DanArmak comments on Crazy Global Warming Solution Ideas - Less Wrong

-2 Post author: Bound_up 24 October 2015 07:12AM

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Comment author: JoshuaZ 24 October 2015 12:10:06PM 4 points [-]

Expanding the orbit of the Earth works under the known laws of physics but wouldn't be practically doable at all. A giant air conditioner wouldn't work for simple physics reasons.

Comment author: DanArmak 24 October 2015 03:11:36PM *  5 points [-]

Why wouldn't a giant AC work? Admittedly, you'd need to connect it to the Earth, not just "point it" at us. But an AC is basically a system that uses energy to move heat around; the trick is building one that puts the warm-air exhaust outside the lower atmosphere and gives it escape velocity.

For instance, as long as we're talking mad science, if we could build a space elevator with a big pool of water at the upper end as its counterbalance, cooled by evaporating into space (and maybe by contact with the upper atmosphere?), with a series of tubes connecting the pool with the sea below, then we could run an AC cycle: send warm seawater up, get almost-freezing water down. Of course we'd need a huge throughput to affect global temperature, but the principle is sound :-)

Comment author: JoshuaZ 24 October 2015 08:12:49PM 1 point [-]

Yes, that would work. I think I was reacting to the phrasing more and imagined something more cartoonish, in particularly where the air conditioner is essentially floating in space.

Comment author: DanArmak 24 October 2015 11:04:58PM 1 point [-]

So something like "put a big fan on the Moon and point it at the Earth" :-)