From: Tom Tucker (Olympia) [mailto:tntucker@...]

Tom - Great! Perhaps we should all grow gills? The energy required per
person is likley to asound most.

One reason why I don't hardly trust any proposals other than O'Neill's:
large gossamer-thin Mylar mirrors reflecting natural sunlight into
agricultural areas. Zubrin has commented on the power requirements to
reproduce Earthlike levels of sunlight via artificial means, and they are
rather astounding.

Regards,

Mike Combs

From:
Tom Tucker (Olympia) [mailto:tntucker@...]
Tom - Great! Perhaps we should all grow gills? The energy required per person is likley to asound most.

One reason why I don't hardly trust any proposals other than O'Neill's: large gossamer-thin Mylar mirrors reflecting natural sunlight into agricultural areas. Zubrin has commented on the power requirements to reproduce Earthlike levels of sunlight via artificial means, and they are rather astounding.

Regards,
Mike Combs

From: Combs, Mike
To: 'spacesettlers@egroups.com'
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 6:11 AM
Subject: [spacesettlers] Life-support

From: Tom Tucker (Olympia) [mailto:tntucker@...]

Tom - Great! Perhaps we should all grow gills? The energy required per person is likley to asound most.
One reason why I don't hardly trust any proposals other than O'Neill's: large gossamer-thin Mylar mirrors reflecting natural sunlight into agricultural areas. Zubrin has commented on the power requirements to reproduce Earthlike levels of sunlight via artificial means, and they are rather astounding.

Mylar is likely to have a lifetime of around 5 years due to atomic oxygen from the solar wind. So, routine replacements will have to be planned if his approach is used. Glass and auminum are more durable materials.

Regards,

Mike Combs

From:
Combs, Mike
To:
'spacesettlers@egroups.com'
Sent:
Wednesday, January 03, 2001 6:11 AM
Subject:
[spacesettlers] Life-support
From:
Tom Tucker (Olympia) [mailto:tntucker@...]
Tom - Great! Perhaps we should all grow gills? The energy required per person is likley to asound most.

One reason why I don't hardly trust any proposals other than O'Neill's: large gossamer-thin Mylar mirrors reflecting natural sunlight into agricultural areas. Zubrin has commented on the power requirements to reproduce Earthlike levels of sunlight via artificial means, and they are rather astounding.

Mylar is likely to have a lifetime of around 5 years due to atomic oxygen from the solar wind. So, routine replacements will have to be planned if his approach is used. Glass and auminum are more durable materials.

Regards,
Mike Combs

From: Tom Tucker (Olympia) [mailto:tntucker@...]

Mylar is likely to have a lifetime of around 5 years due to atomic oxygen
from the solar wind. So, routine replacements will have to be planned if
his approach is used. Glass and auminum are more durable materials.

You're making a good point here. Glass mirrors intended for use in 0
gravity could be make much thinner than is the case for most Earthly
applications. Given the ready availability of glass and aluminum in lunar
soil, I too would consider glass mirrors a good bet.

Regards,

Mike Combs

From:
Tom Tucker (Olympia) [mailto:tntucker@...]
Mylar is likely to have a lifetime of around 5 years due to atomic oxygen from the solar wind. So, routine replacements will have to be planned if his approach is used. Glass and auminum are more durable materials.

You're making a good point here. Glass mirrors intended for use in 0 gravity could be make much thinner than is the case for most Earthly applications. Given the ready availability of glass and aluminum in lunar soil, I too would consider glass mirrors a good bet.

Regards,
Mike Combs