Re: [GZG] A FT question asked by 1 of our Junior players today

[Samuel Penn <sam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Friday 23 September 2005 16:31, Tony Christney wrote:
> On 23-Sep-05, at 7:41 AM, Doug Evans wrote:
> >> a) is the structure sufficiently strong to withstand gravitational and
> >> acceleration/deceleration forces
> >
> > as well as a positive pressure.
> >
> > I'll admit it's a very weak example, and I won't try to defend, but a
> > jet
> > fighter can take many-g stresses, and still be crushed by sinking in
> > several fathoms of water. Wait a min, at least I think it will be...
> > ;->=
>
> It would be if the fuselage were watertight. This would only affect
> ships
> landing on planets where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the
> occupants' home planet. Areas of the ship open to vacuum would probably
> be open to atmosphere as well, and pressurized areas to some nominal
> pressure that makes the crew comfortable.

See 'Victory Unintentional' by Asimov (it's in "The Rest of the Robots").
They need to send some ambassadors down to talk to the Jovians, but
can't build a ship capable of withstanding Jupiter's pressure. So they
build a leaky ship and stick some robots in it and just worry about
making the robots pressure proof.

-- 
Be seeing you,                             http://www.glendale.org.uk/
Sam.                                    jabber: samuel.penn@xxxxxxxxxx
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