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> On Wed, 31 Dec 1997 "Michael M. Butler" <butler@comp*lib.org>
> Wrote:
>
> >I read an Analog speculative-fact article about foaming
> asteroidal >NiFe into (big, you bet) lifting bodies
> with a reasonable >(comparable to human free
> fall--ca. 200 MPH) terminal velocity [...] >aero
> heating should stay well below the level at which any metal
> >would burn off.
>
>
> But that doesn't really address the problem. A lifting body would
> give you more control over where it hit the ground, but if a huge
> fast moving object is to come to a stop then the colossal kinetic
> energy in it must be transferred as heat to the Earth or its
> atmosphere. I'd rather rock absorb that mammoth force than the air,
> and if was a really big asteroid it wouldn't matter where it hit the
> ground.
Assemble really huge power storage devices (batteries, capacitors,
whatever) and wrap them in something that will convert the re-entry
heat to electricity. Charge them up on the way down and then hook
them to the power grid for a while.
>
> John K Clark
> johnkc@well.com
>
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