You are not logged in.
For Calliban re post about Lattice Confinement Fusion:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 59#p231959
That presentation is dense with information.
Hopefully the paper was well received and productive. There should be multiple follow up studies in the record.
In an attempt to distill the essence of the work reported, it ** seems ** that researchers found that by packing Deuterium into natural uranium or ? perhaps ? nuclear waste, the natural emission of neutrons ? may have caused some fusion events in the Deuterium, which ? may have generated more neutrons, with the ultimate result being heat that can be harnessed?
Update later after conversation with Gemini: It appears that the research to date has used titanium or erbium as the metal into which (or with which) Deuterium is bound. In addition, it appears that gamma rays are needed to create favorable conditions for fusion, and those are supplied by delivery of high energy electrons from an external source.
My question for you is whether there might be another source of the required gamma rays?
The Lattice Confinement topic is available for explanations if any exist.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re topic on Cast Basalt...
I just reread the topic from the top. It flows nicely, and contributions by fellow NewMars members seem to add to the topic without swerving too far from the main theme.
SpaceNut brought in the similar (but decidedly different) concept of the geodesic dome.
The link you provided to the Nissen hut led to a well constructed and maintained Wikipedia article on the huts designed in 1914 (or so) and then constructed ever since in various forms and various names.
A wedge shaped cast block might serve as a construction element to make arches.
The link below leads to a collection of images. Stone arches are included.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=htt … AdAAAAABAE
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re progress with wind powered tumbler...
Thanks for showing us how well the project is coming along!
And thanks for the boost to the SMR topic as well.
I noticed an enrichment level of 3.8% or so in one of the posts that have appeared recently.
I assume any radioactive material is subject to restrictions, but isn't that a fairly low level of enrichment?
I ask because I would ** think ** that authorities would be more receptive to a nuclear proposal if the fuel grade is low.
In his post, kbd512 pointed out the amount of infrastructure that is still needed for an SMR even if the reactor itself is truck transportable.
I'd like to see atomic power advance as rapidly as possible.
My theory is similar to Calliban's (to the extent I understand his writings)....
The more energy a society has to harness, the better off the population will be, even taking inevitable inequality into account.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re report of underwater energy storage:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 73#p232173
Thank you for finding and posting this interesting report.
You have pointed out the use of equipment at the storage site.
My observation is the same as I have for the OTEC concept. The undersea energy storage concept has the distinct advantage that only electrons are moved from energy source to energy consumer.
The OTEC concept involved moving vast quantities of baryons to eke out a tiny amount of energy.
The energy storage system you have shown us provides effective energy storage and it does this by accepting electrons as input and returning electrons as output. I can't evaluate efficiency from just watching the video
To me it is evident that this is an effective system for energy storage. The estimate of 60 years service life is impressive.
If a member of the forum has time to pull statistics out of the video, I'd be interested in the quantity of energy that the example system can store. Inefficiency in translation of electricity to compressed air would show up as heating of the ocean in the vicinity of the storage device.
It seems to me the link you found might fit well into one of our compressed air storage topics as well.
Air will heat up as it is compressed, and that heat will move to the nearby ocean.
Air will cool as it is de-compressed by pulling water out of the enclosure.
My comments at this point are limited due to watching the video without being able to hear the narration, so there may have been answers to my questions in the narration.
What I ** think ** I saw was a system for storing energy by compressing air, using sea water as the working fluid.
Update: https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10883
Above link points to a topic where this system might be a good fit.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re Habitat topic: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 40#p232240
The purpose of this note is to try to encourage you to continue developing your ideas. We (forum) might be able to entice a trained architect to contribute drawings or perhaps even designs.
The robots that will be building those hemisphere structures need instructions, and they need materials shaped in suitable ways that have been specified with precision.
The plumbing will need to be designed and installed with precision. Plumbing for this purpose might be inclusive of all fluids, including electricity and light.
Heating and air management subsystems are needed, and those must be specified with precision.
Doors, windows (if any) and air lock systems must be designed, manufactured and installed with precision.
It seems to me that many of the materials needed for the enterprise can be installed before humans even show up, as technology is advancing.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re Diamond saw stone cut technique for Mars domes:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 50#p232250
Thank you for this description of what could easily become a set of interwoven industries on Mars, with lifetimes of multiple generations.
The specializations would include scouting for suitable material, collecting rocks for a project, computer mediated cuts for desired shapes, storage of product for customer needs, transport to a work site, assembly with grouting (similar to brick laying on Earth), inspection and correction as needed, and a number of specialized skills similar to existing practice on Earth.
I do not know the answer to this question, so hope it might be of interest for a future post: Can laser beams cut basalt?
It would certainly be convenient of that is possible. The wear on the cutting blade would be zero, although some way of removing cuttings would be needed.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re post in Restaurant
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 60#p232260
In the case of this particular restaurant, the variety of choices seems to me beyond the reach of a paper solution.
There is no (or low) risk you will be subject to this in the UK, but it is possible there may be someone who sets up a shop like this.
I'll post a link to the restaurant web site, and invite you and other NewMars members who might be interested to take a look.
When I first saw this I thought "nice web site" but didn't realize that ** was/is ** the menu.
The neighborhood where the restaurant is situated is a good match as well. Everyone has a smart phone, and likely an iPhone.
https://www.sowplated.com/
https://www.sowplated.com/menu-lunch/
The business has been running since 2019
It seems to me that a restaurant on this scale on Mars is a possibility for the distant future.
It is only a possibility on Earth after thousands of years of evolution, the Enlightenment shift from ignorance to science, and the development of a global supply chain with the levels of specialization required to enable universal smart phone distribution to the population.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re Void's idea of a Starship on it's side for a habitat...
Your description of strong outer walls made of compressed regolith or (my favorite) laser shaped rock/basalt creates a picture in my mind of a shelter with plenty of radiation protection into which an intact startship might be slipped/rolled (on rollers) so it could be adapted for use as a habitat/workspace.
** This ** post is an architectural question... Would it be worth considering to make the stone structure in the form of a cylinder, large enough so there is plenty of room around the Starship so Void's caution about placing anything against the side of the Starship could be honored?
I ask about the cylinder shape because that shape might be able to distribute force to the underlying regolith better than a simple arch would do, and a simple arch would have a flat bottom that would not be compatible with the cylindrical Starship.
Because you are one of the few NewMars members (you, GW Johnson and Void) who can create images, I am hoping you might have time to create drawings of such a combination. I'm hoping that at some point drawings can show important details such as plumbing, power supply and atmosphere management.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban!
Thanks for letting us know of the trip to Sweden with Mrs. Calliban!
If we in NewMars are ** really ** lucky, we may get to see photographs of the visit.
I am particularly interested in the stone architecture, since you have described how it might work well on Mars!
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
My wife and I took the sleeper train from Stockholm to Narvik. We had two nights in Narvik. It is not the most artistically beautiful town, but the natural scenery was inspiring. We were very lucky with the weather. We are in Kiruna for one night now and will be getting the sleeper train back to Stockholm tomorrow night. I will put photos on the website when I get back to UK at the end of the week.
"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."
Offline
Like button can go here
For Calliban re #260
Thanks for the update on your visit to Narvik, and other parts of Sweden!
Glad to hear the weather is holding!
The images you upload will be a welcome addition to the archive.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here