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For Void re thoughtful, considerate post....
Buried in one of your recent posts was a brief moment of thoughtful consideration of others....
You were talking about the effect of sending matter out the tailpipe of a powerful mass accelerator.
You pointed out that if a human or any sentient being were to come into contact with this material, their defense systems would be tested severely.
The population of Earth is protected (to some extent) by the atmosphere.
By writing this appreciation of your thoughtful post, I am hoping other members might be inspired to think about the issue you've raised.
The only way ** I ** know of to deal with this problem is to use anti-matter pairs and cause them to interact downstream from the exit port of the accelerator. Even then, the energy is not lost, but it ** is ** transformed into radiation, and in that transformation, it appears (subject to correction) that the radiation may be emitted in all directions, so that the risk immediately downstream is reduced.
However, other members may well report alternative ways of dealing with the problem.
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For Void re insightful post in Cycler topic ...
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 23#p227223
Your suggestion of using solar panels (and solar sails) for navigation to keep a cycler on course caught my eye as a particularly useful idea. The cycler is going to be collecting a ** lot ** of solar energy to keep it's passengers comfortable and safe, and using those panels for navigation certainly seems appropriate.
The challenge of navigating a cycler is one that might be of interest to future NewMars members.
As you many have noted, GW Johnson is working on course material to help a young human to learn how to navigate in space. To clarify, the existing course material is intended to lay the foundation for later learning that would lead to navigation skills.
I am inspired by your suggestion to consider setting up a topic just for navigation of an Aldrin Cycler.
In asking Google about the Aldrin Cycler, I received back a link to an image of Aldrin holding a model of a cycler.
There does not appear to be a book about the concept, but it may become a book theme at some point.
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments … r_vehicle/
(th)
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For Void re Animation by Ryan Hansen
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 41#p227241
Thank you for finding and showing this amazing work!
For the first time I understand what Elon and company are going to try to achieve, and how difficult it is going to be.
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Just FYI .... today's meeting of the North Houston NSS chapter included discussion of the EPA worry about the water deluge system. While I still think the worry about the deluge system is ridiculous, at least ** now ** it makes a little sense... Apparently the worry is that the fresh drinking water will be heated by the rocket exhaust, and that the ** heat ** of the water that reaches the nearby Gulf of Mexico might cause distress or injury to some marine life.
Here is a link to the entire collection: https://www.youtube.com/c/RyanHansenSpace
(th)
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For Void re Venus cycler ....
Thank you for your interest in and support of the new Venus Cycler topic ....
This new topic was inspired by your comments in other topics. I hope that you and other members will be able to add useful content to the topic, so that it would be worth someone out on the Internet reading from top to bottom.
We do not currently have an active member able to design orbits with the complexity of an Aldrin Cycler orbit as designed for Mars.
However, this forum is accepting new members via the email pathway. If there is a person ** out there ** who is able to plan such complex orbits, the forum would be happy to provide a venue for posts about such orbits.
In a recent post, kbd512 found a summary of comparison of the Aldrin Cycler orbit with two other competing designs. The Aldrin Cycler orbit allows for 7 trips every 15 years, so two such cyclers would offer a trip 14 years out of 15. The Aldrin Cycler design has the distinct advantage of a 174 day flight time at the price of higher energy taxi service at either end of the trip. I think the Aldrin Cycler design will prove irresistible to wealthy travelers for whom time is money, and months saved in transit would be more than worth the extra cost of fuel for taxi service.
(th)
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For Void re new Windmill topic ...
Best wishes for good health!
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Your latest topic contains many ideas.
I'd like to focus this post on just one ....
All existing water collection systems (that I know about) are passive. Humans all over Earth collect water from the air by waiting for the air to bring the water to them.
Your new topic is the first (that I know about) that takes an ** active ** stance....
If I understand the idea correctly, your design would bring the water collection system into contact with water in the air.
What is more, instead of just waiting for air to bring the water, if I understand your proposal correctly, you would encourage the water laden air to approach your location, in order to harvest the water.
A fog bank would seem (to me at least) a ** really ** good place for your system...
All the water in that fog (or most of it) will be lost to humans because there is presently no way (that I know of) to actively harvest it.
Your introduction of turning blades to collect water is interesting, and I hope that your idea inspires others to think about the possiblities.
It will take an investment of energy to drive the blades, and to perform the harvest. I think that point is what Calliban asked about.
This is not an ** energy ** harvesting system, it appears to be a ** water ** harvesting system.
(th)
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For Void re new post about storing cold as ice....
Thanks for introducing this idea to the forum.
If you are inspired to add possibilities around that theme, I hope you will share them.
One possibility that occurred to me is that ice is a form of water that can be shipped without a pipe.
I note that when see water is cooled, it preferentially puts salt-free ice on top.
There might be something you could do with that observation.
(th)
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I know I am not supposed to post here. There is something wonderful, I think that can evolve from that. But I have other fish to fry just now.
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For Void re http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 32#p227432
In this post you seem to be expanding upon the ice-as-stored-energy idea.
It was fun to be reminded of a major industry of the not-so-distant past, when ice was collected in winter and sold for refrigeration in summer.
The ice was moved by sledge over the frozen lake surface, and then (I presume) by wheeled vehicle for storage.
To deliver that ice to customers in cities like New York, there would have been a lot more wheeled vehicles involved.
However, in those days, motive power was about as green as was possible at the time....
Where I am hoping you will head as you expand your thinking, is toward delivery of ice to locations on Earth were water is needed, but where Nature does not provide a delivery.
I have no idea where your imagination may take us, but I'm looking forward to the adventure.
(th)
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For Void re Moon topic ....
I was intrigued by your image of a dome with a hole in the top! I hope you'll keep developing that idea even further.
I was reminded of images created showing rockets descending into lava tube openings.... Your concept seems to have the distinct advantage of purpose built architecture.... Your drawing skills may allow us to see what you come up with.
The reason I logged in just now was to (or at least try to) encourage you to expand your vision of data centers to the Moon.
This forum contains posts about the idea of building data centers in orbit to collect solar power there, and avoid the inefficiency of sending power to the Earth, when that power would just be used for data centers.
In reading tour posts in the Moon topic recently, it occurred to me that the Moon might be much better for data centers than orbit.
For one thing, the Moon has the ability to clear it's orbit.
I'm not wanting to create an argument about a planet clearing it's orbit. I'm simply pointing out that the great mass of the Moon acts to remove small objects that wander by, as compared to the defenseless posture of stations or facilities in Earth orbit.
It is highly likely that unchecked, undisciplined human activity is going to create the Kessler syndrome.
A data facility built on the Moon would at least have the bulk of the Moon to protect it from ** some ** objects moving in space.
(th)
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For Void re combined functions idea...
In fact the mirror could be "Mirror", "Radiator", and Rectenna all built into each other.
I hope someone in NewMars will develop this core of an idea.
(th)
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