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Sun 22 Dec, 2019 10:44 am
With a new Star Wars movie out, maybe a fun way to think about our capacity as an industrial species is to consider how long it would take us to completely mine all of Earth's interior energy and metals and use them to construct a totally inorganic structure similar to the Death Star in Star Wars.
If so, how far do you think fossil fuels would get us, and how much nuclear fuel would be left over after completely gutting the Earth and storing all the fuel in reactors built throughout its hollowed-out shell?
Assuming the nuclear fuel would eventually run out, would we then have our 'Death Star' fitted with a solar array sufficient to power everything inside for the duration of the sun's stability as a star?
If so, could there be such a thing as a sustainable Death Star? If so, how much cleaning and maintenance would it take to keep replacing all the aging metal parts in perpetuity? Would humans be happy with an existence supporting and being supported by a completely artificial planet?