What is a Dyson swarm?

A cloud of orbiting solar collectors encircling a star to harvest most of its energy output — cheaper than a solid sphere.

How many doublings to disassemble Mercury?

About 58, starting from a 1,000-tonne self-replicating seed doubling every ~10 days.

Is disassembling Mercury for a Dyson swarm realistic?

Physics allows it in theory, but heat, power limits, and current tech make it centuries away at best.

🧠 Engineering Culture

Mercury to Dyson Swarm in 58 Doublings: The Wild Plan to Eat a Planet

Imagine landing a 1,000-tonne robot on Mercury that eats the planet, doubling every 10 days until it's spewed out a Dyson swarm. Sounds nuts? It hits physics walls fast.

DevTools Feed Apr 03, 2026 4 min read 10 views

Conceptual diagram of self-replicating machines dismantling Mercury into orbiting Dyson swarm satellites

⚡ Key Takeaways

Mercury's 170 PW sunlight cap stalls self-rep growth by doubling 32 — orbit or bust. 𝕏
Waste heat forces off-planet radiators and fabs early, turning Mercury into a mere seed. 𝕏
58 doublings sound feasible on paper, but real engineering gaps make it sci-fi for now. 𝕏

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#Dyson swarm #Mercury disassembly #self-replicating factories #space megastructures

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Originally reported by Hacker News

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