IF YOU COULD BUILD

IF YOU COULD BUILD Ariel Ekblaw Aerospace Architect CEO, Aurelia Institute ANYTHING AT ALL IN SPACE, I WOULD BUILD A RING WORLD, A RAIN WORLD? A RING WORLD. LIKE A BIG RING. PICTURE OF A BIG DONUT AROUND THE EARTH. IT'S THIS AMAZING CONCEPT FROM SCIENCE FICTION THERE'S ONE IN NEAL STEPHENSON'S SEVENEVES, WHICH IS A BOOK ABOUT WOMEN. REALLY COOL SCI-FI BOOK THAT INSPIRED A BUNCH OF MY PHD. AND IT'S THIS NOTION THAT YOU CAN BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE AT PLANETARY SCALE. SO IT'S LIKE A THIN RING. IF EARTH HAD A SATURN RING. BASICALLY, IMAGINE A ARTIFICIAL SATURN RING THAT HUMANS HAVE BUILT TO DO RESEARCH AND SPACE TOURISM SCALE-UP ACTIVITY INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY AROUND EARTH. IF WE HAD A WAY TO DO THAT SAFELY THAT ON TOMORROW, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD BUILD. IF YOU WERE TO DO THIS DUMB QUESTION, LIKE, HOW FAR AWAY WOULD THAT BE? THAT WOULD BE FEWER THAN 250 MILES. IT MIGHT EVEN BE A LITTLE FARTHER OUT THAN 250 MILES. THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION. NO ONE'S EVER ASKED ME TO OKAY, WHERE IS YOUR SPACE RING? PROBABLY A LITTLE FURTHER OUT OKAY, SPACE STATION. YOU DON'T WANT IT TO BE TWO BECAUSE THE OTHER COOL ASPECT YOU COULD BUILD A SPACE ELEVATOR TO YOUR RING WORLD. LIKE JUST FROM EARTH GO POP UP TO A RINGWORLD. THIS IS ANOTHER SCI-FI CONCEPT THAT HAS CAPTURED PEOPLE'S IMAGINATION SO YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GOAL #1: BUILD A RING WORLD GOAL #2: BUILD A SPACE ELEVATOR GOAL #2 IS AND LITTLE SPACESHIPS GO FIRST. AND THEN EVENTUALLY CAN YOU BUILD A SPACE ELEVATOR LIKE ROTATING YES. THE RING CAN ROTATE. THE RING WILL ROTATE TOO. YEAH AND HOW WILL I STAY IN IT? I FEEL LIKE ICE SKATES OR SOMETHING TO STAY STUCK TO IT. WILL I NEED SOMETHING? SO IF YOU'RE SPINNING IN A BIG ENOUGH. I HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK, SO I DON'T KNOW. GET ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY. SO YOU'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CENTRIPETAL FORCE. LIKE IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN ON A CARNIVAL RIDE AT THE EDGE OF THE GRAVITRON, IT'S LIKE THAT, BUT MUCH MORE GRACEFUL AND BIGGER. AND SO THAT'S THE IDEA. YOU'D ACTUALLY HAVE AT THE EDGE OF THIS RING.