You are not logged in.
For Calliban re kbd512's idea of using liquid/fluid to send windmill energy to a central generator.
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 07#p218707
If you have time and if the idea interests you, please comment upon the idea.
kbd512 is proposing that a shaft from the propeller could deliver power to the base of the tower, where a fluid pump could pump fluid for delivery by pipe to a central facility.
How practical do you think kdb512's idea would be?
(th)
Offline
Reply is here:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 49#p218849
"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
For Calliban re summary of Tritium abilities and prospects...
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 07#p218907
Thank you for this concise review.
SearchTerm:Tritium Concise review of abilities and prospects
The post follows a post with a link to a YouTube video on how to make a (very small) Tritium "battery" using consumer lighting rods.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Helium-3
An output of the decay of tritium is (reported to be) Helium-3.
Helium-3 would thus appear to be a valuable substance in it's own right.
By any chance, can you (would you) calculate the energy equivalent of a quantity of Tritium that decays to Helium-3.
Google came up with several fusion options involving Helium-3.
At the top of the selections (ie, the one Google "thought" was the best fit) is fusion of Helium-3 and Deuterium.
If we arbitrarily choose 1 gram as the amount of Tritium we will allow to decay to Helium-3, I expect that the mass of the Helium-3 will be 1 gram less whatever mass went with the electron and the neutrino during decay. For calculation purposes, please work with a gram of Helium-3.
I notice that in www.physicsforums.com, someone inquired about fusing a kilogram of Helium-3 and a kilogram of Deuterium.
Without considering the forum discussion, I note that Helium-3 has has 3 baryons, and Deuterium has 2, so the mass values not be equal.
In other words, of the two masses are equal to start with, then there should be un-used Deuterium left over.
For the reader:
Google reports that Helium-3 has 2 protons and one neutron.
Google reports that Deuterium has 1 proton and one neutron.
To pursue this a bit further...per Google ...
He3 (Helium trimer) molar mass
www.webqc.org › molecular-weight-of-He3
Molar mass of He3 (Helium trimer) is 12.0078060 ± 0.0000060 g/mol ... Molar mass (molar weight) is the mass of one mole of a substance and is expressed in g/mol.
And also per Google ...
How do you find the molar mass of d2o?
∴ M o l a r m a s s o f D 2 O = 2 × 2 + 16 = 20 g / m o l.
What is the molar mass of heavy water D_2O ? - Toppr
www.toppr.com › ask › question › what-is-the-molar-mass-of-heavy-water...
The computation of mass for Deuterium appear to be influenced by the fact that Deuterium binds into pairs.
Helium does not form such pairings.
If we take the figure of 20 grams per mol for Heavy Water as a figure to work with, then the comparable number for Helium-3 would appear to be 12.
In other word, there should be 4 grams of Heavy Water left over after all the Helium-3 atoms have been fused with Deuterium.
Since this post is offered as a question/request, I am open to correction in the details.
The direction I am trying to head with this is to show that the Helium-3 left over from a Tritium lighting device (after some years) is useful if used as input to fusion.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Texas Drill ...
Thank you for your substantial contribution to this topic!
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 85#p219085
Just fYI ... kbd512 showed an oil rig dealer in Texas, where new and used oil rigs are for sale.
I've posted a few details about one of them. The dealer carries equipment made in Europe, the US and China, and possibly more sources as well.
The one I'm interested in is made in Europe. It has the distinctive design feature that it is automated, and it can be operated remotely.
I'm planning to (at least attempt) to contact this company, to see if they are willing to consider the Mars location, and to lend a staff person to provide some support to this community. It seems clear (to me at least) that a commercial rig that is well proven on Earth, is a better bet for Mars than something that some scientist dreams up on a paper napkin.
According to kbd512 and FriendOfQuark1, all these rigs are designed to be disassembled and moved in truck sized lots. I am hoping it will turn out that all the shipping lots of the rig of interest weigh less than 40 tons.
Meanwhile, GW Johnson has started work on a 40 ton Hohmann Transfer lander. I expect he will complete the study in a month or two, and that it would work. GW has a conference coming up, and other responsibilities, so the lander project is not the top priority.
