Re: [LONG] Jump Points Redux -or- Once More Into the Rubber Science mines

On 25 Nov 2003 13:33:12 -0500, James Nicoll <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> 2110s: Limits to Growth: Suddenly what seemed like an inexhaustible supply
> seems terribly limited. Papers are published showing that current production
> will peak in only two generations. Part of the problem is that even though
> energy is cheap thanks to suntaps, the larger WHs are not all that useful 
> for the main market, Earth, being awkwardly large to move.
>       
>       Civilization is Doomed plus There are too many of Those People
> and only poorly thought out self-destructive state policies can save the
> day! 
> 
>       There are still unused low mass WHs, a huge supply of cheap
> energy and untapped nearby stars. Venture capitalists fund fast [1/4 C]
> probes to nearby stars, intending to strip-mine them of commericially 
> useful WH pairs. Other expeditions are sent through to the nearer stars
> (nearest linked star is Wolf 1061, a close orbiting binary almost 14 light
> years away). Tax laws are tinkered to make this outreach program more
> profitable because Civilization Depends on It!
> 
>       Expeditions to the Kuiper and the Oort are organized but are 
> seen as less sexy and less likely to produce large numbers of WHs, because
> matter is so spread out out there.
> 
>       The "star rush" attracts large amounts of investment money,
> even though the first profits can not be realised until Alpha C is
> reached in the 2030s, assuming AC has exploitable WHs [On the plus side,
> advances in astronomical tools mean every planet larger than Ceres out to
> 100 ly is known] Stock prices rise without limit. Scholarly papers are
> published in the WSJ (Admittedly, never the same after the Moonies bought 
> it) showing why this will never end.   

The Nation will run an article proving that this means Capitalism Is Doomed.

> December, 2118: Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud WH sources come online.
> 
> January 2119: WH splitting is demonstrated. 
> 
>       Suddenly the solar supply of WH has a sudden increase. Suddenly the 
> "Star Bubble" collapses, making trillions of dollars evaporate in a single
> day. Happily the total economy is a hundred times bigger than it is today,
> so that is not as bad a hit as it would be today. Scholarly articles appear 
> in the WSJ showing why this was inevitable.

The Nation will run an article proving that this means Capitalism Is Doomed.

-- 
http://hertzlinger.blogspot.com