[extropy-chat] Nuclear terraforming

[Jay Dugger]

Sunday, 18 December 2005

On 12/17/05, Robert Bradbury <robert.bradbury at gmail.com> wrote:
>

[snip Robert's superior summary]

>  The entire discussion (that I've seen thus far) assumes that one wants to
> terraform a planet in the first place.  Seems questionable to me -- lets go
> create more habitats at the bottom of gravity wells making rather poor use
> of the easily available resources rather than engineer lifeforms that don't
> require gravity and/or make optimal use of the resources at our disposal.
>

>  Robert
>
>  P.S. I've got *two* copies of Terraforming... :-)  Someday I'll probably
> put it online but it is unlikely to be anytime soon.
>

Ah! I look up from my scanner just in time to see the market flooded.
Well, that price probably sat pretty far from optimal. OTOH, Alibris
suggests otherwise.

http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=6617698&wtit=Terraforming&matches=2&qsort=r&cm_re=works*listing*title


>  1. The beaming of power from SPS to the surface with microwaves can be
> tricky because various molecules in the atmosphere could absorb the
> microwaves which would make the atmosphere hotter, not cooler.  You could
> manage this by selecting microwave frequencies that don't have this effect
> but I don't know what the frequencies would be given the materials one would
> have on hand for the building the transmitters and receivers for the power.
> This entire area would require some research.
>

Environmental consequences of SPS got short shrift in O'Neill's time.
Some references might exist here, in the online copy of NASA's Space
Settlement Design Study.

http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/SpaceSettlement/75SummerStudy/Table_of_Contents1.html

Edwards's "The Space Elevator" Chapter 4 discusses power transimission
via free-electron lasers.

With an online search, perhaps at SpaceDaily or The Space Review or
SpaceRef or Encyclopedia Astronautica, one might find references to
various high-alititude aircraft and airship projects relying on beamed
power.


--
Jay Dugger
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