fly wheels

> For emergency energy for an orbital space colony, could one use
the
> energy stored in the rotation of the colony itself? It could be
used
> for eclipses (usually only a few minutes) and for major failures
of the
> solar array.
>
> There's a lot of energy available, particularly if the shielding
> rotates. Anyone have an idea how to implement this?

Interesting question. If it could be done I'd be interested in the
details.

I tend to think it'll be like the Earth. There's a lot of energy
stored in the rotation of the Earth - how are you going to extract
it?

For a Habitat I think you'd need a BIG gearbox attached. Then as you
extracted energy you'd play havoc with internal gravity and then
have to restore the energy when you came out of eclipse. You'd also
have to use rocket exhaust to spin the Habitat back up. Why not just
use the rocket propellant and burn it in a furnace to get the energy
instead.

TangoMan