And! Void showed us the Ballistic Orbit concept again (first shown to this forum in 2015) and I finally took a look at it. It has distinctive advantages over the Hohmann transfer orbit, so I expect it will become strongly favored by industry, as contrasted with scientific probes, which appear to be designed with minimum capabilities/requirements in mind.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re postings about low temperature energy conversion systems ...
Thank you for your many contributions in this important area.
I particularly appreciated the butane phase change diagram.
It occurred to me that designing a new city that is to be densely populated might be a good place to implement your ideas.
There are displaced populations all around the world, including in the US, for whom new cities , well designed, might provide a stable environment for growing the next generation, and ideas such as you and Terraformer have been discussing might have particular value.
I tried enclosing your phase change link in the usual [ I m g ] and [ / i m g ] parameters, and FluxBB refused to accept the request.
(th)
Offline
TH, if the town is located on the coast, then a fairly minimal system could be provided using piped sea water. The temperature of sea water varies by <10°C throughout the year.
https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/united-kingdom/
I would suggest pumped sea water through a concrete pipe running beneath main streets in the town. Branching roads would be served by heat pumping stations, which would draw heat out of the flowing sea water and heat piped water to maybe 60°C. Lets say we have a 1m diameter pipe with water flowing through it at 3m/s. Initial temperature is 10°C upon entering the town and heat withdrawal reduces this to 5°C upon exit. How much heat is available?
Q = [0.25 x Pi x D^2] x 3 x 1000 x 4200 x 5 = 49,480,000W. That is enough to heat roughly 10,000 detatched houses at peak winter heat demand.
We could supplement this further by drawing on heat stored in boreholes to preheat and reheat the water main. This doesn't need to be high heat. Temperatures between 10-20°C would be quite adequate.
Further inland, the system would be similar. But in this case, we are relying entirely on heat that the piped water is drawing out of the ground.
If we assume a cokd temperature of 10°C (283K) and a hot temperature of 60°C (333K), the ideal COP of a heat pump would be:
COP = Tc/(Th - Tc) = 283/50 = 5.66.
If we can achieve 2/3 of the Carnot efficiency, then this system will heat the town using less than one third of the electrical energy used by resistance heaters. If the town can access waste heat with a temperature of 30°C, then the electricity needed by the heat pumps can be roughly halved again.
Last edited by Calliban (2024-02-12 09:26:42)
"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
For Calliban re #57
Thank you for your detailed reply with evaluation of sea water heat pump thermal heating.
it seems to me there must be thousands if not millions of locations near coasts, world wide, where the concept you've described would work.
However, I'm offering ** this ** post as an opportunity to ask you a question that's been nagging me for quite a while. In an earlier post, probably somewhere in 2023, you were talking about drawing thermal energy from the Earth's mantle, and what bothered me then, and stays with me, is that you pointed out that for much of the length of a pipe descending into the mantle, fresh input of thermal energy from the core will be inhibited by poor thermal conductivity of the material present in the mantle.
My question for you is .... is there a sweet spot where fresh energy from the core is flowing at a rate that will replenish energy drawn out by humans on the surface far above, and ** above ** the region where the pipe would melt?
It is possible humans have no experience with this scenario, but I understand that some deep mines (?Africa) are hot enough so that working conditions are difficult.
What I'm basically asking is ... if we (humans) make a sufficient investment, can we draw energy from the core without further investment?
If so, what would be the nature of that investment?
(th)
Offline
For Calliban ... in light of recent renewed interest in heat pumps in the forum, I've created a new topic dedicated to the technology.
There are lots of outside resources that might be linked, but it is the unique perspective of members of this forum that can add value.
I am particularly interested in a recent discussion that seemed to imply that water might provide a net energy return for a community that pulls water from the ocean and returns it with as little as 5 degrees Celsius of the thermal energy removed.
It seems to me possible that the physics of this scenario would be fairly stable, with only the engineering at question.
Perhaps material choices can influence the sweet spot.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re new topic ...
Thanks for giving the new topic a major impulse!
The drawings are ** excellent ** ....
I've forwarded a link to the drawings to our correspondent in Alaska.
I'm still not clear on whether the Coefficient of Performance is greater than 1 for energy invested in a heat pump with the ocean as the thermal store.
One observation I would like to offer is this... if our Alaskan village were to draw water from below the ice, and return that water to the TOP of the ice, then the water below the ice would not be cooled, because the ice on top would act as an insulator.
