Remember what Archimedes said: "Give me a foothold and I will turn the Earth." It is clear that he spoke from the point of view of the application of science. But in fact, some scientists wanted to move the Earth completely for practical purposes.
In the early 1950s, on a wave of euphoria from the "domestication of the atom", the famous Soviet scientist general, a fan of Tsiolkovsky's ideas, Georgy Pokrovsky, figured out how to improve life on Earth. He proposed installing nuclear power plants at the South Pole or at the equator, which would knock our planet out of orbit and send it into free flight. And Robert Zubrin, an American physicist, mathematician and engineer, proposed to move our planet a little further from the Sun.
This is how and most importantly WHY did they plan to implement it in all seriousness …
Georgy Iosifovich Pokrovsky was born in 1901. In the mid-1920s, he was the head of the physics department of the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute and at the same time an admirer of Tsiolkovsky's ideas and eugenics. In 1928 he was admitted to the German Society of Physicists. In 1932 he was transferred to the Red Army as the head of the physics department of the Military Engineering Academy. Receives the rank of Major General of Engineering and Technical Service. Doctor of Technical Sciences.
Since 1936, Pokrovsky has been a member of the editorial board of the Tekhnika Molodyozhi magazine. He was considered an unofficial curator of Soviet science fiction writers by the People's Commissariat, and then the Ministry of Defense. Pokrovsky himself also writes science fiction stories under pseudonyms, as well as the author of more than a hundred fantastic pictures and illustrations for books and articles in scientific and technical journals.
Since the early 1950s, Pokrovsky has been a fan of the peaceful uses of the atom. In particular, he proposed making reservoirs with the help of atomic bomb explosions aimed at tearing off mountains with explosions. In 1954, in Technique for Youth, he proposed an even more fantastic option - to use an atom in the movement of the Earth. Here is an abbreviated note of his:
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Humanity is threatened with "heat death" - the prophets of the end of the world once muttered. Someday the Sun will cool down, all energy sources will be used, life will freeze in cold space, the death of humanity will come.
Is it possible with modern knowledge to solve the problem of endless development of mankind? We can answer such a question clearly and firmly. Yes, even with our current knowledge it is possible to set such a task. And the solution to this task of the future could be carried out in several ways. The first way is to one day ensure the exploration of other planets by people using space rockets or other spaceships.
This method, undoubtedly, can be applied to the development of the planets of the solar system. The flight of individual rockets to other star systems, although in principle possible, but, due to the extremely long range, will be very long. People could travel on such a ship only if many generations change. Let's try to find another way. At first glance, he will seem too bold. But with the high development of technology in the distant future, such a solution is in principle feasible.
The solution is to transform our entire planet into a giant spaceship that will move not in orbit, but along the path outlined by man.
To control the movement of the Earth, it is possible to impart some acceleration to the globe using a huge jet engine, the axis of the nozzle of which coincides with the axis of the Earth. Obviously, such an engine can be conveniently located in Antarctica, in the South Pole region, aligning its axis with the Earth's axis. The conditions of space navigation will be strongly limited by such an installation of the engine, but it will be possible to more easily adapt the surface of the globe to those changes that will occur when the Earth's motion is accelerated. These changes will manifest in the form of a strong tide in the southern hemisphere and an equally strong ebb tide in the northern hemisphere.
With the help of an engine mounted on the axis of the globe, it is impossible to direct the Earth in any given direction. The installation will not be maneuverable enough. Another, more flexible way to control the Earth's movement is to set up multiple jet engines in the tropics. In this case, the engines will be able to work alternately; at any given moment, the engine will be turned on, which has an axis that coincides with the direction of the Earth's motion along its orbit.
A very serious task is to preserve the Earth's atmosphere from being pulled in and thrown into space by jet jets of engines. The very design of such engines, which must operate on the basis of thermonuclear reactions, is undoubtedly a most difficult problem.
When approaching one or another planet, it is necessary to set the mode of motion of the Earth and another planet near the common center of gravity in such a way as to avoid the destruction of the planets from the action of forces of mutual attraction (tidal waves), as well as their collision with each other. Under these conditions, the Earth and the planet will circle one another at a relatively large distance. Through this gap, it will be possible to transfer heavy hydrogen (heavy water), uranium and other useful nuclear fossils to the Earth.
Charged with energy and minerals taken from other planets, it is possible to provide illumination and heating of the Earth in addition to the Sun and go to distant star systems to study and use them for the benefit of infinitely developing humanity.
There is a very long road from the first nuclear power plant to space-scale projects. But there are no boundaries for the power of the human mind.
In "Technology of Youth" No. 4 for 1959, Pokrovsky continues his ideas. In the article "Lift" into space, "he proposed to build a tower 160 km high, which, due to the strength and stability conditions, should have a horn-shaped shape, with a diameter of 100 km near the Earth and 390 m in space. The upper platform of the tower, made of polymer material and filled hydrogen, could carry a load of 260 thousand tons. Pokrovsky believed that the main purpose of such a tower was the installation of astronomical and astrophysical instruments outside the atmosphere.
In conclusion, he wrote: “If the tower was filled with helium, then balloons filled with hydrogen could rise to a great height. This could replace different types of elevators.”
At the end of his life, Pokrovsky switched to more mundane ideas. For example, he designed a 1,000-ton nuclear all-terrain vehicle on paper for the Arctic. The last project of the general was giant airships for Siberia with a carrying capacity of 300-350 tons. They were supposed to connect the most remote corners of northern Eurasia into a single transport network.
Scientists claim that every billion years, the Sun gets 10% hotter. If this continues, then in a few billion years it will become impossible to live on Earth. What to do?
This question was asked by Robert Zubrin, an American physicist, mathematician and engineer, president of Pioneer Astronautics, founded in 1996 to create new space technologies. He suggests moving our planet a little further from the Sun. To counteract the heating of the Sun by 10%, it is enough to move the Earth away from it by only 5%. And there is enough time for this: a billion years is not enough. To make the Earth's orbit a little wider, it is necessary to increase the planet's speed by 1200 m / s. This will amount to an acceleration of only 1.2 μm / s2 per year, or 3.8 10-14 m / s per second.
True, the mass of the Earth is not small: 5.971024 kg. Multiplying these two numbers, we get the required thrust: 2.27 1011 Newtons, that is, 227 billion Newtons. In fact, not so much: so much weighs a cube of water with a side of 284 m.
How many rockets can provide such thrust? Based on the current heaviest American Saturn V launch vehicle, 6,796 would be needed operating together. Many, of course, but Nazi Germany produced more than 4,500 V-2 missiles in the last year before its end. Couldn't all of humanity have been able to make as many “Saturns” in a year or two for the sake of salvation from death?
The speed of the outflow of incandescent gases from the nozzles of the first stage of "Saturn" is about 3000 m / s. The trouble is that at such a speed of fuel ejection, to increase the Earth's speed in orbit by 1200 m / s, about a third of the mass of our planet would have to be consumed as a working fluid in a billion years …
Therefore, Robert Zubrin proposes to use an ion engine that emits ions of inert gases, mercury or other elements at a speed of up to 60,000 m / s, accelerating the ions with an electric field. Since the expiration rate is much higher than that of modern rockets, you can get by with only two percent of the Earth's mass - no one except astronomers and geophysicists will notice this. True, the acceleration of the working fluid will require a gigantic electrical power: 13,600 terawatts. That is, about 800 times the current capacity of all power plants on Earth. A lot, but if we take into account that over the past 100 years this power has increased 10 times, and take the rate of growth at the present time, then in five centuries it will grow so much that only 1% of the power of the Earth will be needed to move the Earth to a more comfortable region of the Solar System. power plants.
However, where to place the rocket motors? Not on Earth, because it is a closed system. Since the exhaust will not fly out of the atmosphere, the planet's speed will not change. But the Earth is gravitationally tied to the Moon. If you move the moon, our planet will follow it. To do this, you will either have to increase the exhaust speed, or spray the entire moon. And more power will be needed, so the operation will have to wait another 200 years.
Finally, there is another option: the photon engine. It has a working fluid (photons) outflow speed of 300 million meters per second. Put such engines somewhere on the equator and just shine into the sky (but only at certain hours, when this part of the Earth is directed in the right direction due to its rotation). Okay, but the required power instead of 13,600 terawatts will be 68 million terawatts. But in 900 years mankind will surely master such energetic capabilities.
Of course, all this is still just idle, albeit curious reflections. But one rather practical conclusion follows from them.
According to various estimates, in our Galaxy there can be from one (ours) to three to five thousand civilizations. If we are not alone, then someone in the Universe has already encountered this problem and, perhaps, the ray of someone's super-powerful planetary photon engine from time to time falls into our field of vision. How can a "bunny" look like from such a ray in the night sky? From a distance of 100 light years (and closer to civilizations, it is assumed, quite a bit) it will be a faint 16th-magnitude star, visible in the most expensive amateur telescopes and in any professional one. And of course, the engine beam will be visible only in those rather brief moments when it is directed in our direction. Zubrin suggests looking for neighboring civilizations for such outbreaks.
What in general of the above is possible from a scientific point of view with a significant development of the scientific achievements of the Earth's civilization?
