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Imagine if you could have a robot made of plasma, that would be able to move in space, manipulate objects, etc.

Is such a robot possible?

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    $\begingroup$ Doesn't seem like it. It would just be a cloud of really hot gas. It can't manipulate objects without also setting them on fire. $\endgroup$
    – Molag Bal
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 2:29
  • $\begingroup$ Is this possible by using quantum mechanics with magnetic fields to control it? $\endgroup$
    – OP's_Computer
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 2:32
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    $\begingroup$ Well, I guess that if you can manipulate a magnetic field precisely enough, you could move the plasma around, but it's still going to be awfully hot. And what's controlling the magnetic field? I don't see how quantum mechanics will help here, off the top of my head. $\endgroup$
    – Molag Bal
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 2:34
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    $\begingroup$ But you still need something to control the magnetic field. I'm not an expert, but I fail to see how anything you list gives an obvious way to control the plasma. I mean, you could handwave it and come up with a technobabble explanation for how quantum mechanics constrains the plasma into a robot form, but I can't think of a real science-based way to do it. It seems more practical to make a robot out of trusty steel, unless you really need it to be made of plasma. $\endgroup$
    – Molag Bal
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 2:38
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    $\begingroup$ Wait, how does it propel itself? You need to conserve momentum. I don't see a way to do any of this without it being controlled externally. If you have an enclosed space with electromagnets all over the place, you could corral the plasma any way you like, I suppose. But a plasma robot in space would just turn into a cloud and float away. I don't think you can make a plasma cause its own particles to tunnel, for example, so you have no way to make the robot move around without an external force controlling it. $\endgroup$
    – Molag Bal
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 2:54

2 Answers 2

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Science fiction has described plasma structures and life forms Gregory Benford's Sunborn has stuck in my mind for this very idea.

So, a robot would be the same thing, just "made".

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No

Matter (in its basic concept) exists in 3 forms; Solid, Liquid and Gas. Heating a solid will give you a liquid, heat that and you got a gas, heat that and you have yourself Plasma. Now Robots are nothing more than complex machine and machines as we recognize them (pieces of matter moving in a certain way to serve a certain purpose), while sometimes contained gas or liquid, are predominately solid. Thus while a robot can contain Plasma, it cannot be made of it.

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  • $\begingroup$ I don't know if I can agree with "currently most things we call robots are made of solids, so clearly we can't make them out of anything else." The last time someone made a mistake like that, they lost their entire market share to someone who did not make that mistake. In fact, pretty much the entire history of innovation is people bucking the mold like that. $\endgroup$
    – Cort Ammon
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 5:41
  • $\begingroup$ @CortAmmon while I understand that point, technically it is possible, but by that logic the answer is Yes, use hand waving $\endgroup$
    – TrEs-2b
    Commented May 26, 2016 at 5:44

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