(urth) Ansible Interview

[Jeff Wilson]

James Wynn wrote:
> I imagine mountains that look like the peaks of the Alps. Perhaps the 
> Alps are cartoonishly steep, but the mountains approaching the ships 
> deck are intended to make passage difficult. On the other hand, you 
> could have a mountain that is positively sheer only on one side that 
> over-looks a valley. That would accomplish the same thing. Or a deep 
> valley with steep sides as well.

Are you thinking that the valleys are past the end of the solar tube, so 
that the tube is not over head but to one side only?

> Jeff:
>> Are you privy to the particular "hollowing-out" process used? There are
>> several, even now.
> 
> Are you? 

Yes; in addition to being a lifelong buff of space research, I'm also 
engaged as a fact checker and peer reviewer for a series of books 
including realistic space habitat construction.

> Is there something in the text that states the mountains are symetrical? 
> On Earth, at the peaks of mountains it is not uncommon for onside to be 
> sheer and the other side to slope.

such peaks however typically make up a rather small portion of the mtn's 
bulk, and the overall slope of the mountain from tip to base has to be 
overcome in order to cast a shadow onto a valley floor under vertical 
sunlight.

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