Glossary of Terms
A
Aluminothermy
Method of silicon reduction with aluminum instead of carbon. Used on Mercury where carbon is almost absent.
3SiO₂ + 4Al → 3Si + 2Al₂O₃B
Bootstrap
First factory assembly on Mercury from 100% imported materials by Gen-1 robots. A unique project phase: before self-replication starts, everything depends on delivered equipment.
Key: Critical checkpoint — energy autonomy within 12-24 hours. After checkpoint, assembly time is not critical.
See: First Factory Assembly | See also: Ground Zero Factory — the factory itself
C
Checkpoint
The moment of energy autonomy during first factory assembly. Charging infrastructure (cables + charging stations) is deployed, robots can work 24/7 with recharging. Must be achieved within 12-24 hours.
Key: After checkpoint, total factory assembly time is not critical — even 30 days is fine.
Cryogenic Cable
Aluminum cable cooled to -180°C in Mercury’s permanent shadow for GW-scale power transmission. Replaces copper cables (no copper on Mercury). At cryogenic temperatures, Al resistance drops ~20×.
TRL: 4-5 (NIST physics proven, analogs — CERN LHC cryogenics).
D
Dark Factories (Lights-off Manufacturing)
Fully automated factories operating 24/7 without human presence. Industry standard: FANUC (Japan), Xiaomi (China).
TRL: 9. Application: foundation of Mercury production model.
Distillation (Slag Processing)
Method of processing MRE electrolysis byproducts. Slag contains useful metal oxides extracted via thermal distillation at different boiling points.
See: Distillation
Dyson Swarm
A cloud of ~1.1 billion independent mirror satellites orbiting a star. NOT a solid sphere (that’s a “Dyson Sphere” — science fiction), but a swarm of autonomous elements on heliocentric orbits.
See: Project in 5 Minutes
E
Electrochromics
Material that changes reflectivity when voltage is applied (like old LCD watches). Used to control mirror orientation without engines — differential reflectivity creates light pressure imbalance.
TRL: 6-7 (TiO₂).
F
F-M / F-R (Factory Types)
Two factory types on Mercury:
- F-M (Factory-Mirror) — produces aluminum mirrors for the Swarm. ~350 mirrors/day. Total ~1,500.
- F-R (Factory-Replicator) — produces robots, domes, equipment, new factories. Total ~150.
See: Production
G
GaAs Panels (Gallium Arsenide)
High-efficiency solar cells (30%+ efficiency) used in the CPV (Concentrated Photovoltaic) system for the initial bootstrap phase. The complete CPV system (~10.5 t: Kapton+Al concentrators + GaAs cells + structure, ~14.4 kW/kg at Mercury) is imported from Earth, providing ~151 MW for the first factory before Swarm energy arrives.
Generation 1 (Gen-1)
Earth-manufactured robots, optimized for mass during delivery. Materials: titanium, carbon fiber, kevlar. High-tech, expensive, limited lifespan (2-3 years).
Classes: Spider-E, Crab-E, Centaur-E, Manipulator F-A1, Mole-E
See: Robot Bestiary
Generation 2 (Gen-2)
Mercury-manufactured robots, optimized for local resources. Materials: steel, aluminum, iron. Heavier, rougher, but cheaper and more repairable.
Classes: Crab-M, Centaur-M, Mole-M
See: Robot Bestiary
Ground Zero Factory
First factory on Mercury. 100% of components delivered from Earth. Task — launch self-replication and build subsequent factories from local resources.
Power consumption: ~165 MW (factory ~124 MW + Mass Driver ~39 MW).
See: Ground Zero Factory | See also: Bootstrap — the assembly process
H
Heliocentric Orbit
Orbit around the Sun (not around a planet). Swarm mirrors are on heliocentric orbits at ~57.9 million km from the Sun.
I
ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization)
Using local resources instead of importing from Earth. Key project principle: 97-99% of factory and robot mass is produced from Mercury regolith.
See: Production
L
LSP Station (Lunar Solar Power)
Ground-based solar power station on the Moon’s surface. Receives concentrated light from the Swarm, converts to 2.45 GHz microwaves, and transmits to rectenna on Earth. Network of 40 stations on lunar limbs.
