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Ringworld
A 50 foot thick ribbon of matter around a star, a million miles across and as long as Earth's orbital circumference. (Read the full article)
| "thats great but it is not REAL!!!!!
get a life eisinger
(I'm guessing you came from the link at space.com - the one that described ring world as being "by writer Larry Niven"... Chief Technovelgist)" ( 1/17/2005 6:57:35 PM ) |
| "I think eventually whole suburbs will elect to move by antigrav to other cities, why not move to one of a number of open lots outside Toronto, or maybe a few months later, Prague. Think of the lift the local economy will get through a couple of extra suburbs in the tourist season. As long as there is an arcology parking lot. But with almost free energy, food replicators and an air conditioned ecology....what better place for 150 year old baby boomers to retire to." (TO'D 6/24/2005 9:08:39 PM ) |
| "It's been a while since I read Ringworld, but since the whole purpose for this website is to discuss science fiction ideas as potentially viable, how would a ringworld have night? If the livable space continually faces the sun, it would seem to be perpetually daytime there. Without this cycle of night and day, most of the species of earth would probably die. It would be interesting to see what kind of species might evolve on a world of perpetual day, though." (spacechitect 2/6/2008 9:18:42 AM ) |
| "It turns out that Niven thought about that; see the entries for shadow squares and shadow square wire." ( 2/6/2008 10:06:08 PM ) |
| "Niven thought about a lot of things inbetween the original Ringworld and Ringworld Engineers (ten years later). Subsequent books (Ringworld Throne and Ringworld's Children) fix a few more bugs, too. What I couldn't figure out was, despite thousand mile high walls, why doesn't air just fly away. It stays on Earth due to gravitational attraction, not a three side open container." (Bill in Houston 4/8/2009 1:59:24 PM ) |
| "The air stay in the ringworld the same way that water stays in a bucket when you spin it around- centrifugal force. It doesn't need a fourth side because it's a circle in the fourth direction. " (Memphisto 11/8/2009 5:08:32 PM ) |
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