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gray goo
gray goo /n./ A hypothetical substance composed of
sagans of sub-micron-sized self-replicating robots programmed
to make copies of themselves out of whatever is available. The
image that goes with the term is one of the entire biosphere of
Earth being eventually converted to robot goo. This is the
simplest of the nanotechnology disaster scenarios, easily
refuted by arguments from energy requirements and elemental
abundances. Compare blue goo.
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