Open letter to all who respond to SAMU -

[quote]
<font color="blue">On 2001-11-03 03:46, SAMU wrote:
I hope you can answer this question</font>

SAMU's subsequent actions indicate that he doesn't really want answers. He wants confirmation for his wild, off-the-wall imaginings.

<font color="blue"> and if not I hope it gives you food for thought</font>

Oh, it has. But I doubt that you would be pleased with my thoughts.

<font color="blue">If you ask some questions sensitive to this scenario of your contacts in NASA and they suddenly freeze up,</font>(emphasis added)<font color="blue"> could you let me know that?

Yours
David Samuel
70116 </font>
</quote>

In short, he seemingly wants to hear back only if the response confirms his idea but not if it doesn't.

One more time. Aluminum reflects anywhere from 85% to 91%(depending upon surface treatment such as anodizing, roughening, etc.) of the light that falls on it. Solar energy at earth orbit is 0.033 cal/sec/cm^2. This means that about 0.0043 cal/sec/cm^2, as an assumed overall average, actually enters the aluminum. If the aluminum radiates as a black body the temperature of the skin would be about -36 deg C, or about -32 deg F. The astronauts would rapidly freeze to death.

And, by the way, that heat input is only for those square cms. that are at right angles to the suns rays. Most parts of the capsule exterior would be at some grazing angle less than 90 deg and the heat input to those parts would go way down.

The aluminum of the capsule doesn't radiate as a black body since aluminum has a relatively low emissivity. I've forgotten how to handle that in heat computations (it's been a looong time) but from previous posts and NASA information, the inside temperature was in the vicinity of 4 deg C, or 40 deg F. which is in accord with a low emissivity because the object has to get hotter to get rid of the heat input and get to equilibrium.

SAMU spoke of one side of the capsule at 200 deg F. and the other at -200 deg. F in a previous post. Anyone who thinks that an aluminum structure would support such a large temperature gradient in such a short distance is obviously not very aware of heat conduction and his opinions on heat and temperature in general can be safely disregarded.

This is the end as far as I am concerned. I'm not even sure why I'm bothering with this since, as someone posted, SAMU obviously has a speculation and loves it in spite of anything said.

So let him. The sun will still rise tomorrow and NASA will go on with its work, entirely undisturbed by such bilge.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Simmons on 2001-11-05 10:19 ]</font>