Energy to matter conversion using a rigid type 2 Dyson Sphere….is it really all that implausible?

Obvious current technology limits and all joking aside, I don’t think this is an implausible concept. Everyone assumes that the point of building a Dyson sphere would be to inhabit the interior. If all it was used for was to collect energy (radiation/thermal/photovoltaic), the amount of matter that could be “created” would be virtually limitless. After all, matter is just concentrated energy. And we are already demonstrating our ability to manipulate matter at the atomic and molecular levels. I enjoyed the breakdown of how much energy would be needed to “create” a cup of coffee from energy. But if the power of a star could be completely harnessed with such a sphere, wouldn’t that kind of point be rendered moot? The way I see it, these so-called “impractical ideas” are really the ones we should be pursuing. Ideas that were once laughed at are quickly comming closer to reality (i.e. space elevators, travel at near light speed, nanotechnology). Shouldn’t we be keeping an open mind?

Into physics or biology?

Hi,
I am a grade 12 student who is only months away from graduation. I got accepted into University into Honors Molecular Genetics. Now I am required to make a timetable and choose courses for the coming year. however, I just developed an interest in Physics. So I am confused on whether I should switch courses or not. I wanted to experience a semester of both, but then I end up having either too many courses or having to risk not getting into pre-reqs for either for my second semester (if I take bio for my second sem and the physics classes gets full, I am screwed and vice versa). I need advice on which one is a better choice in terms of careers.
In Biology, I like:
-genetics
-cell biology
-microbiology

In physics, I like:
-quantum physics
-String theory
-nanotechnology
-particle theories

If I take Physics, would it be easy to get a joint honours in Mathematics?
It would be helpful if I knew about advantages I’d have going into either…

Please help!

Any mistakes in this?????????????????????????????????????????

I distinctly recall when Nathan began seeing me for counseling. He was a skinny, sensitive kid with a big heart. At age 13, he struggled in the midst of a tumultuous custody battle that left emotional scars. My job was to prop him up – to give him hope that things would change for the better – and they did.

Nathan came back to see me three years after he had “graduated” from therapy. He brought his new guitar and treated me to few melodies in the privacy of my own office. He was serenading me – it was a gift for being there for him. However, Nathan’s visit took on a more important purpose. He came to tell me, in so many words, how he had become a different kind of thinker – the type of young person who inevitably would change the very foundations upon how we view matter and energy and life itself. At age 16, Nathan had graduated from a college preparatory high school and made his way to a prestigious university to study nanotechnology.

As I intently listened, Nathan explained that nanotechnology will allow us to snap together the fundamental building blocks of nature more easily, more cost effectively, and in a way that is permitted through the laws of physics. Nanotechnology has the ability to transform our thinking about science, physical health and disease, emotional well-being, computer programming, and travel to outer space. Not only was Nathan “studying” this complex, molecular thinking, but he was actually conducting research with the world’s greatest scientists in this technological field.

Like an H. G. Wells of his time, Nathan passionately projected what the world would look like in the next 15 years due to his work. His words seemed prophetic and powerful, and I sense that I was sitting before one of a new age of young people – the dreamers, the problem-solvers, the visionaries who would create a new way of thinking about thinking. These are not “egg-heads,” but balanced, well-rounded kids who have the capacity to not only reflect on problems but to communicate about how the world will dramatically change due to their influence.

Nathan represents an influx of thinkers among thinkers, who will quietly work behind the scenes to make things happen. These are not our future leaders or managers, but those who empty themselves of all internal clutter or preconceived notions about how the world works. By staying open to the truth, wherever they may find it, new, exciting discoveries will be made that will impact all aspects of the human condition.

Like Nathan, our future thinkers can recognize the qualities and significance of emptiness. They can handle the perplexing nature of uncertainty and ambiguity. They understand that there are multiple dimensions to any problem with conflicting and paradoxical meanings. They are willing to surrender conventional notions about how the world works in order to make room for the new. By cutting a path through the clutter and letting go of a traditional means of thinking, these talented young people will open themselves up to what Robert Schuller referred to as, “possibility thinking.” In the midst of all the incivility and strife that we are faced with, Nathan will make a difference. He has not forgotten what it was like to stand face to face at a young age with problems that were bigger than he was capable of solving. He will use that experience to empower and propel him in a direction to bring peace as he thinks about and humbly solves problems that raise hope and healing for all humanity.

Tell me why no one has ever thought of this (regarding the future)?

Ok, so the world economy runs on energy.
1) We are quickly discovering renewable forms of energy that pay themselves off within years.
2) Nanotechnology may soon allow us to manufacture objects on the molecular level.
3) Computers allow us to purchase things without the need for retail

Assuming all this happens, we’ve taken away the need for factories, for workers, for businessmen, for basically all of what capitalism supports itself on. And then energy is free! With all of this combined, we could easily have a utopian society where everyone lives in luxury. Am I right, or what??
Oh, and also, I know a lot of people believe this to be close to impossible, but I dont understand that perception. If you think that, could you please tell me why?

Master’s Degree + Science Career?

Just wondering what one will generally be able to do with a Master’s degree (let’s say for now, in Molecular Bio) with an interest in the following fields:

Genetic Engineering/Gene Therapy
Astrobiology
Nanotechnology

I’m not interested in being a professor, or leading a team. I just want to do fulfilling work I enjoy. I’d rather leave all the politics & upper-management duties up to someone else.

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