[ExI] Asteroidal mining was Nukes was less expensive > energy

[Keith Henson]

On Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 5:00 AM,  Jeff Davis <jrd1415 at gmail.com> wrote:

snip

> Crazy-ass idea #1:  "Radiators schmadiators!"  Use your metallic dust
> product as your coolant "fluid".  Place it in hot waste heat location
> where it absorbs some of that waste heat.  Transport away from there
> to the asteroid surface, and toss it up into the air, er,... the vast
> blackness of space.  Toss it just a smidgeon less than escape velocity
> -- which for a low-g body would be quite slow actually -- so that it
> spends a loooooong time "out there" cooling before settling back to
> the surface.  Rinse and repeat.  "Problem" solved.  No radiators
> needed.  And by the way, those dust particles, lots of surface area.

It's been proposed, by NASA, decades ago for use in free space.  Low g
airless might be a new idea.  Transferring heat to solids without any
gas is tricky.

Keith