From: nuny@bid.nes   
      
   On Wednesday, December 28, 2016 at 9:56:08 AM UTC-8, eripe wrote:   
   > On Wednesday, December 28, 2016 at 9:46:25 PM UTC+7, Thomas Koenig wrote:   
   > > nuny@bid.nes  schrieb:   
   > >   
   > > >   Then we have to worry about the robots degrading over time. That   
   > > > can be handled by the robots just building "brand new" replacements   
   > > > every so often, say at 3/4 of the lifetime of their internal   
   > > > component with the longest MTBF.   
   > >   
   > > How, and how often, do you recycle a worn-out rubber gasket?  Cable   
   > > insulation?  Epoxy resin for chip housings?  Lubrication oil?   
   > >   
   > > Recycling efficiency is lousy with our current tech.  You can   
   > > recycle thermoplastics up to a certin degree, but there is always a   
   > > degradation in quality.   
   >   
   > Indeed. 3D printing is great, but the real deal is a disassembler, that can   
   > separate parts back into raw materials.   
      
     I've been saying that for some years now.   
      
   > In principle a plasma furnace would separate the atoms, but how to get a pile   
   > of Iron from a hot gas i dont know.   
      
     Great Big Mass Spectrometer; plasma furnace with a Magic Ceramic(tm)-lined   
   pit below with magnets buried in the walls- various elements plate out on the   
   wall of the pit to be scraped off. Gases rise out to be separated.   
      
     Some minor tech details left as an exercise...   
      
      
     Mark L. Fergerson   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)