Some Thoughts on Building a Dyson Sphere

A Dyson Sphere is a massive solar power collector that entirely encloses. I used the concept in my series Alien Civilizations as a means to capture all the outpouring energy from all the stars in the universe.

The concept I used is likely the most feasible: a swarm of independently orbiting collectors, each with its own orbit, all controlled by computer system to keep them from crashing into each other. This doesn’t require any undiscovered materials or technology, and we could probably begin building such a structure today. The only problem is the sheer amount of mass that would have to be transformed and transported, required enormous space-based infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities.

But there’s another design that is far less feasible, but more interesting: a single solid shell, 2 AU in diameter, used as a huge space habitat. This has a number of problems, not the least of which is that it is unstable.

Newton’s Shell Theorem states that in any hollow uniform sphere, the net gravitational force in any location is zero. Simply put, if you were inside a hollow sphere, you would not “fall” in any particular direction due to gravity. At all points, the gravitational force from all parts of sphere cancel each other out. The problem is: how you keep such a thing centered on the Sun?

One obvious answer is attitude thrusters, but that seems a bit drastic, and energy intensive. My idea is, well, what if it isn’t a uniform sphere? What if we specifically constructed the Dyson Sphere so that it was more massive on one side? Could we set up some sort of psuedo-orbital situation from that?

Second is how you go about constructing it. Half a sphere is also very unstable, but is an inevitable stage in construction. Or it is? Instead, what if we were to first build the equator-region in inertial orbit? What if we start by building a giant ring that it orbiting the Sun? Then, we start building towards the poles, keeping the center of mass within the equatorial plane at all times?

Last is the fact that the Dyson Sphere will heat up. Now because the Dyson Sphere is so huge, it actually won’t get as hot as the Sun. In fact, we can calculate where, at thermal equilibrium, the Dyson Sphere will be a comfortable 72 degrees F. In order for it to be that way, a Dyson Sphere should be around 265 million km in radius, or about 1.77 AUs. This is quite a bit larger than the orbit of Earth, but that it because all parts of the Sphere are in full daylight constantly, whereas half the Earth is always in shadow. Also, the spherical shape of the Earth spreads out the incoming heat from the Sun onto a larger area (specifically twice as large).

Of course, the main challenge is finding a material that could withstand such enormous structural stresses, and finding enough matter to actually build it. For those, I have no idea. The amount of usable material in the solar system is probably not enough.

Well, but if we do overcome those obstacles, maybe we could build one. It would certainly be a sight to see. Or not. Considering the sphere would completely cover the Sun, it would only appear as a giant black disk from outside. How boring.

Stuff! Things!

Back on The Other Blog, I once wrote about how my company (Stater Bros.) could save millions a year by using an automated ordering system, and how it would also increase revenue at the same time. Now it appears that I will get my chance to inform my corporate masters employers about my idea. There are forms at work that they’ve distributed around declaring a “War on Waste” which basically is asking for ideas from anyone about how the company might cut wasteful spending. If you submit one you get a little pin and if your idea is selected, you basically get a pat on the back. But, it might help my visibility in the long run.

Also, I have decided that I am finally going to send off a short story somewhere. I don’t know where yet, but I’ve written one about scientists at SETI discovering intelligent life via radio technology (I know I wrote earlier how unlikely that is, but, hey, it’s just a story). Because aliens, if they do exist, will likely have been around for millions or billions of years, I figure they’ll likely be concerned about the “galactic ecology”, meaning keeping their own growth and energy consumption down, so they don’t quickly use up their resources and cause themselves to go extinct. Civilizations that last that long don’t get that way by ignoring environmental limits. But, they’ll also maybe not be total destroyers, believing that other alien species have the right to exist, just as they do. It’s a tricky situation, allowing new members in pool of limited resources. The message recieved by the SETI scientists, once deciphered, basically turns out to be a “Oh hey, welcome to the universe, we’re glad you’re here, but there are some rules you have to abide by, or else…”

Damn, I just gave away the ending. Oh well, it’s not like anyone actually reads my blog so no harm done. And if I do get readers by people reading my short story, they’ll already know the ending anyway.

