If you want to see what the overoptimistic are proposing, try http://www.isr.us/ (and note the .us domain - you don't see that many of them). The problem of it landing on people, they reckon, doesn't exist - they're proposing a cross-section of 2 square millimetres (in the shape of a ribbon about a metre wide) so it'd be about as severe as having a sheet of newsprint land on you.
There's nothing about the material there, although they've been bullish about it in the past. IIRC it would have to be several tens of times stronger that anything available, which is actually less than I'd expected.
Their proposed timescale though - fifteen to twenty years - isn't anything I'd put money on.
And as for the fifty years quote - I think NASA stopped laughing a few years ago when they started doing engineering studies. Fifty years or so might not be an unreasonable guess.
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branchandroot
Re: A couple of thoughts
Date: 2003-09-13 03:22 (UTC)There's nothing about the material there, although they've been bullish about it in the past. IIRC it would have to be several tens of times stronger that anything available, which is actually less than I'd expected.
Their proposed timescale though - fifteen to twenty years - isn't anything I'd put money on.
And as for the fifty years quote - I think NASA stopped laughing a few years ago when they started doing engineering studies. Fifty years or so might not be an unreasonable guess.