Quote:
What if you design a material to only let the visible light spectrum, and lower through?
|
That would be handy- not only for the coin but for spaceships and stuff as well.
I remember a short story involving a ship manufacturer who builds all ships completely transparent, and then the buyer just paints in the bits they want covered. Might have been asimov...
Quote:
Suicide Junkie said:
Oh, and as for the radiation thing... It shouldn't take too much water to block the rads.
|
Cool. I know I read somewhere that water is a cool rad blocker.
Quote:
What if you just build a double-coin, and fill the space between them with water?
|
Well you could, but then you start getting into "why not just build a giant space station" territory.
Quote:
As a bonus, that water barrier will help shield the inside habitat from small asteroid impacts. AND keep the
|
Well, only until the outside barrier gets busted by the first strike and leaks out all the water, surely..?
Quote:
sun-facing surface cool!
You can then let the coin face the sun if you like.
|
Quote:
Alternatively, what if you set your coin so that it is not quite edge-on to the sun? Align it so the shadow of the sun-ward dirt bottom does not fall on the far edge of the coin.
At "noon" you'd see the sun just to the left of the skyring.
At midnight, you'd get a few rays glancing up from below only if you are on the far right side of the ring.
|
This is how Banksian Orbitals work. They either have enough atmosphere to soak up the rads, or (more likely) he left the Minds to take care of it with their omnipotent powers. (S_J, have you read any Banks?)