From: Paul Dietz (dietz@interaccess.com)
Date: Sat Mar 15 1997 - 23:33:57 MST
> I would think that if such events are truly as common as this, the prognosis
> for long-term space colonization is poor. It would be very hard for a
> space-based civilization to sustain hundreds of years of hard radiation at
> such intensity that an atmosphere is insufficient shield. Even planetary
> based nanotech using civilizations would be very strained by such events.
I disagree. A nanotech-ased civilization would find such an
event a minor hindrance (nanotech repair of biological radiation
damage would render them highly resistant to radiation.)
The implication of this theory to me is that we should get cracking
building gravity wave detectors (LIGO and successors) that could spot
closely orbiting neutron stars in nearby space before the final
collision.
Paul
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