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- Xref: sparky alt.rush-limbaugh:12401 talk.politics.space:1635 sci.space:18373
- Path: sparky!uunet!dtix!darwin.sura.net!gatech!emory!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
- From: gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman)
- Newsgroups: alt.rush-limbaugh,talk.politics.space,sci.space
- Subject: Re: Justification for the Space Program
- Message-ID: <1992Dec29.175158.2502@ke4zv.uucp>
- Date: 29 Dec 92 17:51:58 GMT
- References: <1992Dec18.191837.11025@cs.rochester.edu> <18DEC199221562125@judy.uh.edu> <1992Dec23.110509.22141@ke4zv.uucp> <1hobsgINN3b1@agate.berkeley.edu>
- Reply-To: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
- Distribution: usa, world
- Organization: Destructive Testing Systems
- Lines: 35
-
- In article <1hobsgINN3b1@agate.berkeley.edu> tyersome@cavebear.Berkeley.EDU (Randall Tyers) writes:
- >In article <1992Dec23.110509.22141@ke4zv.uucp> gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary
- >Coffman) writes:
- >[...]
- >>
- >>Large scale imports from space face a dire problem in any event. What
- >>are we going to do with all that extra mass? Earth's gravitational
- >>field will so increase that no one will be able to stand if we bring
- >>in too much from space. Ultimately we have no choice but to use and
- >>reuse the materials here on Earth. Fortunately that is getting easier
- >>and easier as technology advances.
- >>
- >>Gary
- >
- >If this was a joke (it has to be right?? doesn't it?) you should have
- >indicated this in some manner. (eg. :-) or ;-) ) As your statement
- >stands it raises doubts about your comprehension of very basic
- >physics.
-
- Well of course this was a form of reducto absurdum argument. The
- idea that we solve all our problems by dragging in more junk from
- space eventually leads to the absurd case where we are overwhelmed
- with all the extra junk. The Earth's mass isn't declining and doesn't
- need bolstering. To date we haven't thrown any away except what's been
- shot into space. The gauge reads full, not empty, so imports from
- space are simply, and literally, overkill. Whether imports crush us
- or not is simply a matter of scale, not principle.
-
- Gary
-
- --
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