Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ttidcc.UUCP Path: utzoo!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!cmcl2!philabs!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,net.physics Subject: Re: Discrepancies (Dune and Ringworld) Message-ID: <531@ttidcc.UUCP> Date: Mon, 8-Jul-85 22:04:41 EDT Article-I.D.: ttidcc.531 Posted: Mon Jul 8 22:04:41 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 9-Jul-85 22:35:49 EDT References: <2039@iddic.UUCP> <483@gitpyr.UUCP> <389@ttidcb.UUCP> <965@mhuxt.UUCP> <413@h-sc1.UUCP> <82@rtp47.UUCP> Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Distribution: na Organization: The Cat Factory Lines: 30 In article <82@rtp47.UUCP> throopw@rtp47.UUCP (Wayne Throop) writes: >So: are the "magic" properties of layer 2 theoretically possible? If >they are impossible in a simple sense, can it be done "with mirrors", >that is, by clever (but minimal) expenditure of energy? If layer 2 >could be made to work, it seems to me that stillsuits would work just >fine. This probably doesn't fulfill all the requirements, but it's a present-day start. Damart Corporation's Thermawear products are made of a cloth with some of the required properties. It's an excellent heat insulator, and body heat drives moisture through it and away from the skin. The only missing property is the one-way permeability to water. Heat will drive water through it in either direction, as I found out the hard way by standing next to a radiant heater after coming in from a rain storm. (The embarrassing result is left as an exercise ... etc. (-: ). If one adds cooling fins to the stillsuit and a stiff desert breeze it may be possible to get rid of the heat. Another possibility is a mechanism for storing the heat energy until night or a cooler environment arrives (human body energy output is about 600 btu/hour, I think). Heating up dehydrated fecal matter before dumping it would be a partial help, though probably not enough heat could be got rid of solely in that manner. --- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI Common Sense is what tells you that a ten 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. pound weight falls ten times as fast as a Santa Monica, CA 90405 one pound weight. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe