I liked the book long ago but had questions about resonance and gravitational perturbations from other system bodies or even within the star itself that would induce a kind of slow ber"Galloping Gertie" effect buckling throughout the whole structure. It might not last as long as the pyramids.
I suppose the video is from one of the Ringworld movies that didn't get made?
On Earth, air flowing north from the equator turns east because it is moving closer to the spin axis. On the Ringworld, it would be staying at the same distance from that axis, so would have no Coriolis turning tendency. This has to make for rather different cloud patterns.
I have to find and re-read whether they harvested other rocky worlds (not sure whether even that would've been enough material to swing it unless the ring's mighty thin!), but then they wouldn't have been able to do much with gas giants.
I liked the book long ago but had questions about resonance and gravitational perturbations from other system bodies or even within the star itself that would induce a kind of slow ber"Galloping Gertie" effect buckling throughout the whole structure. It might not last as long as the pyramids.
ReplyDeleteJames Greenidge
Queens NY
I read Niven's book many years ago.
ReplyDeleteBut I always assumed that the other planets in the star system were the source materials for the outer land ring and the inner shade ring.
So I assume that there were no longer any other planets in the Ringworld system.
Marcel
I suppose the video is from one of the Ringworld movies that didn't get made?
ReplyDeleteOn Earth, air flowing north from the equator turns east because it is moving closer to the spin axis. On the Ringworld, it would be staying at the same distance from that axis, so would have no Coriolis turning tendency. This has to make for rather different cloud patterns.
I have to find and re-read whether they harvested other rocky worlds (not sure whether even that would've been enough material to swing it unless the ring's mighty thin!), but then they wouldn't have been able to do much with gas giants.
ReplyDelete