SCIENCE!!!

[lukeb28]

Now that I have remembered to read it, I see that it's nothing new to me. This was literally the first thing we learned when we started getting into the behavior of light.

[TheBytemaster]

Now that I have remembered to read it, I see that it's nothing new to me. This was literally the first thing we learned when we started getting into the behavior of light.

Aw, darn. But while we're here, we might as well make some !!SCIENCE!!

[okamikk]

Aw, darn. But while we're here, we might as well make some !!SCIENCE!!

as long as it's not drunk science we should be fine.

i don't think anybody wants a repeat of the mine turtle incident...

ONTOPIC:

Does humanity have the resources and technology to create cables strong and flexible enough to be used as a connector to orbital powerstations?

and if not, approximately how long would it take to develop them?

[Lethosos]

The current prevailing technology for this is braided carbon nanotube fiber cables, and we're not quite capable of effectively producing this in bulk.

[lukeb28]

The current prevailing technology for this is braided carbon nanotube fiber cables, and we're not quite capable of effectively producing this in bulk.

Actually we can produce crap tons of the stuff. The problem is that we can't make them very long.

[Lethosos]

I didn't say that we couldn't make nanotubes in bulk, it's that there's no reliable way of making significant lengths as far as material science is capable of right now.

I do have the idea of nesting tubes within tubes to further reinforce the individual cords, but that's for the eggheads to figure out how.

[okamikk]

talking about carbon nanotubes, is there any reason we can't build a functional microbot from them?

through correct application of "smart" materials, for example memory metals, i think it would be possible to make a humanoid microbot chassis that had a basic skeletal structure and synthetic muscles...

[Viktor_Berg]

Can we have a discussion on thorium based nuclear power production? I've seen a recent upsurge in promotion of molten salt thorium reactors, and I'm quite interested in the topic, even despite the fact that I work in an industry indirectly connected to oil production, one of its main competitors in terms of power production.

Here's a recent video from one of the channels I am subbed to: http://youtu.be/4E2GTg7W7Rc

(Drats, I still can't get the URL tag to work properly).

[Neowulf]

Oil isn't a competitor for power generation, natural gas is.

Course my area produces coal, nat. gas, and uranium plus has gone through a major boom in wind power constriction. On top of that there's major interest in wilderness activities and wildlife preservation. They're all sorts of conflicted around here.

My personal favorite for thorium is shoot a small bit of it with a laser to kick off a non-self sustaining thermal reaction and use the heat output to drive a closed loop steam turbine/electric generator for a car engine.

A nuclear plant small and light enough to stick in a car and still powerful enough to drive, with a fuel range greater than the mechanical life of the car would change the world in less than a decade.

[lukeb28]

I think this thread should be resurrected. I miss the intelligence the forums have to offer.

[Kocken926]

I think this thread should be resurrected. I miss the intelligence the forums have to offer.

We'll need a subject. How about the current plans on manned missions to mars? Is it at all possible, even if you assume that you can get all the equipment and personell necessary to set up a base? What would be needed on such a base, and how would we achieve that? (Avoiding space-flight related stuff on purpose, don't want this to turn into a KSP thread )

[Lethosos]

What's intelligence? Is it bigger than a bread box?

But yeah, not a bad idea. Don't have a viable topic on hand, tho.

[Industrial Miner]

Here's something for you guys to talk about:

If you were to turn Mars into something similar like Earth's conditions, what would you have to do?

[holymage!]

Here's something for you guys to talk about:

If you were to turn Mars into something similar like Earth's conditions, what would you have to do?

i would use Gobal warming to my advantage and melt the ice caps, this would hopefully jumpstart a water cycle on mars...the next problem would be its lack of an electromagnetic field

also, in order to get to mars, wouldn't we need to have some sort of shielding against cosmic radiation?

[TheBytemaster]

i would use Gobal warming to my advantage and melt the ice caps, this would hopefully jumpstart a water cycle on mars...the next problem would be its lack of an electromagnetic field

also, in order to get to mars, wouldn't we need to have some sort of shielding against cosmic radiation?

For the long term travel, yes. AFAIK the shielding would be far less problematic than stopping our astronauts from murdering each other or having kids during the flight, however.

[Kocken926]

i would use Gobal warming to my advantage and melt the ice caps, this would hopefully jumpstart a water cycle on mars.

We'd need an atmosphere for that.

[holymage!]

We'd need an atmosphere for that.

so make a GIGANTIC EM field...either that or we have to melt mars's core (i think its Solid iron, were ours is molten iron)

[Kocken926]

so make a GIGANTIC EM field...either that or we have to melt mars's core (i think its Solid iron, were ours is molten iron)

How would that solve the atmosphere problem?

[holymage!]

How would that solve the atmosphere problem?

i was under the understanding that the reason we have an atmosphere is because our magnetic poles deflect the comic radiation, which would otherwise erode the atmosphere.

ergo...if you did what i said the atmosphere might develop over time and then you got a water cycle...then hand the reins to evolution.

[Lethosos]

The two keys to terraforming Mars is atmosphere and heat. The entire surface is practically a polar desert at ionosphere oxygen conditions. (I think it's ionosphere, could be wrong about that atmospheric layer.) We'd need a magnetic field in place, add greenhouse gases, and put in plantlife to create the conditions we would need to live there. Now, I dunno about improving magnetic fields, but the rest is easy: dump a comet or two on the surface to throw up ginormous dust clouds ala the K-T Boundary event, ship tons of our excess carbon dioxide over there and release it all, then seed soil-fixing bacteria all over Mars and start planting trees. Give or take a dozen years, and Mars is livable.

[dwwojcik]

Just drag a moon-sized rock from an asteroid belt somewhere (Easier said than done, lol) and put it into mars orbit. The moon makes the core of earth rotate at a different speed than the rest of earth (If I remember correctly) whick takes care of both the heat and magnetic issues. It's been a while, I'll look it up, but I'm pretty sure. Once we do that, the planet should fix itself.

[lukeb28]

My plan for mars, (I have actually given it some thought a time ago) is to put in orbit a large mass driver that would be capable of launching war heads or other heavy munitions into the ancient volcanoes to release the dormant gasses trapped within. Past that its the same deal as Lethosos

[dwwojcik]

I think my idea would be more acceptable as it doesn't directly affect the planet.

[Lethosos]

Funny thing to note: Any seas that develop on Mars will be mostly peculiarly shallow oceans.

[dwwojcik]

Get the backhoe.

What's wrong with shallow anyway? It could actually be pretty small, unless there was too much water and the entire surface is flooded.

Red Planet -> Archipelago Planet?