- #1
zuz
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Would a Dyson sphere need a "relief valve?"
It wouldn't need to be a solid sphere. The original, as proposed by Dyson, was a ring, not a sphere. He thought a sphere was the least plausible version of such structures and did not like having his name attached to the sphere concept.zuz said:Would a Dyson sphere need a "relief valve?"
zuz said:Would a Dyson sphere need a "relief valve?"
I fear most people think its named after the vacuum cleaner guy anyway.Fred Wright said:From Wikipedia: "Dyson repeated his comments that he wished the concept had not been named after him.[3] "
Apparently he died earlier this year aged 96.Fred Wright said:I'm sure Freeman regrets the nonsense of his youth.
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely surrounds a star, designed to capture and utilize all of the star's energy output.
A Dyson sphere would need a "relief valve" to prevent the star from overheating and potentially destroying the structure. The "relief valve" would allow excess energy to be released from the sphere.
The "relief valve" could take the form of large openings or vents in the sphere's structure, allowing excess energy to escape into space. Alternatively, the sphere could be designed to absorb and store excess energy for later use.
Yes, a Dyson sphere without a "relief valve" could potentially lead to the destruction of the sphere and the star it surrounds. Without a way to release excess energy, the sphere would become increasingly hot and unstable.
Yes, there have been various proposed designs for Dyson spheres with "relief valves", including the use of mirrors to reflect excess energy away from the sphere and the use of heat sinks to dissipate excess energy. However, no practical designs have been developed yet.