In that case, (I'm guessing here) is it possible that the water might be delivered at a temperature well below freezing, so that the spread between input and output would be greater?
In taking a longer view, what (I think) this village would be doing is transferring the thermal energy to the next spring thaw.
Meanwhile, thermal energy from the equator would be filling the gap drawn out by the heating system.
What I'm looking for is anything that might catch the eye of the folks who are actually ** in ** the situation.
Theory is one thing. Practical heating of living spaces is quite another, especially in the dead of winter.
What would it help you to know about how the village heats itself right now?
I can imagine wood is still available in Alaska, and surely oil is available since Alaska pumps so much of it.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Heat Pumps topic ...
ChatGPT4 seems to ** think ** the ice making machine can deliver a COP of 4 if it applied in Alaska.
I'm hoping you might have a few minutes to evaluate the guess...
The scenario is intake water at -1.9 Celsius, and output ice at whatever lower temperature the machine can achieve.
I understand that any suspended matter will fall out during the cooling process ... That might be useful if there are minerals worth collecting from sea water. Otherwise the minerals can just be sent back to the ocean with the ice cubes.
Assuming electricity from fossil fuels, the COP of 4 implies that the energy content of the electricity can be multiplied by 4 to deliver hot fluid to the space to be heated.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Geodesic Domes....
Thanks for your very nice follow up to my observation in the 3D Printer topic...
TH, you are correct the struts used for constructing domes have 2 or 3 lengths, depending upon the number of subdivisions. This explains more.
https://mathcircle.berkeley.edu/sites/d … odesic.pdfThis surprised me, given that the structural divisions of a hemispherical geodesic dome are supposed to be equalatoral triangles. One would expect that a sphere with a constant radius of curvature composed of equalatorial triangles, should have constant strut dimensions. That is what equalatoral means. But apparently not. I am still trying to wrap my head around why that is.
I too was surprised when I first encountered this situation. I don't ** know ** the reason for the difference, but I suspect is is a mapping problem.
We are mapping a 2D concept onto a 3D shape (a sphere).
The situation may be similar to what happened with the Mercator Projection of the Earth's surface onto a flat sheet of paper.
My study of 3D Printing model transfer is ** very ** limited, but I took a quick look at the triangular mesh that is the nature of the STL file type.
Complext 3D shapes can be modelled with triangular structures of various sizes. The STL file can be rendered in text form, and in that form, it has data showing the lengths of the sides of the triangles, as well as location data. Whoever developed that system was (is?) gifted, and their work is an enduring gift to humanity.
My (vague by now) recollection of the development of plans for a geodesic dome was that the designer has to made decisions about how to deal with the complexity of the shape, so two different designers can produce different combinations of lengths of struts.
I bring this up in the context of a manufacturing operation on Mars, where it seems likely a great number of identical structures would be desired. Plans for tunnels to link the domes would be a reasonable addition to the product line.
This could probably be a topic in the new "industries" Forum (Index level) if we can ever win SpaceNut's approval for that or any changes to the current Index structure. This is a good time for me to remind you that you have the opportunity to think about possible new Forums for this site. It is possible SpaceNut might be willing to change the title of one or two existing forums, but odds are against it. With good reason, SpaceNut is resistant to change. We'll be lucky if we can persuade him to add a new Forum (Index level).
I've proposed Industries and Education.
For some reason that is a total mystery to me, SpaceNut seems to associate both of those topics with politics.
From my perspective, they have absolutely nothing to do with politics, but since you are a frequent contributor to the Politics topic, you may have an idea what he is thinking about.
Update for our readers:
STereoLithography (STL) is a file format that describes the surface of an object as a triangular mesh. It's also known as Standard Triangle Language or Standard Tessellation Language.
STL files are commonly used for computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing. They use a series of linked triangles, known as tessellation, to describe the surface geometry of a 3D design. STL files describe a set of triangles that approximate the continuous surfaces of a 3D model.
STL files are native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D Systems. They were introduced in the late 1980s and have become a standard for 3D printing and rapid prototyping.
To print an STL file, you must open it in slicing software, also known as a "slicer". A slicer is a piece of 3D printing software that converts digital 3D models into printing instructions for your 3D printer.
