And honestly - when you build a spacecraft, the fact that ice is cheaper is not a major factor. Weight factors in too, I believe. You'd need a good thick coat of ice to make it useful, and then propulsion would be a problem. You'd have to calculate the trade-off.
I really don't think weight would be much of a factor when you're talking about a SPACE ship. The whole idea is that you are in space, where if you have forgotten, you are WEIGHTLESS.....
Unless it's a universe with an orbital docking station, and then shuttles planetside.
Death to the Regressives of the GOP and the TeaParty. No mercy for Conservatives. Burn them all at the stake for the hateful satanists they are.
anyone seen ice used as shielding for ships in SF
- 19/10/2009 04:35:45 PM
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I think this is in THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH by Arthur C. Clarke
- 19/10/2009 05:20:24 PM
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It does sound like the kind of brilliant-yet-obvious idea Clarke would have.
- 19/10/2009 05:31:23 PM
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*NM*
Found the story. There is an ice-shield, but it's for space dust, not lasers. *NM*
- 19/10/2009 11:47:33 PM
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Ice shielding against lasers?
- 19/10/2009 07:28:51 PM
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It wouldn't reflect, but it would significantly diffract... *NM*
- 19/10/2009 09:25:16 PM
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Perhaps...
- 20/10/2009 08:31:08 AM
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in Shepherd's novels they do burn thru the ice quickly, thus the ships spin *NM*
- 20/10/2009 05:18:53 PM
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Re: Ice shielding against lasers?
- 20/10/2009 03:39:25 AM
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Well, most spaceships have to go in-atmosphere at some point.
- 20/10/2009 04:09:16 AM
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yep, orbital docking stations
- 20/10/2009 05:21:40 PM
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