corwin@hope.UUCP (John Kempf) (03/25/86)
*** THERE AIN'T NO SUCH THANG AS A LINE EATE Just a thought... Assuming that a race of extra terestrials exist, Assuming that they can and do decide to build a Dysan sphere, Two questions: Where would they find the mass to build one? What would the optical effects look like to an outside observer? (ie here?) -cory
spock@hope.UUCP (Chris Ambler) (03/25/86)
> Just a thought... > Assuming that a race of extra terestrials exist, > Assuming that they can and do decide to build a Dysan sphere, > > Two questions: > Where would they find the mass to build one? > What would the optical effects look like to an outside observer? > (ie here?) They would most probably utilize the mass of the planets of their system to build the sphere, demolizing their own planet last. To the outside observer, I doubt at this distance, it would radiate enough energy to make it visible AT ALL...they are quite efficient. -Spock! (Christopher J. Ambler, University of California, Riverside) -"Captain, I see no reason to bother Starfleet..."
corwin@hope.UUCP (John Kempf) (03/26/86)
to my earlier posting, chris responds... > They would most probably utilize the mass of the planets of their system > to build the sphere, demolizing their own planet last. To the outside > observer, I doubt at this distance, it would radiate enough energy to > make it visible AT ALL...they are quite efficient. > Consider the mass in a typical solar system, say Sol. (No, I don't know if it is typical, having not yet taken a vacation on Arcturis yet...) Not including the sun, you have a mass on the order of 3.5E30 g. To make a Dysan sphere, you need to cover a surface area of about 8.5264E22 m^2. This comes out to something on the order of a shell 10 metres thick. (depending on mateials used, assuming that transmutation is both possible, and doesn't use up any mass) Unless there is some way of converting one element into another, WITHOUT using up any mass, we run out of mass. Most of the universe is hydrogen, not steel. As far as radiating, not after it is finnished, but while it is being made. -cory
sher@rochester.ARPA (David Sher) (03/28/86)
To talk about intermediate structures between a dyson sphere and a planet, how many "earth"s could we put in orbit 93 million miles away from the sun before gravitational effects makes the whole structure unstable? This is a much smaller scale construction project than a Dyson sphere with many of the advantages and it lacks certain of the problems (namely all the "earth"s will have a real night and so on). -- -David Sher sher@rochester seismo!rochester!sher
corwin@hope.UUCP (John Kempf) (03/29/86)
> To talk about intermediate structures between a dyson sphere and > a planet, how many "earth"s could we put in orbit 93 million miles away > from the sun before gravitational effects makes the whole structure > unstable? This is a much smaller scale construction project than a Dyson > sphere with many of the advantages and it lacks certain of the problems > (namely all the "earth"s will have a real night and so on). As far as the number of planets, as long as they were in a kempler rosette, the only limiting factor should be tidal locking of the planets to each other. If you were to go that far, it would probably be easier to create a ringworld. anybody else out there have any ideas? -cory