Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

Odd. I can see California having high rates from all the sun worshipers and air pollustion. But what's going on in the northeast? Is maple syrup carcinogenic, or something?

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

I thought that the earth's magnetic field was our primary defense against radiation.
That is why Magnetic Shielding seems to be getting a lot of attention

Admittedly, I am not an expert, but this seems like an entirely viable late-TL8/Early TL-9 technology for protecting space-farers.

I do not expect that a series of properly magnetized sections of the hull would prove terribly expensive weight-wise...

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

Magnetic fields pull charged radiation toward the poles making for pretty auroras. GCR is just coming in to fast and hard to be tugged out of the way by anything but sheer mass or fields the size of the sun's.

For spaceships, such fields would work best for solar flares. But if you have the mass to protect against GCR, even large flares are little worry.

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

The median age of cancer deaths is higher than the median age of the national population. The median age of New England's population is higher than the median age of the national population.

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

Then why isn't Florida black as pitch? Is it all the young hot Cubans pulling down the average?

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

Has the area had a lot of smokestack industry within the lifespan of people now dying? A high density of motor traffic? Were a lot of buildings insulated with asbestos? Is there a lot of potassium feldspar in the rocks and soil? Is there radon in the basements? Heating with indoor fires? Used the people to smoke? Is there or used there to be a lot of employment in chemical industry? Indoor work with organic solvents?

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

The devil/malignancy is in the details.
I remember in the 80s when bad statistics made it seem like power lines caused cancer. And it turned out that poor people live near them and poor people get exposed to nastier environments in general.

Re: [Spaceships] Habitat observations
 

I built a little calculator for the thickness of the structural hull, mass of the hull and contained atmosphere for a rotating cylindrical habitat, as functions of the length and radius, the "gravity" and air pressure, the mass-per-unit-area of the shielding, armour, landscaping, and fittings, and the strength and density of the structural material. It's an Excel workbook with no macros.

Just at the moment the list of possible building materials is a bit incomplete and some of the values for strength questionable.

I put it on Dropbox for review and personal use: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7iilf35hdx...ator.xlsx?dl=0