Re: O'Neill habitat spin axis

From: Bernard Peek (bap_at_shrdlu.com)
Date: 08/26/04 

To: sci-space-tech@moderators.isc.org
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 12:34:09 GMT

In message <412b8388.214868310@news.eircom.net>, Russell Wallace
<wallacethinmintr@eircom.net> writes

>
>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?

Although it lacks elegance there's no reason why you can't continually
expend propellant. If there's any industry on the colony it is likely to
use some form of raw material and produce some sort of waste. If the
industry uses asteroidal material then it may produce silicon as a
waster material. Given enough energy that could be used as a propellant. 

-- 
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author. Will work for money.