A common theme in science fiction is the application of John von Neumann’s concept of self replicating machines to colonize the galaxy. Now in a recent paper posted on the arXiv preprint server, Z. Osmanov has analyzed the spread and potential for detection of tiny versions of these robots as they move through our galaxy’s molecular hydrogen clouds harvesting material to reproduce. Calculations show that swarms of the probes would emit energy in the infrared part of the spectrum and might be bright enough for potential detection by the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
