Thread:The Clanden/@comment-25932182-20120808011314/@comment-5365119-20120810164105

... BRILLIANT. I hadn't thought of that!

Though that would require a gigantic computer if these microscopic robots are going to rebuild a ship one or two atoms at a time, as you said. Also, how are they going to refine those parts into the alloys needed to reconstruct the hull of a starship?

What about slightly larger robots (about the size of an ice-cream truck) that use replicator technology to materialize new parts to fit into place? But again, if an amount of matter requires that amount times the speed of light (a very big number) squared, where does that energy come from?