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01-26-2012, 08:04 AM
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Area Man
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: The Swamp
Posts: 27,407
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In the mind of Newt......................
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news...colony-by-2020
Apparently not only is he St. Ronnie back from the dead, but he is also the ghost of JFK. He has also decided that not only is the nomination in the bag, but he has won both the election and re-election as well.
Now, to put a cherry on top; We are discussing the building of "moon based mining colonies"---by the end of Newts second term, of course.
Mining what? And just where is all of that (in)famous conservative concern for the cost, viability and sensibility of such a "Grandiose" adventure?
Boy Howdy, is this election shaping up to be a doozy!
Cue up the Muzak and summon Nurse Rachett, the Inmates are taking over the asylum.
Dave
__________________
"When the lie is so big and the fog so thick, the Republican trick can play out again....."-------Frank Zappa
Last edited by BlueStreak; 01-26-2012 at 08:08 AM.
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01-26-2012, 08:08 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Derby City U.S.A.
Posts: 8,213
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Let him get going good with the ideas, he's got a big enough mouth for both feet.
Barney
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01-26-2012, 09:41 AM
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Possibly admin. Maybe ;)
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Land of the burning river
Posts: 21,098
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Nothing wrong with moon mining. Reminds me of an old tag line I saw elsewhere - 'Earth First! We'll mine the other planets later'
It would be for Helium 3, a fusion fuel:
"....
An aggressive program to mine helium-3 from the surface of the moon would not only represent an economically practical justification for permanent human settlements; it could yield enormous benefits back on Earth.
.....
Samples collected in 1969 by Neil Armstrong during the first lunar landing showed that helium-3 concentrations in lunar soil are at least 13 parts per billion (ppb) by weight. Levels may range from 20 to 30 ppb in undisturbed soils. Quantities as small as 20 ppb may seem too trivial to consider. But at a projected value of $40,000 per ounce, 220 pounds of helium-3 would be worth about $141 million.
Because the concentration of helium-3 is extremely low, it would be necessary to process large amounts of rock and soil to isolate the material. Digging a patch of lunar surface roughly three-quarters of a square mile to a depth of about 9 ft. should yield about 220 pounds of helium-3--enough to power a city the size of Dallas or Detroit for a year.
Although considerable lunar soil would have to be processed, the mining costs would not be high by terrestrial standards. Automated machines might perform the work. Extracting the isotope would not be particularly difficult. Heating and agitation release gases trapped in the soil. As the vapors are cooled to absolute zero, the various gases present sequentially separate out of the mix. In the final step, special membranes would separate helium-3 from ordinary helium.
The total estimated cost for fusion development, rocket development and starting lunar operations would be about $15 billion.
.........
For an investment of less than $15 billion--about the same as was required for the 1970s Trans Alaska Pipeline--private enterprise could make permanent habitation on the moon the next chapter in human history.
......"
http://www.popularmechanics.com/scie...n-mars/1283056
I'm not a fan of Newt, but the space program is the only way to save the planet. I doubt though that it would happen soley with private money though.
Pete
__________________
“How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.”
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01-26-2012, 09:48 AM
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Loyal Opposition
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Johnson County, Kansas
Posts: 14,401
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Quote:
Originally Posted by piece-itpete
Nothing wrong with moon mining. Reminds me of an old tag line I saw elsewhere - 'Earth First! We'll mine the other planets later'
It would be for Helium 3, a fusion fuel:
"....
An aggressive program to mine helium-3 from the surface of the moon would not only represent an economically practical justification for permanent human settlements; it could yield enormous benefits back on Earth.
.....
Samples collected in 1969 by Neil Armstrong during the first lunar landing showed that helium-3 concentrations in lunar soil are at least 13 parts per billion (ppb) by weight. Levels may range from 20 to 30 ppb in undisturbed soils. Quantities as small as 20 ppb may seem too trivial to consider. But at a projected value of $40,000 per ounce, 220 pounds of helium-3 would be worth about $141 million.
Because the concentration of helium-3 is extremely low, it would be necessary to process large amounts of rock and soil to isolate the material. Digging a patch of lunar surface roughly three-quarters of a square mile to a depth of about 9 ft. should yield about 220 pounds of helium-3--enough to power a city the size of Dallas or Detroit for a year.
Although considerable lunar soil would have to be processed, the mining costs would not be high by terrestrial standards. Automated machines might perform the work. Extracting the isotope would not be particularly difficult. Heating and agitation release gases trapped in the soil. As the vapors are cooled to absolute zero, the various gases present sequentially separate out of the mix. In the final step, special membranes would separate helium-3 from ordinary helium.
The total estimated cost for fusion development, rocket development and starting lunar operations would be about $15 billion.
.........
