Date sent: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 19:21:59 -0700 (PDT) From: "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury@www.aeiveos.com> To: extropians@extropy.com Subject: Re: Mother nature Send reply to: extropians@extropy.com
>
> Regarding solving the problem of a hurricane.
>
> A typical Caribbean hurrican has 38 EJ (eta-joules)
> of energy. See:
> http://www.aeiveos.com/~bradbury/Energy/
>
> So, the to deal with the problem, you have to
> negate that energy. The simplest way to do this
> would seem to be to freeze it. So the suggestion
> of dropping "vacuum" spheres has merit. I don't
> know however whether that would be the best approach.
> It certainly requires a *large* volume tanker to hold
> the spheres. Perhaps closer to current technology
> would be dropping a volume of material that can absorb
> that much energy. Hydrogen is abundant and is
> liquified at very low temperatures. I would suggest
> large tanker planes dropping liquid H2 into the eye
> of the hurricane.
>
> Now, the only problem is that 38 EJ is *a lot* of energy
> so one may need a lot of tankers to deliver the hydrogen.
>
> I would guess a qualified reader can balance the equation
> and figure out how much LH2 is required to normalize 38 EJ
> of energy to normal atmospheric conditions.
>
> Now, the really adventursome can compute the cost of that
> quantity of LH2 and tell us how much turning off a hurricane
> would cost (pre-nanotech, since post-nanotech it probably
> costs nothing).
>
> Robert
>
>
Better yet - find a way to make waterskin impermeable to heat
transfer, or create a biodegradeable insulating oil, and cut off the
storm energy at its proximate source (its prior distal source being,
of course, the sun which heats the ocean water). Or maybe,
induce heat filtration properties into the tropical stratosphere above
and in front of the storm to steal its sunshine and dampen it out.
>