Our Universe once again

[observer7]

How about a universe of "dyson spheres" packed into a latice and connected to each other. Every star is a type M dwarf with a long lifetime, and you could effectivlely "drive' anywhere by going from sphere to sphere.<br /><br />I like this idea, I may have to write some fiction. <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">"Time exists so that everything doesn't happen at once" </font></em><font size="2">Albert Einstein</font> </div>

 

[spacekud]

maybe you could explain just a bit more.

 

[observer7]

OK, I'll try.<br /><br />I'm describing a more eficient universe. One in which most of the energy can be utilized.<br /><br />A dyson sphere is a shell that surrounds a star. For a small dwarf star, this shell could be about 30-50 million miles in radius. It completely surrounds the star. Inside, the "surface" has features, geology, and atmosphere, and "beings" can live and evolve here. I'm not going to do the math, but the area available for habitation is equivalent to hundreds of thousands of Earths.<br /><br />Now, make the whole universe consist of dyson spheres (don't ask me how this happens, I havn't given that part any though because this is just a description of an efficient universe). Each dyson sphere sits next to others (like ping pong balls in a box). Where they touch there are "corridors" to the next star system.<br /><br />Now, I know that means that gravity has to work differently (a "normal?" dyson sphere would rotate to provide gravity near the equator. The poles would still have problems but could be used for other things like giant solar panels), and explaining how this arrangement comes into being would give cosmologist a heart attack. But think of the exploration possibilities and the usable area contained in this configuration. Most of space is not empty and devoid of material. There are huge areas of ground, plenty of atmosphere, "inner space" inside the sphere (that could contain "normal" planets) and getting to the next star is done by finding the coordinates of a portal between spheres. All of the energy from the stars is available to be used by civilizations. Of course, the lifetime of this universe is the lifetime of the stars, but small red dwarfs last a long, long time.<br /><br />-- <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">"Time exists so that everything doesn't happen at once" </font></em><font size="2">Albert Einstein</font> </div>

 

[nexium]

I agree: The Dyson sphere is promising. A radius of 50 million miles may not be enough (except for the dimest class m stars) as the sphere would reflect energy back to the star, increasing the surface temperature of the star's photosphere. <br />Unless the sphere material was millions of times stronger than steel, the rocky planets likely do not have enough matter to build the full sphere. Would an equitorial band with a radius of 30 million miles and a width of 100,000 miles work almost as well? That would be about 20 trillion square miles of living space = about a million times the more useful land area of Earth. Neil