[AR] Re: stellar fusion (was Re: Freeman Dyson, RIP)
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2020 13:54:44 -0400 (EDT)
On Wed, 11 Mar 2020, ken mason wrote:
Normal stars are self-regulating, because if they get hotter,
the thermal pressure supporting the mass of the star increases,
and it expands and cools.
Then our star won't overheat to destruction, or nova, within a Dyson sphere.
In the sail-supported reflective sphere we've been talking about, in which
most of the heat can't escape, the star will overheat and expand just
enough to destroy the sphere, after which it will settle back down again,
having swatted the mosquito that was bothering it. :-)
In a proper Dyson sphere -- one that radiates the star's full energy
output as waste heat, after making use of it -- there's no issue.
Henry
Other related posts: