From: richard@csi.on.ca (Richard Martin)
Subject: Re: He3 Power Source
Organization: Carp Systems International, Kanata, ON
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 13:31:22 GMT

In article <1992Aug13.205249.19490@csi.on.ca> richard@csi.on.ca (Richard Martin) writes:
>In article <1992Aug13.190624.1512@cbfsb.cb.att.com> eatlv@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (thomas.vandoren) writes:
>>Subject: He3 Power Source
>>Distribution: world
>>Organization: AT&T
>>   About 2 weeks ago I saw a series of 5 minute modern videos of great interest.
>>One of them was about a proposal to use Helium3 mined from the moon as a power
>>source on Earth.  One of the claims was that the value of one shuttle load
>>of He3 was a couple billion dollars or something in that order when computed
>>relative to the power output it would provide.
>Maybe, but shuttles don't go to the moon, and even if they did, there's nowhere
>for them to land.
>>   Does anyone have more info, opinions on that proposal?  If it is true it
>>would seem that there may be some kind of business case for lunar operations.
>>My only concern or potential skepticism is how easy is it to develop an
>>He3 power plant?  I mean are we talking something as hypothetical as fusion
>>power, or something that does have a reasonable chance of being developed
>>in the near future.
>Last time I looked, He3 was only really significant in fusion power.
>>   The video mentioned how He3 as exhaust from the sun doesnt make it to the
>>Earth's surface due to the atmosphere or magnetosphere but does get absorbed 
>>into the lunar soil.  It showed proposed lunar surface strip mining machines
>>that would filter out the He3 and replace the regolith behind it thus having
>>minimal environmental impact.
>         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>I get a big kick out of this term being used to describe the moon.  It's a rock.
>There is no environment.  Well, sorry, there is.  But not in the sense which
>has been used down here--you don't have to worry about ecology (there is none)
>nor about noise pollution (none of that, either).  Mining could make a pretty
>bad mess of the place, but I don't know what proportion of the worry is simply
>aesthetic.
>>Other items such as oxygen and water could be
>>extracted at that time as well.
>Solar panels and batteries can supply water for the moon--I'd concentrate on
                                       ^^^^^
Read energy here, I don't know what's wrong with me these days.
>getting the O2 and H2O, before mucking about with stuff which is apparently
>just as rare, but not necessary to life.
>>  How hypothetical is this and is it practical?
>>
>>Lee
>>
>I don't really know, but it was fun heckling you.  No.  Any excuse to go to
>the moon is good enough for me, actually.  Just think--if we can get He3 out
>of the regolith, we've got it in situ, and we can build _massive_ tokamaks
>up there.  (Sink it in the rock, power it with solar, and don't worry, the
>nearest population centre is a good few light-seconds away--heck, if you can
>figure out a way of harnessing the power of explosions, you could do it there!)
>
>Oh dear, it makes me think of the _Usbourne Book of the Future_ I was given
>several years ago.  Copyright 1979.  When I read it, I don't know whether to
>laugh or cry.
>
>Seriously, though...
>no offence meant, and I'm getting a little tired about reading about ACRVs.
>Richard. =)
>-- 
>--------------------------------------------------------------
>Richard Martin               	richard@csi.on.ca
>CARP Systems International	"Don't Panic!  Things are
>Kanata, Ontario, CANADA		about to get much worse!"


-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Martin               	richard@csi.on.ca
CARP Systems International	"Don't Panic!  Things are
Kanata, Ontario, CANADA		about to get much worse!"