Glass windows

Count me as a dissenting voice. Personally, I don't have much
confidence in the Island 2/3 design, but that owes more to concerns
about planar mirrors spinning such that they come under multiple G's but
somehow never sag than to any concerns about a structure with perhaps
45% of the surface area composed of thick windows set in a steel
framework.

I'm OK with designs like the Bernal Sphere which reduce window area by
focusing the sunlight, but I disagree that reducing or eliminating the
window areas is the number-one most pressing consideration.

Regards,

Mike Combs

From: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Xenophile
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 10:42 AM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spacesettlers] Re: Glass windows

Would I be correct in saying that the general consensus of this group is
that we should do away with the "half the area is windows" idea?
If we need windows at all, they could be smaller, and perhaps actual
windows are not needed.

Another idea that has been discussed is to go ahead and have windows,
but cover them with water and let them do double duty as both windows
and lakes. This would also just happen to solve any nasty little
radiation problems.

But the main feeling seems to be "junk the winows."