Structural Design Technology.

The use of the term 'Atlantis' is now depricated.

This is an investigative approach as to why Atlantis will have the shape it is to have. Truly good technology is planned down to the smallest detail.

First and foremost the shape of the topography (silhouette) of the citadel must be such that correct orientation must be maintained from any view such as would be required by any approaching craft. Secondly triangular, rectangular and polygonal shapes are much easier to construct on a huge scale than round shapes would be and furthermore such would be more likely compatible with geometron construction techniques. Design points are only of scale. Exact dimensions will not be determined until actual construction research begins.

Another aspect to consider is power drive orientation. Visionary designs of today are heavily influenced by man's ocean going traditions. The ship's hull supports the vessel and the propellors push it in a horizontal direction which is of course a right angle as compared to people standing and most visionary space craft are configured in likeness requiring lift and power drive to be two separate units.

This will not be the case for Atlantis and probably not its escorts. Lift and power drive will be one and the same which will heavily influence the shape of these space craft. They will have either a star or oculus shape. Of course aerodynamics is meaningless in space flight because their is no atmosphere which is acceptable because the primary flight orientation of these space craft is not aerodynamic. Meaning in plain English, flat side forward.

It is worthy of note however that force field shielding will always be active during flight and this shielding can be used to alter aerodynamic shape. Even to the point that pods and jumpers will use knife shaped force fields as wings in atmospheric flight however larger craft will utilize physics more similar to helicopter flight. Force field wings can collapse quickly for passage through a stargate while on the other hand fixed wing craft won't fit. Pods themselves are interesting machines in that they are of the simplest construction. Essentially they are cages with thrust drives mounted on them and seats for a small number of passengers but when the force field shielding is activated they become sleek aerodynamic machines capable of supersonic flight with a full periphery of vision.

Now back to the Citadel itself. In consideration of it's intended purpose and use, aerodynamics is only a minor issue however mass distribution is very important. So important that methods to balance the mass will be available. Hull materials that prevent the buildup of barnacles and other aquatic life will be required. Its aesthetic beauty will be maintained and the human desire for a window view of the outside will be accommodated through its varied geometric form. Many such views will be aquarium in aspect and given the nature of fish in the open ocean their will be many in the shadow waters of the city.

For the most part the jetty hull areas will the the location of the variety of manufacturing operations required for life in Atlantis. The corridors of these will have the appearance of a shopping mall. The towering skyscrapers, those of which not devoted to operational control purposes, will be primarily devoted to condominiums and other human living areas. Given the mobility of Atlantis such structures must be solidly constructed. In short their is a sound reason for every aspect of the shape of the citadel. Configuration and management will be typical as you would see in a high rise building. First you obtain a large enough empty space then the deck manager helps to locate, record and install walls in the desired position.

I intend that the citadel also have a very tall central spire and it may very well be a 'cloud scraper'. Also in consideration is a new concept shield device that if you should fall off a tall building your fall will be arrested such that you will survive. This unit is intended to be part of the citadel defence that will not allow any approaching projectile to travel at a high velocity.

The only way such an undertaking as this citadel could ever come to be is for it to be built by droids. First droids make themselves providing the great numbers required then these will make the citadel itself. From a distance the citadel would look like a large object covered with 'insects' crawling all over its surface and up the sides of the high rise buildings. The main construction operations being conducted by large spider like droids called arachnoids which will be about 2 - 4 biycet (5 - 10 meters) tall. These carry about large power units and force field generators for use in molding and heat or energy fusing. Sand packed in boxes is the usual way to make molds but the way of the future is through programmatical force fields. The citadel will be built this way and damage in it healed this way thus providing for what is expected to be a very long life span. Building this citadel will be a science within itself.

Actually it is likely that more than one citadel will be built. These pre finals will of course be mock-ups in order to develop final construction techniques and designs. Many of these constructions will only be partial and they will eventually either be destroyed in tests, scrapped or abandoned. It will be interesting to see a towering high rise in the midst of a desolate rural area will it not? However it is possible that much of this work will be done entirely under sea. As a side note I'm working on the concept of a new personal shield device and a 'gill' like mouth piece breathing device that will turn deep water diving into a completely new bends free experience. Keep the two tied around your neck and you'll never drown, nor be eaten, at sea! I don't doubt that every Atlantian will want one.

Developmental work in the creation of Atlantis is progressing favorably and with pleasing results. How ever this project has a very long lead time. It is hoped that the construction of Atlantis can begin by the year 2030 however 2040 is probably more realistic. The reason why is because this is a visionary work and much technological development remains to be done.

Nature Recycles.

Yes nature recycles. Did you ever stop to think about it? Food is made from matter. Most of this matter is absorbed from the soil by the activities of any kind of living plant but a good deal of it is also absorbed from the air. This has interesting details especially to one who has biological interests in improving the food production process.

Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air by plants then the carbon is extracted and then oxygen is released. This carbon is then combined with nutrient matter from the soil in a solar powered endothermic process to create carbohydrates. The basic building block of plants and food. A simplified description of a complicated process to be sure.

But this extraction from the soil will eventually deplete it. When this happens then plants can no longer live in it. This condition is usually remedied with fertilizer. Fertilizer is usually made up of dead cellulose and/or defecation by products that of course will break down in the soil into basic plant nutrient matter. Nature recycles. All of this will reenter the process all over again and become food. This has been a scientifically established process for a very long time and some of America's founding fathers contributed to this knowledge.

This may come as a shock but their is no such thing as "virgin" food. You may be eating it but it has been eaten before. This is the way it works and it cannot be changed. If this were not so the Earth's nutrients would have been depleted long ago and all life would have since starved to death. The possibility of crop death from depleted soil is something that farmers are always working to prevent because many have seen it.

Now here is an issue that gets more serious. Many cities dump their sewage into rivers thus into the oceans. This will eventually cause some balance in nature problems. In the extreme this would mean an overly enriched ocean with red tide plagues and an otherwise difficult environment for marine life and also a dead depleted barren landscape unable to support life. This sewage fertilizer should be dumped back on the fields were it belongs but that doesn't always happen. But this is the thing with money/capitalistic systems and that is it always goes with what is cheap and not always with what is best.

Year In Review

It actually has been a good year for research and development here at the Atlantis Tech Center. I full well expect for this to continue.

Today I began beta testing a new PC based data recorder system and software that I intend to use with my new Pico detector technology. I intend for this to be a data acquisition and analysis system suitable to research any pico scale electrical activity.

 I have also began considerations into the acquisition of an electron beam lithograph. These are fascinating machines whose precision allows the manufacture of semiconductor devices down to the nano scale. I think it would best suit my purposes to make my own and I already possess a suitable vacuum shell. All that remains to be done is some simple electronics design and PC software. Such machines have a market value from US$4,000,000.00 to $6,000,000.00.

I intend to spend the rest of the winter writing software. A current fascination is the concept of docking multiple applications together thus fusing their operational characteristics and data streams. Such a concept should prove useful in research and instrumentation software.