Bernal sphere
Encyclopedia
A Bernal sphere is a type of space habitat
intended as a long-term home for permanent residents, first proposed in 1929 by John Desmond Bernal.
Bernal's original proposal described a hollow spherical shell 1.6 km (0.994196378639691 mi) in diameter, with a target population of 20,000 to 30,000 people. The Bernal sphere would be filled with air
.
in 1975 and 1976 with the purpose of speculating on designs for future space colonies, Gerard Kitchen O'Neill proposed Island One, a modified Bernal sphere with a diameter of only 500m rotating at 1.9 RPM
to produce a full Earth
artificial gravity
at the sphere's equator. The result would be an interior landscape that would resemble a large valley running all the way around the equator
of the sphere. Island One would be capable of providing living and recreation space for a population of approximately ten thousand people, with a "Crystal Palace" habitat used for agriculture. Sunlight was to be provided to the interior of the sphere using external mirror
s to direct it in through large windows near the poles. The form of a sphere was chosen for its optimum ability to contain air pressure
and its optimum mass-efficiency at providing radiation shielding.
Space habitat
A space habitat is a space station intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility...
intended as a long-term home for permanent residents, first proposed in 1929 by John Desmond Bernal.
Bernal's original proposal described a hollow spherical shell 1.6 km (0.994196378639691 mi) in diameter, with a target population of 20,000 to 30,000 people. The Bernal sphere would be filled with air
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
.
Island One
In a series of studies held at Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1975 and 1976 with the purpose of speculating on designs for future space colonies, Gerard Kitchen O'Neill proposed Island One, a modified Bernal sphere with a diameter of only 500m rotating at 1.9 RPM
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
to produce a full Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
artificial gravity
Artificial gravity
Artificial gravity is the varying of apparent gravity via artificial means, particularly in space, but also on the Earth...
at the sphere's equator. The result would be an interior landscape that would resemble a large valley running all the way around the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
of the sphere. Island One would be capable of providing living and recreation space for a population of approximately ten thousand people, with a "Crystal Palace" habitat used for agriculture. Sunlight was to be provided to the interior of the sphere using external mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
s to direct it in through large windows near the poles. The form of a sphere was chosen for its optimum ability to contain air pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
and its optimum mass-efficiency at providing radiation shielding.
Island Two
O'Neill envisioned the next generation of space habitat as a larger version of Island One. Island Two would be approximately 1800 meters in diameter, yielding an equatorial circumference of nearly six and a half kilometers (four miles). At this size, the habitat could comfortably house a population of some 140,000 people. The size was driven by economics: the habitat was to be small enough to allow for efficient transportation within the habitat and large enough to support an efficient industrial base.See also
- Space Colony ARK, a fictional Bernal sphere colony in the Sonic the Hedgehog video games (however, in Sonic Adventure 2Sonic Adventure 2Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast video game console. It was released in North America on June 19, 2001 and in Japan on June 23, 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It is the sequel...
, it was incorrectly called a "Bernoulli sphere") - Gagarin Station, a fictional Bernal sphere colony in the Mass EffectMass EffectMass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
video games - O'Neill cylinder aka the "Island III", the brother design to the "Island I"
- Rendezvous with RamaRendezvous with RamaRendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a cylindrical alien starship that enters Earth's solar system...