Bremermann's limit ) which is
A race of super intelligent aliens have very large perfectly spherical heads. Each kilogram of their brain operates at the maximum possible computational speed (h c 2 ≈ 1 . 3 5 9 × 1 0 5 0 bits ⋅ s − 1 ⋅ kg − 1 .
The radius of an alien's head is 0 . 5 m . Since the density of its brain is non-uniform, it is given by
ρ ( r ) = 1 0 3 0 . 5 − r kg/m 3 ,
where r is the distance (in meters) from the center.
A single human brain is capable of computing 4 0 0 × 1 0 9 bits per second. In terms of computing power, how many human brains is a single alien brain equivalent to?
Details and Assumptions
For this problem the given approximation of Bremermann's limit will suffice.
Take a look at Micheal Steven's cool YouTube video " How many things are there? " where he uses Bremermann's limit to count everything .
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Average density of the alien brain is given by:
∫ 0 0 . 5 1 0 3 0 . 5 − r d r = 1 . 2 5 × 1 0 − 4 k g m − 3
Since the alien's head is a sphere, and assuming that the brain takes up all of its head volume:
M a s s = 3 4 π ( 0 . 5 3 ) × 1 . 2 5 × 1 0 − 4 = 6 . 5 4 5 × 1 0 − 5 k g
The total computational power of the alien brain is therefore:
6 . 5 4 5 × 1 0 − 5 × 1 . 3 5 9 × 1 0 5 0 = 8 . 8 9 5 × 1 0 4 5 b i t s / s e c o n d
R a t i o = 4 0 0 × 1 0 9 8 . 8 9 5 × 1 0 4 5 = 2 . 2 2 4 × 1 0 3 4
This solution is incorrect. Do you know why?
The calculation is correct, but the density factor in the problem is wrong. The density of water is 1000 kg/m^3 , so a credible brain density would be (0.5 - r) 10^3 kg/m^3 ; the problem uses a density much less than air! So the ratio should be 10^6 larger, which just makes things all the worse for humankind!
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You are right,it was a simple error when I was converting units.Unfortunately I couldn't change the answer once I posted..Even though it is implausible I guess it serves to demonstrate the power of the Bremmerman limit.
This solution is incorrect. Do you know why?
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May I ask why?
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Hint: Review Volume of Revolution - Disc Method and contrast it against Volume of Revolution - Shell Method .
Wouldn't you get the mass of it by having the integrand be 4 pi r^2 * (.5-r)/1000 ? I get pi/4800 for the mass when I did it, which makes the final answer 3.9E+33
Nice solution.
mass of alien's head = integral(rho .dr)[from 0 --->0.5] * v(volume of his head)= 0.125 10^-3 * (0.5)^3 pi (4/3) computational speed of alien=m (c^2/h)=8.8946 10^45 bets/s ratio between alien and human minds c.p =2.223658 10^34 (approx.)
This solution is incorrect. Do you know why?
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d V = 4 π r d r
d m = ρ ( r ) d V = 1 0 3 0 . 5 − r 4 π r d r = 1 0 3 0 . 5 r − r 2 4 π d r
m = ∫ 0 m d m = ∫ 0 2 1 1 0 3 0 . 5 r − r 2 4 π d r ≈ 2 6 1 ⋅ 1 0 − 6
C o m p u t a t i o n a l s p e e d o f a l i e n = 1 . 3 5 9 ⋅ 1 0 5 0 ⋅ 2 6 1 ⋅ 1 0 − 6 = 3 . 5 4 7 ⋅ 1 0 4 6
R a t i o = 4 0 0 ⋅ 1 0 9 3 . 5 4 7 ⋅ 1 0 4 6 = 8 . 8 9 5 ⋅ 1 0 3 4