Re: O'Neill habitat spin axis

From: David Mitchell (david_at_edenroad.demon.co.uk)
Date: 08/25/04 

To: sci-space-tech@moderators.isc.org
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 13:16:15 +0100

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 14:56:37 +0000, Russell Wallace wrote:

> Is there any way to change that (I mean, reasonable ways, i.e. without
> expending propellant or using huge gyroscopes etc)? For example, Earth's
> axis precesses every 26,000 years IIRC; how does that square with
> conservation of angular momentum? Is there a way a habitat's axis could be
> made to "precess" through a full circle every year?

Don't know if this would work, but...

Big pipes on the exterior containing fluid with one-way valves every so
often.

Sunlight on the sunward-facing side heats up the fluid, which expands the
only way it can, through the valves, providing net force in other
direction, habitat rotates exposing new fluid, fluid now in shade cools,
sucks fluid from other side.

Net result, sunlight into rotation. 

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