The information stored in an STL file describes the geometry of your model, but it doesn't contain any information on the type of material to use, texture, or color the model.
What is the STL process?
Why is STL used for 3D printing?
What is the purpose of 3D models such as those stored as STL stereolithography files?
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re new Prototype Forum topic ...
Over the years you've been contributing to NewMars, you have identified a number of potential entire industries that are appropriate for the Mars project.
Very recently, you have described a way of creating a dome structure using insitu resources. The supply of living and working space will certainly be a major industry on Mars, with many variations. Please add a post to the new Prototype Industry topic, if you are so inspired.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Heating options for Mars habitats
In your (interesting and insightful) post in Terraformer's topic, you pointed out the advantages of pipes built into the walls of Mars habitats.
It seems to me that your concept can be realized over the longer term, if you provide settlers/workers/visitors with sound housing rapidly, and add the amenities later. As an example (just one of many) temporary housing for displaced persons often consists of tents, or frame structures with tent fabric covering.
If you offer a group of settlers headed to Mars the prospect of radiation safe, spacious housing rapidly, with the option of adding nice-to-have features like in-wall heating, you might win the bid. You can make the ** real ** money with the amenities you offer later.
Thus, the overhead heating and lighting design that you and Terraformer are discussing might prove eminently practical as a temporary measure.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Void's interesting idea of using a magnet to attract susceptible atoms inside an asteroid.
I'm hoping you find this conjecture to be of interest, and that you might be able to suggest a path toward resolving the question: How strong must a magnet be to attract a susceptible atom at a distance of 100 meters? The amount of force on an individual atom would (probably) be small, so I assume a calculation would need to start with that. Once the force to be applied is known, then it should be relatively straight forward to apply the cube root rule to discover the strength that is needed to achieve the desired effect.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re Void's interesting magnet mining idea....
My first series of sessions investigating Void's idea turned out to be 95% education and 5% useful results ...
I was aware that working with magnetic fields is on the challenging side, because I'd attempted to learn about designing electric motors, but this inquiry reminded me forcefully of how many factors are in play when a designer is attempting to create an electromagnet for something as outwardly simple as Void's idea.
I came away from the first encounter with a greater respect for the expertise of the "Real Universe" designers who create these machines.
It appears that a 1 Tesla coil is of insufficient strength to reach 40 meters across an asteroid. The pull at even just 1 meter distance was much less than I had expected, although in working with magnets, I was/am aware of how dramatically pull increases as one approaches the pole of the magnet. As a first assessment of Void's idea, and it's application to asteroid mining, I'm led toward the conclusion that more than 1 Tesla are going to be needed.
I'm also leaning toward the idea of running the magnet through the heart of the asteroid, so that the entire object resides within the field.
(th)
Offline
I know little about electromagnetism, aside from high school grade physics. If the dust you are attempting to mine is ferromagnetic, you could use a variation of a solenoid to mine it. A long, flexible tube, with coiled windings around the outside. You could activate sections of the solenoid sequentially, sucking slugs of material up through the tube. The first coil activates, pulling material into the tube. As it passes the first coil, the material is detected. Power to the first coil switches off and the second coil along the tube activates. This continues all of the way up the tube. Essentially, the tube creates a travelling magnetic wave drawing material up it.
The good thing about mining with magnets in this way is that there are no moving parts exposed to the material being mined. Bucket grasps, brushes and other mechanical means of mining, all involve wear surfaces and moving parts exposed to abrasive dust. The downsides are that this technique will only work with ferromagnetic material. And that material must be loose and limited in grain size for the tube to suck it up. As the dust is in close proximity to the field and the field is pulling against a weak gravity field, you don't need a strong electromagnet for this to work. But the rate of material flow through the tube will be a function of fielding strength.
Last edited by Calliban (2024-03-06 16:25:57)
"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
For Calliban re #67
I'm staying in this topic because it can go in any direction you choose.
Thanks for noting the magnetic peristalsis concept that you've described. It should be possible to build a version of that idea in a home laboratory, or an academic one if we have a reader with the resources available. The absence of gravity would be hard to emulate, but perhaps the propulsion by attraction method might work in Earth's gravity. Arranging dust/grains on an incline might provide a rough equivalent to microgravity.
