Re: Pykrete

2006-2-5 09:25:00

Larry quotes me:

"Thanks for your comments Rick. No matter which direction we go I think your PXL's will be useful."

I thought that Rick had a very valid point. Why build something that is intended to last for decades, and even perhaps longer, that is made out of something like Pykrete that melts? It may melt slowly, but it still melts. Yes, it could be insulated, etc., but why not find something that doesn't melt? That makes a lot more sense to me.

There also might be problems with building Pykrete from salt water (freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, and what does salt inclusion do to strength, etc?). If you have to distill fresh water to make it at sea then that costs a lot of energy too.

It would be kept frozen with a refrigeration system and would never melt unless it was a controlled melt. I believe a fail safe system could be developed that would allow the foundation to remain intact for an unlimited time.

The building blocks would not be made from mineralized seawater but from desalinized seawater which would be like fresh water.

There are several reasons that I am attracted to this. First the main building material (water) is readily available. Secondly Pykrete is lighter than water, which is a plus, though not a mandatory requirement. Thirdly, the fact that we could melt and refreeze the building material is very conducive to building and making changes in the structures.

Nothing is set in stone at this point. When the time comes we will pick the best materials and the best building plan. We may be using some technology that isn't even available in this present time. I am also interested in exploring some of Eugene Tsui's ideas.