What If We Built an O'Neill Cylinder?
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Date: 2023-11-26
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Comments and reviews: 28
InDred
If you continue to investigate the entire O'Neal theory, it is also a power station able to travel into interstellar space. Dr. O'Neill's idea in the end was to allow generations to travel to new worlds, and new systems.
When we first learned of this in my Science courses, it was, and is though to be a plan for self preservation, using only the energy from solar winds, and other propellants, we as a species could travel well beyond our own system. Far into interstellar space, farther than any of us could imagine.
It was thought this -traveling home- could allow further generations to explore and colonize other systems and worlds.
It was an amazing thought, something we could do as a species, if like I have said before, we could all get together and agree with each other. Forgetting our ridiculous and petty thoughts. We could have, and could still achieve so much more if we could only work together. Side by side. White, black, brown, Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, christian, it really does not matter anymore. It never has.
It would be such an wonderful, and advanced species to come together, as ONE.
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If you continue to investigate the entire O'Neal theory, it is also a power station able to travel into interstellar space. Dr. O'Neill's idea in the end was to allow generations to travel to new worlds, and new systems.
When we first learned of this in my Science courses, it was, and is though to be a plan for self preservation, using only the energy from solar winds, and other propellants, we as a species could travel well beyond our own system. Far into interstellar space, farther than any of us could imagine.
It was thought this -traveling home- could allow further generations to explore and colonize other systems and worlds.
It was an amazing thought, something we could do as a species, if like I have said before, we could all get together and agree with each other. Forgetting our ridiculous and petty thoughts. We could have, and could still achieve so much more if we could only work together. Side by side. White, black, brown, Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, christian, it really does not matter anymore. It never has.
It would be such an wonderful, and advanced species to come together, as ONE.
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AudieHolland
Why go out into space when there's plenty of space available on Earth?
Just build your 'space station' on the ocean, at the bottom of the sea, in some desert or on a mountain range.
You still need the controlled environment and all the high/super tech required for a space station but it will be a million times more feasible.
To escape pollution and bad weather you just need to isolate your artificial 'world' from the rest of the world.
No need to do that in space or on a completely hostile planet.
And for those who just want to leave Earth because they're afraid of getting nuked:
by the time such artificial habitats will be possible to construct, military tech will have evolved too, so nuking a distant city, space station or Mars Base would be no problem.
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Why go out into space when there's plenty of space available on Earth?
Just build your 'space station' on the ocean, at the bottom of the sea, in some desert or on a mountain range.
You still need the controlled environment and all the high/super tech required for a space station but it will be a million times more feasible.
To escape pollution and bad weather you just need to isolate your artificial 'world' from the rest of the world.
No need to do that in space or on a completely hostile planet.
And for those who just want to leave Earth because they're afraid of getting nuked:
by the time such artificial habitats will be possible to construct, military tech will have evolved too, so nuking a distant city, space station or Mars Base would be no problem.
reply
James
I'd start the description by first describing the floating wheel design. Explain that the ring, as a design, doesn't offer much floor space or living capacity. The radius is the limiting factor, when combined with rotation speed, they need to function together to keep local gravity near 1G. An increase in the length of the cabin would increase the radius, and yes the rotation speed could be reduced to compensate. Larger radii and slower rotation have advantages to the people living inside, but the tensile strength of metals limit how big it can go. The other option is to simply widen the cabin. There is no limit per se, just keep extending the width of the cabin along the axis of rotation, and you end up with the cylinder.
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I'd start the description by first describing the floating wheel design. Explain that the ring, as a design, doesn't offer much floor space or living capacity. The radius is the limiting factor, when combined with rotation speed, they need to function together to keep local gravity near 1G. An increase in the length of the cabin would increase the radius, and yes the rotation speed could be reduced to compensate. Larger radii and slower rotation have advantages to the people living inside, but the tensile strength of metals limit how big it can go. The other option is to simply widen the cabin. There is no limit per se, just keep extending the width of the cabin along the axis of rotation, and you end up with the cylinder.
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Barrie
For this too really happen, we have to wait for automation to develop far enough for some thing like a space station holding millions or billions of individuals in space, To be built. Sending humans into space too build something on this scale will be very expensive due to the cost of keeping the human alive and humans need rest and food and water robots don't need either of those things. Just build and go robot work force of millions or billions all created from the raw materials found in ower solar system. All we have to do is ask - is it done yet-. When we get the yes we all book the ticket sell ower homes and tell everyone me and the family are emigrating! .