Just FYI .... I'm interested in a stronger field for a reason different from mining. It might be possible to pull/tow and asteroid if (a) it contains ferromagnetic material and (b) the magnetic field is strong enough to pull the entire asteroid toward the magnet running through the center. A hook on one of the poles of the electromagnet would allow for attaching a space tug, which could gently pull the asteroid onto a non-threatening path. This design, if it works, could be re-used on another asteroid so the investment can be extended over time. Or, conceivably, the entire asteroid could be towed to a location for harvesting.
(th)
Offline
TH, what you are describing sounds like a gravity tractor.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_tractor
"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
For Calliban re #69
Thanks for the reminder of the gravity tractor idea. As far as I know, that idea remains very much in play, and it is essentially the only game in town for non-ferromagnetic objects, of which (I understand) there are a great number.
However, ** this ** idea is based upon Void's idea of attracting magnetic-susceptible material in asteroids that contain it.
In ** that ** scenario, the magnet would be embedded in the rubble pile by gentle intrusion, so that the rubble pile is not overly disturbed. Once the electromagnet is fully centered in the asteroid, the current would be turned on, and a magnetic field would be generated around the entire object. I am drawing upon some of Void's imagery here.
If the magnetic field is strong enough, then the entire mass should obediently accept a gentle tug via a physical cable. In other words the weak gravity of the "gravity tug" would be replaced with the robust chemical bonds that hold the atoms of the cable together. The power of the tug would then be limited by the strength of the magnetic field extending from the electromagnet at the center of the object.
A sophisticated computer model of the behavior of the myriads of particles comprising the rubble pile would be needed to predict how much thrust could be delivered to the tow by the tug. As force is applied along the cable, it would flow through the core of the magnet. The magnetic field extending outward from the core would engage with ferromagnetic material in the object. However, if the object is a rubble pile, then inertia would act to keep the particles on their present course. At the same time, the magnetic field would act to cause susceptible particles to follow the tug. The interaction of the towed particles with the at-rest ones would cause the at-rest particles to begin to move with the tow, but many would slide toward the rear of the object. A consideration is that a pole of the magnet would be located in center of the stern of the object, so it might be expected the magnetic force would be greater there than along the sides of the object.
In short, I don't think there is a good way to model the behavior of a system like this. The tug would need to deploy the electromagnet, turn on the current, nudge the thruster, and observe the behavior of the system under load.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re air pressure energy storage ...
In the forum archive, there are posts between you and kbd512 (and perhaps others) about use of compressed air to store energy.
I was inspired by the discussion to invest in a generator/alternator that is designed for the golf cart market. The machine is brand new and ready to go into service. My test plan was to drive the device from an air motor, to produce current to light a string of 12 volt DC bulbs.
The automobile marketplace appears to include a few attempts at production of air pressure powered automobiles, and the tanks designed for that market would surely serve as energy reservoirs for my test. I found an air motor that would be suitable for the experiment, but the Critical Path items is the air tank. Commercially available air tanks for air tools do not appear to have the capacity needed for the experiment, which was intended to produce 20 amps at 12 volts for some period of time (which I've forgotten but it might have been an hour).
I'd like to see the air stored energy discussion continue, if possible.
The cost of a suitable air tank may be out of reach for my budget, but at this point, I have no idea where to find one, let alone ask for price.
In the automobile application, I assume the engineers must have provided a regulator to deliver air to an air motor, so that would need to be part of the apparatus.
Follow up 2024/03/11 ... in a quick review of the compressed air automobile industry, I found hints that the air pressure in tanks may reach into the hundreds of atmospheres. Safety would be a concern if air pressure driven equipment is supported by a store of that magnitude. However, safety issues must have been addressed, if working automobiles have been developed and placed on the market. I am interested in the application of this technology for on site power generation, whether for an electric generator via an air motor, or standard pneumatic tools.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re "Calliban's Ring" for asteroid mining...
Your hand drawn engineering drawing came up for discussion during Sunday's Google Meeting ....
That drawing remains the GoTo resource for thinking about harvesting of asteroids. I am focusing now on the arrival of Apophis near Earth in 2029. I would like to see if we (humans) can install a complete working "Calliban's Ring" system on the asteroid as it passes by, and harvest the asteroid into little bundles over the next seven years, so that the entire contents of the asteroid can be captured in 2036.
