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Forum URL: http://www.eyrie-productions.com/Forum/dcboard.cgi
Forum Name: Symphony of the Sword/The Order of the Rose
Topic ID: 11
Message ID: 18
#18, RE: Wait... what?
Posted by Sofaspud on Jun-06-06 at 06:56 PM
In response to message #15
I dunno, I imagine the free power available (think: gadzillions of miles of solar panels!) to a Dyson Sphere is a non-trivial consideration. I mean, if nothing else, they won't need to bother with actually generating power, just collecting and distributing it.

(Heh. The phrase "open-air fusion reactor" just rolled through my mind, which is in effect what a Dyson Sphere could be.)

As for the positioning of the psuedocontinent: I personally believe in Murphy's Law. So, were I designing a Happy Fun Dyson Sphere Community, I'd make sure that no matter what that pesky misbehaving star got up to, I (and by extension, the other shambling meatsacks occupying my city, dagnabbit) would be safe.

Ergo, put the strongest material in the universe between myself and that nuclear holocaust known as Zeta Cygni. Just in case. It costs nothing (compared to the cost of the sphere itself, anyway), makes some things easier, and solves the problem in a foolproof way. Bounce the light I want (minus harmful radiations) around using mirrors to simulate the day/night cycle.

I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to say that the sphere material is strong enough to contain, say, a supernova... but then again, it might well be. It stopped a Kryptonian artifact moving a relatavistic speeds, after all, with minimal damage... ;)


--sofaspud
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