[ExI] Space Elevator (Going Down)

[Bryan Bishop]

On Wednesday 26 March 2008, Emlyn wrote:
> Personally, I like it. Replace the old mudball with a bunch of free
> floating habitats, plenty of room for all and sundry, and most of the
> materials of the planet left to play with.

Yes, but what about the damage in the mean time? I am thinking that we 
could possibly use dome-like environments to keep the biosphere in 
tact, with trade occuring between the different domes in our pathetic 
attempt at making sure everything stays alive. Also we *must* prevent 
water loss. And atmospheric loss. Oxygen is very, very useful.

> You might not even need to blow it up much. Just crack it into a
> bunch of smaller pieces, until none has enough gravity on its own to
> be a nuisance. Some might be helpful, though, maybe there's an
> optimum sized chunk?

I had the unfortunate experience of reading through Tides of Light 
recently. In it, a cybernetic pseudopodia organism plays with a hu and 
throws him down a giant shaft straight through the center of a planet. 
He picks up lots and lots of velocity. Could be a useful effect. So the 
gravity well might still be of some use yet ... think of it as the 
classic Star Trek slingshot maneuver, but within the planet. 

- Bryan
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