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?

It would be easy, if the habitat were attached to another, non-rotating mass. Just as kinetic energy may be extracted by slowing an object down, with respect to another body. And heat may be used to extract higher-quality energy, if the heat is permitted to flow into something cooler.
I suppose that a habitat with a non-rotating shielding may use this method, or an Island Three-type double cylinder - since the cylinders would be spinning in opposite directions.

Jon Lennart Beck.