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For this too really happen, we have to wait for automation to develop far enough for some thing like a space station holding millions or billions of individuals in space, To be built. Sending humans into space too build something on this scale will be very expensive due to the cost of keeping the human alive and humans need rest and food and water robots don't need either of those things. Just build and go robot work force of millions or billions all created from the raw materials found in ower solar system. All we have to do is ask - is it done yet-. When we get the yes we all book the ticket sell ower homes and tell everyone me and the family are emigrating! .
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mjbirdClavdivs
You've missed a very important piece. You need to make a pair of cylinders, counter-rotating which have they're endpoints connected. Otherwise precession would get it going out of control.
Also, O'Neill updated his design to NOT use a Lagrange point. I think that putting 2 pairs of colonies on either side of the Aldrin Mars Transfer orbits would allow continuous travel to/from Mars safely and you would have a full-time staff that can maintain and service the tourists.
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You've missed a very important piece. You need to make a pair of cylinders, counter-rotating which have they're endpoints connected. Otherwise precession would get it going out of control.
Also, O'Neill updated his design to NOT use a Lagrange point. I think that putting 2 pairs of colonies on either side of the Aldrin Mars Transfer orbits would allow continuous travel to/from Mars safely and you would have a full-time staff that can maintain and service the tourists.
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Brian
Reading the 1974 proposal written in the September 1974 Physics Today by _Gerard_ O'Neill (as opposed to this _Gerald_ O'Neill you mentioned) is uplifting and fun. There were many assumptions to his vision, including that humans would have built a manufacturing facility on a space station called L-5 to turn lunar rocks into useable construction materials for the cylinder. No L-5 means no cylinder. O'Neill's '74 article is more invigorating speculation than a plan.
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Reading the 1974 proposal written in the September 1974 Physics Today by _Gerard_ O'Neill (as opposed to this _Gerald_ O'Neill you mentioned) is uplifting and fun. There were many assumptions to his vision, including that humans would have built a manufacturing facility on a space station called L-5 to turn lunar rocks into useable construction materials for the cylinder. No L-5 means no cylinder. O'Neill's '74 article is more invigorating speculation than a plan.
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Chris
If it needs to spin at 2 revs/minute, you really DON'T want giant windows to let the sunlight in because the sunlight direction constantly changing would be intolerable. Also giant windows are exceedingly fragile and take up space that could be used for living/agriculture. Light pipes could work but still suffer the rotation issue. It might be better to use artificial light inside, trading efficiency for control.
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If it needs to spin at 2 revs/minute, you really DON'T want giant windows to let the sunlight in because the sunlight direction constantly changing would be intolerable. Also giant windows are exceedingly fragile and take up space that could be used for living/agriculture. Light pipes could work but still suffer the rotation issue. It might be better to use artificial light inside, trading efficiency for control.
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ModernValkyrieNOLA
When I saw the O-Neil cylinder in the movie Interstellar I thought it was so well represented! I learned about the concept of cylindrical space habitats in college and they fascinated me. Dyson spheres and swarms might be possible for a small red dwarf star, but not a large star like the sun (which is still relatively small compared to many other stars)
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When I saw the O-Neil cylinder in the movie Interstellar I thought it was so well represented! I learned about the concept of cylindrical space habitats in college and they fascinated me. Dyson spheres and swarms might be possible for a small red dwarf star, but not a large star like the sun (which is still relatively small compared to many other stars)
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Ben
I've always imagined a setting for a story where 30 of these fly in a fleet and the people who live in them fly in between them with specially designed starships like we go to other countries, and this is just the world they live in as they go generations through interstellar space, one day hoping to reach a distant world.
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I've always imagined a setting for a story where 30 of these fly in a fleet and the people who live in them fly in between them with specially designed starships like we go to other countries, and this is just the world they live in as they go generations through interstellar space, one day hoping to reach a distant world.
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wirehyperspace
got to start off small and work your way to a big cylinder because a would take a stargate puddle jumper type with mini cows and fish farms quick surf and turf baby - say about 500 yards high and wide and 2000 yards long would be right - that's good tree space
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got to start off small and work your way to a big cylinder because a would take a stargate puddle jumper type with mini cows and fish farms quick surf and turf baby - say about 500 yards high and wide and 2000 yards long would be right - that's good tree space
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linkin
6 years to build an artificial Earth in space?
You never seen a construction project or government-run project? California has work been working on building homes for the homeless for three decades now. They've made tents in a parking lot so far.
