Question:
Don’t know about James Bond, but there was a similar plotline on the Simpsons. Mr. Burns had a scheme to build a giant sunshade to block all the sunlight to Springfield, therefore increasing business for his nuclear power plant. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A while back, someome posted a news bit about David, California and their law regarding light from your source and someone else’s right to darkness, well, I’ve got another one. It’s from Russia. On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week. The story came from London and was reprinted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Although the mirror will only last a few hours before it burns up in the atmosphere, it is believed to be able to, if it achieves its purpose, bounce light into the far reaches of Siberia and various other northern latitude countries. The ultimate goal is to have a flotilla of these things that bounce enough light to make streetlights unnecessary. This is something that I actually read. Thankfully, there were some good pithy comments from scientists and environmentalists who thought the idea idiotic. Just figured I’d pass that tidbit on. Not trolling for anything, but man, that’s nuts. Wasn’t that a plot in a James Bond film? Christopher Lockett Atlanta, GA
Response:
A while back, someome posted a news bit about David, California and their law regarding light from your source and someone else’s right to darkness, well, I’ve got another one. It’s from Russia. On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week.
Sounds like an off shoot of Star Wars, the defense Program not the movie. How are the rockets powered, nuclear warheads? <g tech transfer
Response:
On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week. Sounds like an off shoot of Star Wars, the defense Program not the movie. How are the rockets powered, nuclear warheads? <g tech transfer
As a guess, the mirror may be little more than a mylar sheet or balloon. The idea of lighting the night may sound silly, but would be great north of the arctic circle in winter. I haven’t been up there, but the thought of 6 months of darkness sounds a little hard to take. — Lloyd Bowles The Mad Canoeist "Keep the open side up!"
Response:
A while back, someome posted a news bit about David, California and their law regarding light from your source and someone else’s right to darkness, well, I’ve got another one. It’s from Russia. On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week. The story came from London and was reprinted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Although the mirror will only last a few hours before it burns up in the atmosphere, it is believed to be able to, if it achieves its purpose, bounce light into the far reaches of Siberia and various other northern latitude countries. The ultimate goal is to have a flotilla of these things that bounce enough light to make streetlights unnecessary. This is something that I actually read. Thankfully, there were some good pithy comments from scientists and environmentalists who thought the idea idiotic. Just figured I’d pass that tidbit on. Not trolling for anything, but man, that’s nuts. Wasn’t that a plot in a James Bond film? Christopher Lockett Atlanta, GA
Response:
A while back, someome posted a news bit about David, California and their law regarding light from your source and someone else’s right to darkness, well, I’ve got another one. It’s from Russia. On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week. Sounds like an off shoot of Star Wars, the defense Program not the movie. How are the rockets powered, nuclear warheads? <g tech transfer
This idea predates Reagan’s Star Wars (and for that matter Lucas’ too!) by a couple decades at least. Indeed I think U.S. military considered trying to light up Viet Nam this way. Opposed by astronomers and conservationist at the time, but I don’t know what actually killed it. R E S E A R C H Information Systems Dept (403) 450-5185 C O U N C I L 250 Karl Clark Road Edmonton, Alberta, Canada http://www.arc.ab.ca/ T6N 1E4 http://saturn.arc.ab.ca/~falk/ "Some people crave baseball … I find this unfathomable, but I can easily understand why a person could get excited about playing the bassoon." - Frank Zappa
Response:
take a look at this from a 1996 Popular Mechanics… http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/sci/tech/9608TUTWAM.html
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week. Sounds like an off shoot of Star Wars, the defense Program not the movie. How are the rockets powered, nuclear warheads? <g tech transfer As a guess, the mirror may be little more than a mylar sheet or balloon. The idea of lighting the night may sound silly, but would be great north of the arctic circle in winter. I haven’t been up there, but the thought of 6 months of darkness sounds a little hard to take.
Hmmm… that would have the useful side effect of melting the polar ice caps so the ‘mericun’s won’t have to invade us when they use up all of their water growing golf courses in the desert. Great idea! Morgan.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week. Sounds like an off shoot of Star Wars, the defense Program not the movie. How are the rockets powered, nuclear warheads? <g tech transfer As a guess, the mirror may be little more than a mylar sheet or balloon. The idea of lighting the night may sound silly, but would be great north of the arctic circle in winter. I haven’t been up there, but the thought of 6 months of darkness sounds a little hard to take.
I have wintered over in Antarctica and in Fairbanks Alaska. One doesn’t spend enough time outside to really care. IMO the idea is grotesque — if you won’t/can’t hack the dark, don’t go there. This reminds me of the radio callin show in LA after the big quake that got several calls asking if the quake was related to the strange lights in the sky. They finally figured out that what the callers were talking about were the stars — they had never seen them until the power outages caused by the quake! I’d hate to think of my grandchildren growing up in a world where stars have to be explained rather then seen. Just my opinion — — Lloyd Bowles The Mad Canoeist "Keep the open side up!"
Brad Meyer "It is history that teaches us to hope" — R.E. Lee
Response:
On November 9, I think that’s the date, a Russian company will launch a satellite that will unfold into space as a gigantic mirror. The purpose? "To end nighttime," according to a newspaper article I read this week.
http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9807/24/space.mirror.ap/index.html "MOSCOW (AP) — An ambitious plan to put a huge mirror in space to illuminate Russia’s sun-starved northern cities has been thwarted by the lack of funds, space officials said Friday." Looks like they might not launch it after all. But then there is still Moon TV….