• Qwazpoi@lemmy.world
      21·
      6 months ago

      Could still be obeying them. Maybe it’s taking energy from something that we otherwise wouldn’t notice or be able to get energy from

        • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
          5·
          6 months ago

          Energy isn’t always conserved. Energy isn’t meaningfully conserved in an expanding spacetime. And the mass-energy of the universe had to come from somewhere. It’s entirely possible that whatever process created the mass-energy of the universe could someday be discovered and duplicated on a smaller scale. Truly unlimited energy sources may be possible. Or perhaps, an energy source whose only practical limitation is the amount of waste heat you can dissipate.

          And while I would be extremely skeptical of any human who claimed to have invented such a machine today, we have to consider the timelines. If an alien species comes to visit you, they are likely far older than your species. And not just a few decades or a few centuries ahead. If we were visited by aliens, odds are that they were a technological species millions of years before we even mastered basic spoken language. We cannot know what we cannot know. And aliens visiting us have had eons to plumb the depths of reality to try to locate a free energy hack.

        • Zwiebel@feddit.orgEnglish
          72·
          6 months ago

          If the universe was infenitely large then it’d be possible no? At a limited rate obviously

          • LOGIC💣@lemmy.world
            13·
            6 months ago

            If you’re going through the trouble of inventing a different universe, why not just invent one with an infinite energy source, rather than going about it roundabout?

            Also, I don’t imagine that people really imagine “limited rate” when talking about “unlimited energy”. With that definition, I could sell you unlimited energy today for the low price of one hundred billion dollars. The rate is limited to 1 Joule per decade, but it will eventually pay off big during the heat death of the universe.

    • BorgDrone@feddit.nl
      41·
      6 months ago

      Also, free unlimited energy would be useless without free excess heat disposal.

  • reksas@sopuli.xyz
    18·
    6 months ago

    if we were given easy unlimited energy, it would at some point be used as a weapon and likely blow up entire solar system

    • ameancow@lemmy.worldEnglish
      15·
      6 months ago

      The very first thing anyone would do is try to horde it, control it, and keep others from having access to it without paying for it, which would increase the likelihood of it being used as a weapon.

      I grew up in the Cold War. None of this is new.

    • Soulg@ani.socialEnglish
      5·
      6 months ago

      Unlimited energy doesn’t mean infinite amounts to harness at once, just that it produces more than you put in

          • thebestaquaman@lemmy.world
            1·
            6 months ago

            I thought part of the premise is that this technology is so far beyond our comprehension that we couldn’t even begin to contemplate replicating it.

            Imagine gifting a modern jet aircraft to the Roman Empire, a nuclear reactor to the Egyptian empire, or a modern computer to a caveman: How much do you think that would speed up the development of said technology? My guess is: Not a lot, if at all. The tech is so far beyond what they had in the era, and there are so many intertwined developments in science and engineering needed to replicate it, that it might as well be magic to them.

            Even for the Romans to replicate a jet, they would first need to make around 2000 years of progress is fuel refining and metallurgy. Not to mention that they would need to understand fluid dynamics and thermodynamics that weren’t developed until the 1800’s. This again relies on mathematics that weren’t developed until the 1600’s-1700’s.

            Now imagine this “perpetual 1 W source” relies on stuff we won’t develop for the next 20 000 years. We wouldn’t even know where to start if we were to replicate it.

    • mojofrododojo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      only after extracting profits from everyone on the planet - it’s free for whoever they give it to, not for the rest of the species. knowing us, we’d probably bury it and keep buring coal.

  • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
    6·
    6 months ago

    I like the take in “Roadside picnic” where people use alien artifacts without any understanding of how they work. They find for example batteries that never run out but it’s pretty clear that is not what aliens used this for. No one knows what it really is or how it works but hey, unlimited battery is nice so people use it everywhere. And does anyone really think people would be able to resist the temptation and not use it? I doubt it.

  • nathanjent
    31·
    6 months ago

    Somewhere on the other side the universe an ancient being is devouring countless worlds to fill it’s stomach. How many orbs were taken? It does not remember. All it knows is the growing hunger as the orbs continue to take more and more each day.