Lee Daniel Crocker writes:
> done with mere plaster, paint, and electric lights. Imagine
> what you could do with dynamic display surfaces. You could
Phased Array Optics. On the inside of your goggles ;)
> probably do a very convincing impression of Eli's savanna, with
> birds flying overhead and clouds drifting (without danger of
> anything falling from either). A mall open 24hrs with bright
I wonder when beamers (video projectors) will start profiting from economies of scale. A video engine of ~ Playstation 2 grade hooked to beamer could sustainably provide a very rich audiovisual environment.
> full-spectrum lighting (UV-free so shoppers won't worry about
> sunburn) could probably even grow real grass and flowers and
> trees inside. The ventilation system would filter out insects
> and insert pleasant odors and adjust humidity. Sound system
> could put back missing low-level noises like wind, birds,
> crickets, water. Could be quite impressive, and should be
> runnable on about the amount of energy striking the surface
> above.
The ratio would seem to be somewhat worse than 1:1. Way worse if we consider 3d cities, there the cooling problem looms large. Of course rectennaed PV power microwaved from LEO can do it, but not on planetary scale. This way or the other, monkeys will have to go.