The concept that came to me recently was "tinkertoy" or similar construction. The entire ring frame could be built of aluminum components fabricated on the Moon and lifted to L1 for transfer to Apophis. The entire design can be developed in Blender or any of the comparable 3D design packages, such as Fusion 360. Blender has the distinct advantage of (a) being free and (b) actively supported by a robust community.
There is a concept I remember from childhood, of the "Erector Set" concept .... that concept lives on as the Erector by Meccano brand.
The advantage of parts designed with the flexibility of many holes for bolts and other fasteners is the ability to construct large assemblies with just a few parts repeated as needed. The "Calliban's Ring" could be so constructed around Apophis, and it could serve as an anchor for material collection equipment. There is no need to try to process the collected material at the asteroid, as your original drawing proposed. Instead, all the material can be shrink wrapped and prepared for delivery to Earth Orbit in 2036.
Another advantage of adopting a design concept such as "Erector by Meccano" is that kids world wide can participate in building little versions of "Calliban's Ring". Obviously, "Calliban's Ring" itself deserves a design patent, and someone with financial resources will surely make that investment unless the design is placed in the public domain.
Please consider the NewMars forum for publishing of your design for "Calliban's Ring" (assuming you decide to pursue this opportunity).
No one else in the current membership of the forum is going to attempt anything along these lines, so the floor is yours.
There is some urgency to timing for this project. The asteroid will be here in 2029, whether we humans are ready or not.
Update a bit later: The Erector set brand I remember declined after the death of the founder in 1961. However, as I look at the web site of the company that bought the brand, I see signs it is adapting to the modern world. They ** might ** be interested in picking up the Apophis harvesting challenge as an opportunity to reach young people world wide. The machines needed for that operation are myriad, and they can (presumably) all be developed using the Meccano concept, with scale being the only change factor.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re thermal energy from Earth's core vs human activity to draw off a portion...
In Void's topic about geothermal energy, kbd512 has introduced an interesting contrarian point of view.
The only anecdote to fear is knowledge, and in this case, you may be able to help members of the forum evaluate risks in the situation under study.
The Earth produces energy due to radioactive decay, and I am hoping you can found an estimate of thermal energy produced by the core.
Whatever that number is, it is clearly greater than the Earth can handle, because the Earth blows off excess energy through volcanoes and moving plates around. The energy released through the volcano mechanism is not desired by humans trying to live on the surface, so intelligent, calm removal of excess energy from the Earth's mantle would seem advisable.
The folks at MIT working the problem on non-mechanical drilling have apparently switched from microwaves to lasers as the tool tip of choice.
The target depth reported in a recent post elsewhere in the forum is 20 kilometers.
You have contributed to our collective understanding of the situation by advising that thermal conductivity in molten rock is not as good as is the case in other materials, and you have offered the caution that energy might be drawn out of the well head faster than it can be replenished from the core.
We don't have numbers to work with, so your observation remains a caution at this point.
There needs to be a set of numbers to work with. We have excess energy that needs to be drawn from the core so that we avoid volcanic eruption, and we may have issues about slow thermal flow through molten rock.
A possible solution (assuming we actually have a problem) is to drill enough wells to prevent volcanoes, plus enough extra wells so that when a particular well head becomes unproductive there is another well nearby that has energy available.
I'm hoping you might be able (and willing) to help us in the forum, and potentially readers as well, to understand the nature of the situation.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re foam to pull asteroid material ...
Our Alaskan correspondent inquired if anyone commented on his suggestion for harvesting asteroids or comets.
No one has commented so far.
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 79#p220379
Your opinion would be welcome, if you can spare the time.
I think that computer modeling might help to identify the best substance to inject into the rubble pile to collect material.
In the absence of modeling or actual experiment in space, I'm inclined to think that plain water is the leading candidate for the application.
(th)
Offline
For Calliban re new phpBB3 test account ....
I understand that members of the forum do not have time to read every post, so you may not be aware of the test account that the Admins have set up for evaluation of newer forum software.
Please connect to the Azure test account using the information in the Azure topic.
If you encounter an SQL timeout message please just refresh the page. Azure is a Virtual Machine that goes to sleep and has to be re-awakened.
I'd appreciate your feedback on the site.
(th)
Offline