Advantage: Heat dissipates into the ground (no space radiators needed), 18% efficiency.
See: LSP Stations
M
Mass Driver
Electromagnetic catapult for launching cargo into space. Mercury has no atmosphere → no air resistance → can accelerate to orbital velocity on the surface.
Parameters: length 2–3 km, velocity 5 km/s, installation mass ~1,300 t.
See: Mass Driver Theory
MNLZ (Continuous Casting)
Continuous casting machine. Industrial method for producing metal slabs from melt (SMS Group, Danieli). Used to produce aluminum blanks for mirrors.
TRL: 9 (global metallurgy standard).
See: Casting
MRE (Molten Regolith Electrolysis)
Electrolysis of molten regolith — method for extracting metals and oxygen from lunar/Mercury soil. Regolith melts at ~1600°C, electric current separates oxides into metal (cathode) and oxygen (anode).
TRL: 5-6 (NASA, Blue Origin).
See: MRE Electrolysis
N
NaS Battery (Sodium-Sulfur)
Battery for Gen-2 robots. Sodium and sulfur are extracted from Mercury regolith. Operating temperature +300°C.
Advantage: Does not require lithium (which is absent on Mercury).
Problem: Requires constant heating → solution via cables and stations.
P
Phased Array
Array of emitters working synchronously as one antenna. The mirror swarm forms a virtual antenna ~100 km in diameter for focusing light on LSP stations.
Power Beam
Energy transmission system from Swarm to Earth through 3 cascades:
- Collection: Swarm organized into local clusters of 1,000-10,000 mirrors, concentrates light
- Transit: Light travels through vacuum to LSP stations on lunar limbs
- Descent: LSP stations convert light to microwaves and transmit to rectenna on Earth
Efficiency: 18% (calculation), compensated by 50-100× redundancy.
See: LSP Stations
R
Rectenna (Rectifying Antenna)
Ground station on Earth receiving microwave radiation from LSP stations on the Moon and converting to DC power. Efficiency 85-90%. Located in deserts (Sahara, Gobi, Atacama, Nevada, Yakutia).
Key: Works in any weather — microwaves pass through clouds.
See: LSP Stations
Regolith
Loose fragmental soil on the surface of Mercury and the Moon. Primary source of raw materials: contains oxides of aluminum, silicon, iron, calcium, magnesium. Processed via MRE.
Composition (Mercury, MESSENGER): Si ~24.6%, Al ~7%, Fe 1.5-2%, Ca ~6%, Mg ~9%.
See: Physical Constants
S
Self-Replication
System’s ability to build its own copies. Gen-2 robots build Gen-2 robots, factories build factories. Exponential growth: 1 factory → ~1,650 in ~9.5 years.
Limitation: Requires “Vitamins” from Earth (1–3% of mass).
See: Self-Replication
Solar Constant
Solar radiation power per unit area:
- Earth: 1,361 W/m²
- Mercury (orbit average): 9,287 W/m² (6.8× more)
See: Physical Constants
Swarm Mirrors
Ultra-light reflective disks 100×100 m made of aluminum foil (4 µm). Controlled by light pressure through electrochromic coating. Mass ~116 kg, power on Earth ~17 MW (at 18% efficiency).
Reference: IKAROS (JAXA, 2010) — first interplanetary solar sail.
See: Swarm Mirrors
T
TRL (Technology Readiness Level)
Technology maturity scale from 1 (basic principles) to 9 (mass production). Used by NASA, ESA, DoD for readiness assessment. All project technologies are at TRL 4-9.
Key levels: TRL 4-5 = subsystems proven, integration incomplete. TRL 9 = mass production.
V
“Vitamins”
Critical components that cannot be manufactured on Mercury and must be shipped from Earth:
- Electronics (CPU, sensors)
- Rare earth elements
- High-precision optics
- Some lubricants and dopants
Share: 1–3% of robot mass.
See: Project in 5 Minutes
W
WAAM (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing)
Metal 3D-printing using electric arc welding. A robot deposits metal wire layer by layer, creating parts of any shape. Primary method for producing Gen-2 robot bodies and factory equipment.
TRL: 7-8 (Gefertec, WAAM3D, Lincoln Electric).
See: WAAM 3D-Printing