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That "solution" fucking sucks. We kinda rely on the sun to grow plants and power life, you know?
by cafebabbe 10y ago
That "solution" fucking sucks. We kinda rely on the sun to grow plants and power life, you know?
- idanoeman 10y agoNot in the deserts or the oceans, we don't.
- mirimir 10y agoWe need light on the oceans for phytoplankton that release oxygen.
- semi-extrinsic 10y agoErm, it's not like anyone is suggesting "block all sunlight". We're talking about blocking at most a few percent. On this topic, I've always wondered if you could make such a solar shade that hovers just on the far side of the Lagrange point between sun and earth, balancing radiation pressure and gravity. Does anyone know if that would be passively stable?
- dreamcompiler 10y agoHere you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_sunshade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_sunshade https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10209794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10209794 Edit to answer your question: No, it wouldn't be passively stable. But it could be actively stable with solar-powered motors to move mirrors, so it wouldn't need fuel.
- samatman 10y agoNot quite, something would have be done about lateral motion. L1-L3 are only stable along the axis between the orbiting bodies. L4 and L5 are local gravitational minima, but that doesn't help us here.