[extropy-chat] laser boosting

Damien Broderick thespike at earthlink.net
Sat Dec 13 23:36:31 UTC 2003


----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury at aeiveos.com>
Saturday, December 13, 2003 4:07 PM

>One problem is that I think most lasers systems are currently
> designed to deliver heat (melt the incomings, fuse the pellets, etc.).
> One would need a shift in design strategies if one wants to use them
> for non-destructive propulsion purposes.

A steam-driven spaceship! Pack it with ice. Since the Antarctic icebergs are
melting anyway, let's at least put the stuff to good use. Or would the
dissociated H2O do horrid things to the ozone layers, etc? (I do know the
poles are the worst possible place to launch a Beanstalk from, unless maybe
it's the whipping kind that nearly touches down now and then and you have to
chase it with a jet.)

Damien Broderick




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