<packbart>
(a command chair with RCS, SAS and a docking port)
<Althego>
how cute
<Izaya>
oooh it's like a suit port but working with the limitations of KSP
<packbart>
dock a pallet of materials to a Kerbal, move over to construction site
<raptop>
shiny
<darsie>
.
<darsie>
Probably >50 kg ;)
<darsie>
How much volume/mass can it take?
<FLHerne>
trace: one present application of gemstones to protect against abrasion is waterjet cutter nozzle tips
<FLHerne>
they use artificial... rubies, I think?
<FLHerne>
so the jet that's cutting through up to a metre of steel doesn't instantly destroy the nozzle
<trace>
FLHerne, why I am asking, is because we know already several applications for diamonds, but what if we can have gigatons of diamonds, then we surely find new use cases for them
<FLHerne>
Lots of small diamonds, mostly artificial ones also, are used in diamond-tipped drills and saws and sharpening plates and so on
<trace>
at planets as mercury could exist huge diamonds maybe
<trace>
we could find ressources in space for that we would need to invent use cases, because we never had that ressource
<FLHerne>
I can't think of many uses for huge diamonds, they do shatter easily
<trace>
as well as we did not knew for what to use oil
<FLHerne>
Your idea of windows wasn't bad
<trace>
:)
<FLHerne>
Apple were trying to grow artificial sapphires big enough to make phone screens, which would be pretty much unscratchable
<FLHerne>
didn't work so far, but I think they use it on the Watch
<FLHerne>
more brittle than good-quality glass when dropped though
<FLHerne>
Diamonds are rather chemically inert, so there's not much prospect of making other useful materials out of them, nor using them as a feedstock or catalyst for any chemical process
<trace>
Apple could produce diamonds for the purpose of scratching phone screens ugly ( I am kidding :D )
<Althego>
you can set them on fire
<FLHerne>
(unlike oil, which does all kinds of neat stuff)
<trace>
Althego, but what if you build normal glass around the diamond
<FLHerne>
yeah, but there are easier things to set on fire :p
<Althego>
not really hard
<trace>
FLHerne, souls (kidding)
<Althego>
they burn normally
<FLHerne>
Ok, but we have plenty of other things that burn at lower temperatures and are easier to come by
<Althego>
but cant be too inert if you can just burn it
<FLHerne>
Well, it's fancily-arranged carbon... hmm you're probably right
<Althego>
was it nile red who made carbonated drink with burned diamond?
<FLHerne>
I remember in some KSR book they had space-elevator cables made of some extruded diamond crystal
<FLHerne>
not sure if that's a realistic thing
<Althego>
i think nothing is stroing enough what we currently have
<Althego>
not even carbon nanotubes
<FLHerne>
but that would have to be artificial, and again if you need carbon there are easier ways to get it
<FLHerne>
I thought some nanotubes would be if we had any means of producing then on a large scale
<Althego>
Available materials are not strong enough to make an Earth space elevator practical.[4][5][6] Some sources have speculated that future advances in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could lead to a practical design.[2][7][8] Other sources have concluded that CNTs will never be strong enough.[9][10][11] Possible future alternatives include boron nitride nanotubes, diamond nanothreads[12][13] and macro-scale single crystal graphene.[14]
<Althego>
diamond nanothreadf
<Althego>
sounds cool
<Althego>
whatever it is
<FLHerne>
My friend is working on a process to produce carbon nanotubes at industrial scale, but the tradeoff is they're too short for any structural purpose
<FLHerne>
might be useful for some microelectronics or in paint
<Althego>
molecules are generally too short for anything, yet somehow can for mbigger objects
<FLHerne>
also, last I heard it still doesn't actually work reliably :p
<FLHerne>
Yeah, but these would be really tiny
<Althego>
what do we need for fancy batteries? graphene?
<FLHerne>
You'd be better off with normal oil-derived polymers, but they have some interesting electrical properties
<FLHerne>
Yes, grapheme batteries are a thing
<FLHerne>
n
Althego has quit [Quit: HMI Module Alpha Humana on approach to Space Station Mercury]
<raptop>
grapheme batteries are truely a triumph of solid state linguistics
<NGC3982>
solid state linguini
* raptop
throws a brick of ramen at NGC3982
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<raptop>
!outcome add Senator William Proxmire provides an accurate description of the value of your research.
<LunchBot>
raptop: Added outcome: Senator William Proxmire provides an accurate description of the value of your research.