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6 years to build an artificial Earth in space?
You never seen a construction project or government-run project? California has work been working on building homes for the homeless for three decades now. They've made tents in a parking lot so far.
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jonathan
The problem with spinning something to make gravity is that it wouldn-t feel right. Particularly every time you turned your head quickly you-d likely get dizzy because the rotation affects the rotation of the liquid in your inner ear.
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The problem with spinning something to make gravity is that it wouldn-t feel right. Particularly every time you turned your head quickly you-d likely get dizzy because the rotation affects the rotation of the liquid in your inner ear.
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West
It is the year 0079 of the Universal Century. A half-century has passed since Earth began moving its burgeoning population into gigantic orbiting space colonies. A new home for mankind, where people are born and raised. and die
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It is the year 0079 of the Universal Century. A half-century has passed since Earth began moving its burgeoning population into gigantic orbiting space colonies. A new home for mankind, where people are born and raised. and die
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Big
This must be what it's like to read a report by a 10th grader. do you get tired of saying the same thing over and over again while not saying anything at all. Next to no actual information. Astounding.
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This must be what it's like to read a report by a 10th grader. do you get tired of saying the same thing over and over again while not saying anything at all. Next to no actual information. Astounding.
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Broba
I just played Vanquish a couple weeks ago and the entire game takes place in a space cylinder colony and this concept has fascinated me since. Would love to know more about how these would work.
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I just played Vanquish a couple weeks ago and the entire game takes place in a space cylinder colony and this concept has fascinated me since. Would love to know more about how these would work.
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Parth
Now I understood thier was this space station in Interstellar in the end also I was wondering about its gravity but now I understood it was rotating to create centripetal force
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Now I understood thier was this space station in Interstellar in the end also I was wondering about its gravity but now I understood it was rotating to create centripetal force
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Nicole
Why mine our moon when planets like Jupiter have many moons? There is tons of objects in space, there is literally no reason to harm our planet our moon.
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Why mine our moon when planets like Jupiter have many moons? There is tons of objects in space, there is literally no reason to harm our planet our moon.
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Denyo666
This will never happen, we humans can't live in harmony and seek power. There will be a war, and war at such a cylinder would cause total chaos.
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This will never happen, we humans can't live in harmony and seek power. There will be a war, and war at such a cylinder would cause total chaos.
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Charles
If you take a step back and look at it differently, it-s like we-re gonna build super elaborate soda cans in space and live on the inner surface.
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If you take a step back and look at it differently, it-s like we-re gonna build super elaborate soda cans in space and live on the inner surface.
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Douglas
The windows and mirrors are wasteful and structurally unsound. We can collect sunlight and pipe it with fiber optics to an internal spindle.
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The windows and mirrors are wasteful and structurally unsound. We can collect sunlight and pipe it with fiber optics to an internal spindle.
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Crim
Rather start with building underwater cities, instead of this. Mofos can't even control whats happening on the planet, let alone in space. -
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Rather start with building underwater cities, instead of this. Mofos can't even control whats happening on the planet, let alone in space. -
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Xavier
We should make these and build on Mars, but we should worry about our planet now before it's too late, then no Mars no cylinders no nothing
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We should make these and build on Mars, but we should worry about our planet now before it's too late, then no Mars no cylinders no nothing
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Mr.
I'd say in a few months actually if your have the right ships and no I'm not saying spacex starship to expensive and time consuming.
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I'd say in a few months actually if your have the right ships and no I'm not saying spacex starship to expensive and time consuming.
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Ty4755
so in the future, the rich will be living in a mini earth paradise while the common folk rot away on a dying planet, gotcha
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so in the future, the rich will be living in a mini earth paradise while the common folk rot away on a dying planet, gotcha
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WingsofRichard
Humanity will continue to establish conflicts in space. Without true understanding we will never live in peace.
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Humanity will continue to establish conflicts in space. Without true understanding we will never live in peace.
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Jason
I don't get the spinning. If you're in zero g and you jump wouldn't you just float while it rotates around you
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I don't get the spinning. If you're in zero g and you jump wouldn't you just float while it rotates around you
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Dawn
It will be our last best hope for peace. Assuming it doesn't take us 5 tries just to get it operational, lol.
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It will be our last best hope for peace. Assuming it doesn't take us 5 tries just to get it operational, lol.
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Andre
this makes zero sense. i would take a thousand years to perfect this technology. hahahahaha
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this makes zero sense. i would take a thousand years to perfect this technology. hahahahaha
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