Re: OT: Ringworld

> > See http://www.ogre.nu/images/gringi.jpg for the contours of the
> > ring's g-field (actually 200 point masses on a circle).  The net
> > force is perpendicular to the contours.  Unsurprisingly, it's
> > generally toward the nearest point on the ring.
Lars Henrik Mathiesen wrote:
> Someone should have told Niven --- doesn't his Ringworld spin?
> He could just have adjusted the thickness of the unobtainium layer
> to get whatever gravity he wanted.
Well, he also wanted the total mass to be small enough that the energy
of the star could be used to accelerate the thing, to escape the Core
Explosion.  Oops, did I just give something away?  ;)


--
Anton Sherwood  --  http://www.ogre.nu/