Moon's surface brimming with untapped power

Houston Chronicle ^ | December 8, 2002 | MARK CARREAU

[11B3]

"Generated by the sun's nuclear furnace, helium-3 is scattered by the solar wind. But the magnetic fields or thick atmospheres that surround the inner planets -- Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars -- shield them from becoming natural respositories."

Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to collect the H3 from our magnetosphere instead of the moon's surface? Certainly the distance is shorter for getting the product back, and it shouldn't be impossible to put up a constellation of sattelites that were capable of catching the particles.

[JRandomFreeper]

Certainly the distance is shorter for getting the product back, and it shouldn't be impossible to put up a constellation of sattelites that were capable of catching the particles.

But then you would have something like a Bussard Drive. And humans shouldn't have something that can pollute beyond the influence of the sun.

/john

[altair]

Not without violating my patents on electronic transfers of helium-3, they won't....

How can you have a patent on something Algore invented?

[general_re]

Your check bounced.

...which leads directly to the second opportunity for early investors. If you're like me, banking errors like this have probably happened to you hundreds of times, where your bank bounces a perfectly good check for no reason at all, right? Of course it has - who hasn't had that kind of problem with their bank, practically on a daily basis?

And who needs that aggravation? Sure, you could pay cash, but let's look closely at that cash for a moment - what does the government say about it? It's "backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government". But what does that mean? I'll tell you - nothing! That's right - your money is backed by nothing but a bunch of hot air!

Well, if your money is only backed by hot air, why not make sure it's backed by valuable hot air? That's why, for a limited time only, you have the opportunity to exchange your worthless cash for Helium Certificates! Available in denominations from one-hundredth of an ounce, all the way up to one ton of helium, Helium Certificates will be redeemable upon demand for their face value in helium-3!

Just ask yourself - is this the kind of money security I can afford to live without? Of course not - nobody should have to worry about worthless money ruining their lives. And at only $1,562.50 for the smallest certificate (based on a value of $5 billion per ton of helium-3), it's the kind of security anyone can afford....

[general_re]

We traded the patent rights for that in exchange for him receiving the trademark rights to the word "Shrub" - he's licensed it to Molly Ivins, and gets a fat cut every time she uses that word to describe GWB. He's only pretending to be mad about that election thingy - he's making a mint off of her columns, which he wouldn't if he had been elected....

[patriot5186]

beer, garlic, and Fig Newtons
my theory also includes refried beans and sauerkraut for that super Helium-3 effect.

[jwh_Denver]

*only the Chinese have a lunar exploration program in the works.

LOL! Yeah, they'll spend their entire GDP for the next 20 years to bring back a nickel bag of H3 amoung other assorted knick knacks.

[PatrickHenry]

While I slept, it seems that several demented types have taken control of this thread and have posted everything I would have posted, had I been aware of the opportunity. Now, all that is left for me is to immitate our intellectual opponents and : (1) post in blue; (2) find some irrelevant nit and pick at it; or (3) POST ### gibberish///-- nonsense!!!; and then (4) to hit the abuse button.

[VadeRetro]

I had a bunch of your helium certificates but the string broke and they floated up into the sky. Waaaah!

[longshadow]

my theory also includes refried beans and sauerkraut for that super Helium-3 effect.

But surely you realize that one cannot SIMILTANEOUSLY combine beer, garlic, Fig Newtons, refried beans, and sauerkraut in the human digestive system without risking a runaway chain reaction of Helium-3.

That would not only destroy your a**, it would end The World as we Know It.

[longshadow]

While I slept, it seems that several demented types have taken control of this thread and have posted everything I would have posted, had I been aware of the opportunity.

No need for flattery....

[NukeMan]

You guys are thinking along the same lines as I am. It would probably be cheaper to build reactors or particle accelerators to manufacture the stuff out of plain old helium, hydrogen, or other low-Z materials that are common to good ol' earth.

[aruanan]

You guys are thinking along the same lines as I am. It would probably be cheaper to build reactors or particle accelerators to manufacture the stuff out of plain old helium, hydrogen, or other low-Z materials that are common to good ol' earth.

Yep, we have all this perfectly good nuclear fuel just decaying away here on earth. Better that we put its decay to some good use.

[PatrickHenry]

It seems most inefficient to mine the moon for Helium 3. Even though it's there, it's not easy to find in useful quantities. Everyone knows that the sun is largely made of helium. Being a practical fellow, I suggest that we set up our mining operations on the surface of the sun.

[longshadow]

Everyone knows that the sun is largely made of helium.

Thought you'd just slip that one by me? No such luck!

[Redcloak]

I guess that the hard part will be finding an extension cord that's long enough.

[patriot5186]

lol..a weapon of mass destruction?

[longshadow]

lol..a weapon of mass destruction?

leave off the "m".....

;-)

[Brett66]

I suggest that we set up our mining operations on the surface of the sun.

As long as we operate only at night, this should work. ;)

[RightWhale]

Gold star for posting this article.