(urth) Ansible Interview

[Jeff Wilson]

James Wynn wrote:
> 
>> Matthew Groves wrote:
>>>> But the point regarding shadows is that it's always
>>>> noon under the long sun, and so there wouldn't be any "valleys filled
>>>> with shadow."
> 
>>> I wrote
>>> Unless they are always filled with shadow, right?
>>> I'm just north of the 30th parallel. If it were noon on the summer 
>>> solstice right now, I would cast a shadow.
> 
>> Jeff Wilson
>> You're outside of a planet, not inside a spinning asteroid.
>>
> So? Same difference. If the ground slopes non-perpendicular to the 
> central light, object perpendicular to the ground will cast shadows. If 
> a mountain is not perpendicular to the central light (remember that 
> these mountains were not shaped by rain and geology) it could constantly 
> overshadow an adjacent valley.

That would require some Dali-esque topology, with mountains hovering 
overhead between the solar tube and the valley floor.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
< http://www.io.com/~jwilson >