Activity for Sam Washburn‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Question	—	Cataclysmic cloud of asteroid bits I am wanting my 32km x 7.5km buried space habitat to be hit with a cataclysmic disaster which changes things from everyday life to a survival lifestyle. I would like the station to be damaged to the point where the powers-that-be decide to just close the doors and walk away, but still habitable enou... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Would Rayleigh scattering (blue skies) be noticeable in an O'Neill cylinder? In my story there is a full size (Island Three) O'Neill cylinder, 5 miles in diameter and 20 miles long. It doesn't have windows, but is lit internally down the center of the cylinder with a 20 mile long, very bright, full spectrum lamp. There is a budding artist in my story who lives there. As im... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	Gravity differences on asteroid with an O'Neill cylinder In my story there is something akin to an Island Three O'Neill cylinder buried vertically into the side of the asteroid Vesta. It is 5 miles across and 20 miles long. The station is buried but is spun up inside of a cylindrical shell carved out of the asteroid. The whole of Vesta does not need to b... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Question	—	What macro-sized things can be made with a hydrocarbon assembler? In a near future society, man will be mining asteroids far from Earth. One technology on board their ships is a hydrocarbon assembler. It takes in energy, water and carbonaceous asteroid matter and assembles hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and release the oxygen from the water for breathing o... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Question	—	How deep underground should a data center on Earth's moon be, to be comparably safe to one on Earth? The singularity has occurred and it wants an off-site backup. How deep should we all bury the lunar datacenter to be comfortably safe from radiation, cosmic rays, etc., while not causing cave-ins and such? We have designed many mechanical systems, controlled by our minds, to perform the constructio... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How long is a "day" in intergalactic space? Imagine a human colony with the concept of an Earth day being transported somehow into the deep, deep space between galaxies. As we know, gravity wells affect the relative passage of time. So, in this case, Earth time would run slower than the colony. But by how much? Do the other gravity wells... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Are diamond berries possible? Diamonds are carbon. Plants take in CO2 and use the carbon. Chemically, could the right kind of plant have diamonds for berries, or is there some other limiting factor? (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	Could air gas giants exist? How probable is it that a gas giant planet made of "air" (roughly the same composition as Earth's atmosphere) could exist? What would it be like? How would it differ from Earth? (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	Magnetic Based Lifeforms It's typically regarded that life needs liquids of some kind to evolve. But liquid is just a state where molecules can move around freely in order to interact with other molecules instead of being packed tightly in the solid state. What if this "liquidity" was based on nano-particles of at least pa... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Question	—	How long to freeze a planet? If some advanced race were to make a solid opaque shell around our Sun, say around Mercury's orbit, something like a Dyson Sphere, how long would it take for Earth to freeze over and end most life? (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Dyson Laser feasibility A Dyson Laser would be a spherical swarm megastructure arrangement of robots focusing mirrors directing sunlight towards a particular planet in a system heating it with enough energy to melt it. This is similar to a Dyson sphere or swarm. Except the goal is not colonization, but rather to have aim-... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Removing the metal from a star What would happen if an extremely advanced race removed the metal (everything beyond H and He) from a star. Would the star still function? Would it change in appearance or properties at all? (more)	—	over 9 years ago