Let's say they construct a planetary dome. It would be at a distance of just about right out to the very edge of the toposphere (that's the one that's on top, right?). It is assumed that the structural integrity of the dome is sufficient to withstand whatever pressures are involved. Anyway, there's the dome, however bajillion thousand feet up it is - right up against the edge of space! Of the ol' "hard vacuum."
Which reminds me: another thing: as fast as this big blob of whirling rock and water is plummeting through space, are you trying to tell me that NONE of the atmosphere is bleeding off the back of the trajectory?? Not that this is my reason to suggest this dome. Far from it. That's an unrelated topic, despite how you might look at it and say the two topics intersect - and you'd be right! Well-spotted.
But back to the dome. So it would be constructed way up at the edge of space, with all the atmosphere on the inside. It would be an amazing feat of engineering no doubt. You'd have to build a bunch of struts and supports, and construct it in a framework that you would keep filling in, until - *click!* - the last piece fits into place.
Now here comes the question for Science: once the whole dome is complete, completely enclosing the Earth at a more or less uniform distance from the surface - (and here's the question) - could the supports be removed?
I mean, it wouldn't fall down at that point, would it? Gravity would be pulling it the same from all sides! Sure, the pull of the moon, maybe, but you could compensate for that. It wouldn't pull the whole thing down. Right? Right?
No comments:
Post a Comment