[ExI] Alien Civilizations May Only Be Detectable For A Cosmic Blink Of An Eye

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> 



>>… John that analysis has assumptions you didn’t state.  Using that equation assumes a thin shell or (if expressed in Dyson swarm language) a thin layer. But what if it isn’t that way?  What if a Dyson swarm is a few light seconds thick? 

 

>…I don't see the advantage of doing that, it would just make things more complicated…

 

More complicated is not necessarily a disadvantage in itself.  Consider machines in general, with internal combustion engines a great example that most of us know well.  More complicated designs work better.

 

>…and require more mass…

 

Ja and that might be a driving factor in many stars.  But what if the star is metal-rich, like ours?  Does that matter still?

   

 

>>… Are you confident in using the black body thermal model for the inboard nodes?

 

>…Yes a Dyson sphere or swarm will radiate heat from both the inside and the outside.  

 Ja.  It is important to get that.  If the swarm has significant thickness, the outer layers radiate heat back down into the inner layers, which cause them to get hotter.  If the swarm is thin, that doesn’t matter.  But if it is thick, and the swarm absorbs a significant fraction of the star’s energy, that becomes very important.  

>  in order to prevent overheating your innermost nodes.

 

>…I just don't see why that's gonna be a big problem. 

 

John K Clark

 

Robert punted on that one as well.  What I would suggest is to propose a design for M-Brain nodes that we can build now.  Then we can start calculating how well they will work.  I proposed a design and posted photos of scale a model I built, and used as a visual aid when pitching the idea for an engineering group in 2009.  I used a standard CD as a 12x scale model, so the node is a bit over half the size of an American dime, mass 1 milligram, diameter 10 mm.  

 

With those numbers (as an example (feel free to choose your own)) we can do some calculations on power use, thermal characteristics etc.

 

spike 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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