3 ms·

But SA/V isn't the important ratio here. The important ratio is weight to volume. Surface area only matters in terms of how much pressure the system needs to r

• lutusp 12y ago
  > But SA/V isn't the important ratio here. The important ratio is weight to volume. Don't forget crush resistance with a minimum of construction material. But as it turns out, a spherical shell is the optimal shape for all the stated requirements -- it evenly distributes the compressive force across its surface, it represents the optimal ratio of surface area to volume, and it therefore follows that a sphere represents the smallest mass per enclosed volume. > But if you have a a structure from which you've removed the air that is too heavy to float in air you get no prize. That's certainly true. But for a vessel with a fixed wall thickness, making it larger greatly increases the chance that it will rise, because the enclosed volume increases so much faster than the surface area. This would all be easier on Venus, where the atmospheric pressure is vastly greater than here, but the gravitational force is less. If only it weren't so damn hot.