(urth) Ansible Interview

[Jeff Wilson]

James Wynn wrote:
> Jeff Wilson wrote:
>>>> That would require some Dali-esque topology, with mountains hovering 
>>>> overhead between the solar tube and the valley floor.
> 
> Me:
>>> Well, the Whorl's topography *is* Dali-esque. And we know that it has 
>>> mountains. That's how the Cargo is prevented from reaching the other 
>>> portions of the ship.
> 
> Jeff:
>> What holds the mountains up?
> 
> [sigh] Look. There's mountains in the Whorl are just like any other 
> mountains. But the axis of mountains are not perpendicular to the Long Sun.
> 
> Imagine a mountain and a deep valley on a flat surface with a single 
> light source directly overhead. No shadows. Now tip the base toward the 
> valley. Suddenly the mountain does not point toward the light source 
> anymore and the valley falls into shadow.
> 
> This does not take a CAD program to imagine.

That would require tipping the base at a greater than complimentary 
angle with the slope of the mountain, that is, a degree for every degree 
short of a sheer, vertical cliff, and then more according to how much 
shadow you want. Unless you begin with a cartoonishly steep mountain, 
your valley floor ends up tilted as much as a conventional mountain 
slope on earth, making it very unvalley-like. And you still have to 
answer, what's holding this mountain up?

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