For an investment of less than $15 billion--about the same as was required for the 1970s Trans Alaska Pipeline--private enterprise could make permanent habitation on the moon the next chapter in human history.
......"
http://www.popularmechanics.com/scie...n-mars/1283056
I'm not a fan of Newt, but the space program is the only way to save the planet. I doubt though that it would happen soley with private money though.
Pete
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Pete, ya gotta love the breadth of your horizons. The guy who bruises his knuckles restoring antique land yachts also dreams of space colonies. I don't say that critically. You are much cooler than Newt. (How's that for damning with faint praise. )
Regards,
D-Ray
__________________
Then I'll get on my knees and pray,
We won't get fooled again; Don't get fooled again
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01-26-2012, 10:02 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Derby City U.S.A.
Posts: 8,213
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Yes we will go back to the moon to mine, but invest in renewable energies is a bad idea?
Anyone else see a contradiction in this?
The human race might need a colony on the moon for when we run out of a planet that is livable.
Barney
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01-26-2012, 10:39 AM
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Possibly admin. Maybe ;)
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Land of the burning river
Posts: 21,098
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I don't have a problem with renewables, but they are strictly stopgap measures that make life more expensive (hardest on the poor), and I believe takes our eyes off the only long term solution.
We have the 'extra' resources now, but might not in yay number of years. I sound like a broken record. We need to go now, we need to do it now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by d-ray657
Pete, ya gotta love the breadth of your horizons. The guy who bruises his knuckles restoring antique land yachts also dreams of space colonies. I don't say that critically. You are much cooler than Newt. (How's that for damning with faint praise. )
Regards,
D-Ray
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Hey, faint praise is better than none lol. Thanks. Since I'm cooler than Newt maybe I'll actually get away with asking my wife for an open marriage
Pete
__________________
“How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.”
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01-26-2012, 05:50 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Willamette Valley
Posts: 3,027
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Quote:
Originally Posted by piece-itpete
Nothing wrong with moon mining. Reminds me of an old tag line I saw elsewhere - 'Earth First! We'll mine the other planets later'
It would be for Helium 3, a fusion fuel:
"....
An aggressive program to mine helium-3 from the surface of the moon would not only represent an economically practical justification for permanent human settlements; it could yield enormous benefits back on Earth.
.....
Samples collected in 1969 by Neil Armstrong during the first lunar landing showed that helium-3 concentrations in lunar soil are at least 13 parts per billion (ppb) by weight. Levels may range from 20 to 30 ppb in undisturbed soils. Quantities as small as 20 ppb may seem too trivial to consider. But at a projected value of $40,000 per ounce, 220 pounds of helium-3 would be worth about $141 million.
Because the concentration of helium-3 is extremely low, it would be necessary to process large amounts of rock and soil to isolate the material. Digging a patch of lunar surface roughly three-quarters of a square mile to a depth of about 9 ft. should yield about 220 pounds of helium-3--enough to power a city the size of Dallas or Detroit for a year.
Although considerable lunar soil would have to be processed, the mining costs would not be high by terrestrial standards. Automated machines might perform the work. Extracting the isotope would not be particularly difficult. Heating and agitation release gases trapped in the soil. As the vapors are cooled to absolute zero, the various gases present sequentially separate out of the mix. In the final step, special membranes would separate helium-3 from ordinary helium.
The total estimated cost for fusion development, rocket development and starting lunar operations would be about $15 billion.
.........
For an investment of less than $15 billion--about the same as was required for the 1970s Trans Alaska Pipeline--private enterprise could make permanent habitation on the moon the next chapter in human history.
......"
http://www.popularmechanics.com/scie...n-mars/1283056
I'm not a fan of Newt, but the space program is the only way to save the planet. I doubt though that it would happen soley with private money though.
Pete
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And I thought Dave knew everything..... Can't believe he had to ask this question.
Anyone ever read Philip K Dick's "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch"? It's all in there...man....!
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01-26-2012, 09:41 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Upper Canuckistan
Posts: 2,180
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Great post, Pete! Surprising, coming from a Republican.
It was a Democrat who put us on the moon, and a Republican who stopped us going there....
__________________
There never Was a Good War or a Bad Peace. - Benjamin Franklin.
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01-26-2012, 09:50 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Derby City U.S.A.
Posts: 8,213
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigerik
Great post, Pete! Surprising, coming from a Republican.
It was a Democrat who put us on the moon, and a Republican who stopped us going there....
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Took an outsider to notice that! Good point....
Barney
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01-26-2012, 09:53 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Upper Canuckistan
Posts: 2,180
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oerets
Took an outsider to notice that! Good point....
Barney
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Amazing what you learn when you listen to those outsiders....
__________________
There never Was a Good War or a Bad Peace. - Benjamin Franklin.
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