[extropy-chat] FW: Humor: Extropy and Transhumanism (was jokesfromAmara)

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Bret Kulakovich
...
> On Mar 21, 2006, at 10:47 AM, Robert Bradbury wrote:
> 
> > an asteroid that you have carefully manipulated so it has stopped
> > rotating and always has one side facing the sun all the time
> 
> 
> ~ If one side is facing the sun all the time, then it is rotating.
> 
> 
> =)
> 
> 
> /sorry, couldn't resist!
> 
> Bret K.


Not necessarily, if the term "asteroid" is defined very loosely.  Assume
asteroid is about 600 atoms thick of aluminum.  Then the momentum transfer
from the reflected photons from the sun will balance the gravity of the sun,
regardless of the orbit radius, so the asteroid could have the same side
facing the sun always and still have zero sidereal rotation.

Or the asteroid could be shaped like a moebius strip.  Then it could have
any arbitrary sidereal rate and still have the same "side" facing the sun.

Or the asteroid could have a moveable surface on tracks, such as a huge
asteroid-covering solar panel that is carried around the perimeter of the
main body at the rate of one revolution per orbit, so that the asteroid does
not rotate with respect to the stars, yet the same side (the solar panel)
faces the sun always.

Or the sun could go red supergiant, causing the heliosphere to expand all
the way out to the closer asteroids.  So tenuous would be the sun's wispy
outer reaches, larger bodies could actually orbit (for a while) within the
sun.  The asteroid could have zero sidereal rotation, yet still the same
side (well, all sides) would face the sun.

Geek jokes are most welcome here, especially those dealing with astronomy,
physics, biology and math.  

{8-]

spike