonte Springs, FL
>      My opinions are my own.            =======

     But...computers store data by moving around electrons, so the data
in a computer's memory *is* included in the structure of the "matter" in the
computer. If all the electron positions were recorded correctly, the 
computer would presumably continue running with no problems.  Anyway, it's
not clear that the matter vs. energy distinction is really relevant at 
this level (one might view a photon as a material particle instead of
an energy packet), so matter transmitters will have to scan all the
mass/energy in an object (somehow) before reproducing it.

                                           David Moews
                                     ...!harvard!h-sc4!moews  
                                  moews%h-sc4@harvard.arpa