Hello and a question

The inner wall of the torus and the outer have different loads. There are
some compressive stresses on the inner surface, I think, whereas the outer
is purely tensile. It is not clear to me that the optimal cross-section
is circular. Perhaps that is the case, perhaps not; somebody with real
expertise would have to opine on that one. At very least, I would expect
the walls to have different thicknesses or different
materials/construction.

Ron
*****

"mgellis2"
01/13/02 10:01 AM
Please respond to spacesettlers

To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
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Subject: [spacesettlers] Re: Hello and a question

Related question...

It sounds as if the habitat ring has a main floor running across the
center of the circular tube. I had always assumed it was a flat ring
floor with a curved roof. But it sounds like the edges would make a
habitat less structurally sound and so it is actually a big circular
ring. Am I getting this right?

Now here is my question. This means half the volume is overhead
(i.e., sky). How much could you put underneath? I suppose it would
depend on how strong the tube itself was and how many support cables
were provided to hold the whole thing in its spin around the central
hub. I imagine first and foremost it would be used for power lines,
sewage pipes, etc. And I imagine there have to be some support
structures to hold the ring floor up. But could you have entire
basement levels, etc.? How many levels?

I guess the question comes down to how much weight can supported per
square meter of habitat ring. And I suppose that depends on how many
cables, spokes, etc. are used to support the entire structure.

This is very intriguing. Imagine what one could do in terms of
increasing the number of people in a habitat if there was room to put
many of them in "basement" apartments. At the very least it could be
used for things like agriculture (everyone could have their own small
gardens using grow-lights), warehouses, offices, etc. allowing one to
dedicate the entire main level to residential areas and parks.

And, from the standpoint of sf writers, imagine how cool it is for
even small habitats to have this huge volume of "hidden" space where
criminals and rebels and the like can have their hideouts. Or where
THINGS can be lurking.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Mark