this post was submitted on 11 May 2024
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[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago (6 children)

A Ringworld would be more likely than a Dyson sphere, the mass requirements are so much lower.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wouldn't a Dyson swarm be much easier to construct than either? Like a dyson sphere but a swarm of smaller collectors.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

A swam doesn't produce anywhere near the real estate though. So I guess it really depends entirely on why the megastructure was built, if it's only for energy extraction then yeah, a Dyson swarm makes the most sense. But if they also want to use it for habitation then it's not a really great idea. Sure you can spread space station's throughout the swarm, but then groups in space station A are always going to find it difficult to interact with groups in space station B, no matter how commonplace space travel is. It would be like intentionally building two cities on either side of a canyon, and saying it's okay because aircraft exist.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

RTFA they are looking for swarms, rings, and other subtypes of Dyson Spheres.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I read the fucking article. What makes you fucking think I didn't?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The fact that you just reiterated one of its points.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Huh. So commenting on the content of the article means it wasn't read? That's a really odd position to take.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Easy there cowboy

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Ringworlds are not orbitally stable so they are firmly in the realm of sci fi.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Neither are Dyson spears

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Spheres aren’t unstable around a star. Rings are unstable in orbit around a star.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (2 children)

If a civilization can figure out how to make one, they can keep it from sliding into the sun!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Like how if they figure out how to build an 833' long ship they can keep it from immediately hitting an iceberg and sinking?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Or the most advanced starship in the galaxy not having a Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

We could just ask the mice.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Damn, imagine the number of lifeboats you’d need to evacuate a Dyson Sphere?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

You know, that's a really good point, but this is on such a bigger scale and if it's a known problem today, I think they would know about it by the time they can build something like that.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Just glue 3 of them together, that'll make them 300% stable!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

220, 221. Whatever it takes!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworld_series

Imagine a slice of a Dyson sphere, about one earth wide and one earth deep.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Or the halo from the game 'halo'

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Though its important to note that the halos aren't true ringworlds, they aren't nearly big enough.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I guess the big difference is it doesn't encircle the sun

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Basically. The the whole idea is that it's 1 AU out so it's in the habitable zone, spinning fast enough to simulate 1 gravity. Stats for nerds.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Yeah. Ringworld was written way before that and Dyson thought it was a cool idea. Glad to see it used in other stories.