Mmmm…pi…

Today is March 14th, and you know what that means: it’s Pi Day! You see because pi is (approximately) 3.14. And today’s date is 3/14. And…well that’s it, really. I’m looking forward to 2015, when we will be able to write the date 3/14/15, which is the first four digits of pi. And on that day, at 9:26:53 it will be super-duper Pi Second, because pi is 3.141592653… Although rounding purists will probably prefer 9:26:54 because the next digit after the last 3 is a 5. Heh, what nerds <snort>!

Anyway, today is double special for me. Why? It’s my birthday! Well, ok, it’s not my birthday, but it is the birthday of my character in my semi-autobiographical novel Alien Life. It’s about an extraterrestrial who’s come to Earth to study human culture and technology. A sort of intergalactic anthropologist. He, that is to say I, or Alien!Arik Rice, was born on this day, at least on the human calendar.

So, how old is the little tyke? Well it starts with a 1. And ends with a 2. And it’s not 12.

He’s 16,102 years old, born in the year 14,094 B.C.E. Yes, I’m he’s older than human civilization itself! All because of mind upload and taking care to avoid unnecessary risks, although uploaded people in his civilization are practically indestructible, so even relatively large risks are not hazardous. That’s what you get when your civilization is over a billion years old.

Wow, I Need To Get Out More

It’s been about three weeks since I last updated, so I figured it might be about time to let my adoring public know that I am still alive. Actually, I’ve been sick the past couple weeks. It’s getting pretty annoying. Plus I’ve been busy with school and work.

What I’ve also been doing is working on my game that I invented. I was lucky enough to get a chance to play Robert Kiyosaki’s game Cashflow 101 a while back, without having to shell out an outrageous $200 (I will never pay $200 for a boardgame. Even if it is a “pedagogical tool”. Especially from someone who’s only success at making money is…telling people how to make money. Yeah). Anyway, I thought it would be cool to have my own copy, but I noticed a few flaws and places where it could be improved. It’s been hardwork, but I’m nearly done now, and have retitled it “It’s Just Business!”. I’d sell it, but then I’d probably get, you know, sued. Although at this point it’s different enough I don’t know if they’d actually have a case.

Also, I’ve been working on a new novel, one which I am so excited about it may end up being my first one. It’s about a group of about four hundred fifty people who get stranded back in time in the late Cretaceous period, shortly before the extinction of the dinosaurs. Sounds like a pretext for a Jurassic Park-type story, right? But Jurassic Parkhas been done, and I hate doing cliched, predictable ideas. No, the real story is about their situation and really about what possible temporal paradoxes that might arise because of their presence there. Are they changing the future? If so, are they possibly erasing the future evolution of the human race, and thus their own existence? If not, why is there no evidence of human civilization at the time of the dinosaurs? Are they really in some parallel dimension, a split timeline, or something else entirely? And what about that asteroid due to hit soon?

In any event, I’m going to try to stay on top of this blog as it is the “public face” of my life.

Doktor Wer

What’s better than Daleks shouting?

Daleks shouting in German.

Oh yes.

Clarke’s Third Law

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”

Arthur C. Clarke is probably my favorite science fiction author. I love him because his stories all betray a cool, rational, non-alarmist stance and often present a positive, desirable future for us human beings. He has also written three laws which are meant to Clarke’s Third Law is a saying about the way advanced technology will appear to primitive civilizations. In my own predictions, I’ve often wondered how things like virtual space, neural interfaces, and mind uploading will appear to us.

If we took a person today and unknowingly stuck them in a virtual environment with other people who were accustomed to technology, everything they did would obviously appear god-like. They can teleport to any destination at will, create anything out of thin air, fly.

Neural interfaces will also appear to be magic. People will be able to share information and communicate with electronic devices telepathically. Have access to enormous volumes of information. Be able to remember perfectly everything they’ve ever done. Even exhibit remote viewing, if there’s a camera around where they want to view.

What I find interesting, though it that much of today’s technology would also appear to be magic to an older civilization. Take cell phones. With a cell phone, I can talk to any one else on the entire planet instantly. Even only one hundred fifty years ago, communication was limited to the speed of a horse.

The computer brings the library into the home. Television and radio also lets you get information, entertainment, music, etc. We use the “magic” of radio waves to transmit information, and they travel at the speed of light (because, duh, they are light). The world is powered by a strange material called electricity.

People think that the future is when technology will be amazing while forgetting that we already have a lot of fantastic, inexplicable technology. It just doesn’t seem so to us since A) we are used to it, and B) most of us understand the basics of how it works.