Hi, Shrewd!        Login  
Shrewd'm.com 
A merry & shrewd investing community
Best Of STEMBest OfAll BoardsThe Shrewd’m WeeklyLearn to InvestHow to Become Shrewd
Search
Shrewd'm.com Merry shrewd investors
Search
Best Of STEMBest OfAll BoardsThe Shrewd’m WeeklyLearn to InvestHow to Become Shrewd


The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
Answer this questionContinue to Shrewd'mThis note won't appear again
Outskirts of Shrewd'm / Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Unthreaded | Threaded | Whole Thread (1) |
Author: bighairymike   😊 😞
Number: of 311 
Subject: Dysin Sphere Construction
Date: 06/10/23 10:35 PM
Post New | Post Reply | Report Post | Recommend It!
No. of Recommendations: 3
I ran across an interesting article on the practicalities of constructing a Dyson Sphere, not the least of which is finding somewhere else for humans to live while we use the entire mass of earth to construct enough panels to capture even the tiniest fraction of the Suns energy. Bottom line, We won't become a Type I civilization any time soon.

It is a fun and whimsical read....

arstechnica.com - Building a dyson sphere whats the payback time of disassembling a planet

In 1960, visionary physicist Freeman Dyson proposed that an advanced alien civilization would someday quit fooling around with kindergarten-level stuff like wind turbines and nuclear reactors and finally go big, completely enclosing their home star to capture as much solar energy as they possibly could. They would then go on to use that enormous amount of energy to mine bitcoin, make funny videos on social media, delve into the deepest mysteries of the Universe, and enjoy the bounties of their energy-rich civilization.

But what if the alien civilization was' us? What if we decided to build a Dyson sphere around our sun? Could we do it? How much energy would it cost us to rearrange our solar system, and how long would it take to get our investment back? Before we put too much thought into whether humanity is capable of this amazing feat, even theoretically, we should decide if it's worth the effort. Can we actually achieve a net gain in energy by building a Dyson sphere?

... more at link
Post New | Post Reply | Report Post | Recommend It!
Print the post
Members reply directly to bighairymike here — and replies get answered. Reading is free; so is joining the conversation. Join Shrewd'm »
Unthreaded | Threaded | Whole Thread (1) |


Announcements
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics FAQ
Contact Shrewd'm
Contact the developer of these message boards.

Best Of STEM | Best Of | Favourites & Replies | All Boards | Followed Shrewds | Open Questions | Moving a community