When bigger is better. If only physics actually supported this sort of thing. A pity about all that drifting into the sun, but still...
5 comments:
eon
said...
Even more amusing than Gerard O'Neill's L-5 fantasies. He never got around to explaining how you can plant a pressurized habitat in a Lagrangian point without the cloud of space debris that naturally congregates there turning it into a large-economy-sized sieve.
If I recall Larry Niven did develop a means to prevent the Ringworld from drifting into the sun. He believed any changes in the Ringworld orbit could be offset by use of Bussard Ramjets thatg would be strategically placed around the structure (see Ringworld Engineers).
5 comments:
Even more amusing than Gerard O'Neill's L-5 fantasies. He never got around to explaining how you can plant a pressurized habitat in a Lagrangian point without the cloud of space debris that naturally congregates there turning it into a large-economy-sized sieve.
cheers
eon
Gotta start small: http://www.iase.cc/openair.htm
As for how to avoid the space debris, build all the components on the Moon and then assemble them in orbit. Leave the detritus behind.
David
If I recall Larry Niven did develop a means to prevent the Ringworld from drifting into the sun. He believed any changes in the Ringworld orbit could be offset by use of Bussard Ramjets thatg would be strategically placed around the structure (see Ringworld Engineers).
George Everson
Jason;
The debris I was referring to is natural. It's already there, and has been for millions of years. Orbital dynamics and gravity in action.
Putting anything big and fragile in a Lagrangian point is sort of like a duck making a low pass over
a bunch of guys with shotguns on opening day.
cheers
eon
eon, that's what active meteor defense is for! Which, conveniently enough, will double nicely as a defense shield for near-space interdiction:-).
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