• bss03@infosec.pubEnglish
      4·
      17 hours ago

      When the environment is energetic enough, the electromagnetic force and the weak force unify into the electroweak force. The weak interaction controls radioactive decay.

      We can control electromagnetic force “at scale”, IMO. It’s not freely, but we have networks of electromagnetic systems that span continents.

      If we could control the weak force at the same scale… I’m not sure what wonders we might unlock. At the very least, I imagine we could “clean” instead of just “contain” radioactive waste, at least low-level stuff.

      • douglasg14b@lemmy.world
        6·
        16 hours ago

        If we had control over the weak force:

        • We can likely turn elements into other elements at will
        • We can manufacture safe decay sources for a new class of nuclear energy
        • We can probably create safe “decay batteries” tuned to their specific use cases. Batteries that last for tens of thousands the lifespan of current chemical ones.
        • Potentially engineer with neutrinos. Imagine communication via neutrinos, you could transmit straight through the earth.

        I mean, with control over matter like that, at the scale of electricity, Star Trek matter replicators would be a thing.