Pressuvessels and economics of the first islands in space.

> > What we are really paying for is not internal surface area, but
> internal
> >volume.
>
> I couldn't agree more. I have never understood why it was so
necessary
> to have a long viewing distance in the island designs.
>
> Mitchell James
> mejames@...
> http://www.InnerTransit.net (Email distribution for multilevel
organizations)
> http://www.InnerTransit.org (Homebase for collaborative engineering)

I think you are missing the point of O'Neill type colonies here. They
are designed to house people for years, maybe even lifetimes, the
long lines of sight and spacious living conditions are obviously of
psycological benefit. O'Neill habitats are designed to be as Earth-
like as possible in the given volume. I think this it what makes them
so exciting and more desirable than the old idea of packing people
into rooms like a hotel in space.

Also don't forget, they are also designed to be as self-sufficient as
possible, if you start packing more people in multiple floors then
you will need more agricultural rings (in the case of island one) and
hence will increase the total mass of the colony.

Regards

Mark