- An apparent debunking of a recent article in the UK trying to argue man made global warming isn't happening. I've read neither...I'm just happy to be wearing shorts in November.
- Magnetic areas of the Moon's crust might help shield future settlements there.
- Slashdot loves them some space elevator news. It seems someone realized a leisurely ride in a space elevator might be a bit dangerous when going through the Van Allen radiation belts.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Physics Digest of Slashdot
Slashdot has some physics articles:
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The minimum energy curve from ground to geostationary orbit is not a straight line - only the beanstalk's endpoints will be in equilibrium orbits. No electrical conductor may thread the path lest the ionosphere short to ground (big sparks) and induction from a billowing magnetosphere (big sparks) ignore political convenience. The thing will be chewed by solar vacuum UV, atomic oxygen, and van Allen radiation belts - energetic electrons and energetic protons. Looks like a job for monocrystal shitanium.
What powers the elevator? 22,240 miles at 100 mph is 9+ days transit. No electrical conduit is allowed. If the beanstalk snaps it will be a brisk game of orbital crack the whip.
We need an equatorial terrestrial base of operations. Let's level the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro (3.07 degrees south latitude, 3.6 miles high) right now and go on from there. Global Warming will remove all the ice and snow for us for starters.
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