City Domes

Perhaps the time is right to consider the concept of city domes.
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stormweather proofing would be required.
multiple merged domes is ideal as it allows expansion.
The geodesic model will be used.
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These should hav some bullet-proofing as in criminal activities..
coated with titanium dioxide for low maintenance
and perhaps a set of rail repair robots
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Perhaps one of the Olympic cities?

The time is right for city domes? We can't even figure out how to build a dyke as well as the Dutch and you want to build a dome over an entire city? A "dome" for New York City would have to be at least 20 miles in diameter and several thousand feet high lol. Who's going to pay for that?

I love your idea, can you elaborate on your visions of these domes or are you thinking more like what we already have such as the monolythic domes?

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I prefer a real geodesic model as this can hav sections missing and still be repairable. We're talking about gale force winds, typhoons...
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A multiple dome structure example is the Eden project. That's not a real geodesic structure.
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The Monolithic domes are made of clay/earth materials, i had in mind something like though plastic..

Great idea! Let's dome over a huge city, then we can create an artificial intelegence system to provide nearly all services to the public.

Then heck, why deal with the messyness of having children through rutting, clone them! That will be great.

Well unless the AI software gets some sort of bug, becomes paranoid. Shuts off the city from everywhere else, electromagnetic color codes all areas of the city. Forces all citizens to wear their security clearance color at all times, and heck why not throw some scrubbots into the mix just for kicks and giggles.

Wait a minute?!? Thats Paranoia!

that sounds like a FEMA camp.
unless the ppl are content...
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actually all that is needed are frisk guards in certain locations.

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ai can replace with workers.
repairmaintenance bot is very popular concept
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a few showcase cities is possible.

reply to post by whatukno

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And its name shall be called... Diaspar.

So tell us, OP, what advantage do you foresee in living in cities under domes? I can think of a few, but I'd like to hear your ideas.

I can think of quite a few problems... one is cost. A structure that big would be extremely expensive.

Two would be safety. You can't predict exactly what conditions it would be susceptible to, so you can't engineer it strong enough to withstand the unforeseen. Examples might be planes flying into it, birds, lightning strikes, general static electricity from the air itself (St. Elmo's fire), wind shear from thunderstorms, ice buildup... quite a long list.

Then there's the problem of safety. Should a panel give way, that's a lot of weight to come crashing down. Sort of gives a new twist to the old phrase "the sky is falling". The idea of automated repair robots is a cool one to think about, but a robot presently can only do what it is programmed to do, so what happens when something unforeseen causes damage that the bot can't handle?

Next problem is oxygen and water... since there's no rainfall underneath it, the dome would effectively stop all plant life from growing under it. No plant life = no oxygen. No oxygen = no us.

And I'm still wondering what benefit this would have for the inhabitants... more room for graffiti?

Sorry to shoot it down, but I think this one's better left to the sci-fi books, at least for now.

TheRedneck

Perhaps individual community based domes would be the ideal way to start. Take a look at wikipedias page about the domes and see how the middle east had built one that made it through a bomb virtually intact, I think of sunspots, meteorites, extreme high winds in excess of 450mph.

en.wikipedia.org...

Before I lost my last hard drive I used to belong to a subscription to Monolythic domes institute I though , but when checking out that particular site, it is not the same mopre hippish and less modern of design.

Still if I had some cash that would be the way to go, I have wanted one partially underground for many years, not the 'COB style I think you thought I meant but the sturdy steel constructed one, if I can locate the link I will bring it here, its not on your basic google search.

The ones I am referring to are far superior looking to the mud thatch houses, even though if you had a gropu of like minded friends and family you could build one for almost nothing.

And what about disease and viruses that could spread like wild fire in a dome? It would be cool to have a dome house or maybe some dome buildings, but to cover a city with a dome would be suicide in my honest opinion. Not to mention the feeling of being enslaved.

[edit on 5/1/2008 by Solarskye]

reply to post by Solarskye

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Friend,
Good point, even during tornados I get the family safe and hunkered down but I stand like an idiot watching the skies rather than getting in the safe place. I hate the feeling of being closed in and would never make a good astronaut because of it. In all reality I would have to be a wanderer outside the domes. But while all the rest are captured inside I could find plenty of safe places and my sense of freedom would far out weigh the risks. Great point solarsky, love your original thoughts, always.

I also favor the idea of individual dome homes and buildings instead of an entire city. One of my dreams is to actually build a dome home, similar to the one, already on the Gulf Coast, but well inland.

Florida would be the perfect place to practice this type of construction, maybe the govt can give grants to people who want to build dome homes... oh yeah that's right I'm talking about my "dreams"

[edit on 5-1-2008 by worldwatcher]

reply to post by worldwatcher

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Dome style construction in Florida is rather practical and quite logical. Hurricane damage is minimised by the shape of a domed style home. Wind shear does not affect a dome house like it would a normal home.

I agree WW that in Florida it should be more available

Dome houses are quite another story from a domed city. The cost becomes reasonable due the fact that the spans are all within engineering normality (did I just make a new word? ).

A structure 20 feet high is much less likely to encounter the unknown than one a couple of thousand feet high, so that issue is alleviated as well. And of course, the area encompassed by the dome is more the size of a house than the size of a city, so water can be piped in like normal.

I actually worked out some rough plans once for a geodesic structure, one suited for a workshop. I thought it looked pretty good, but I never built it. Good luck to anyone who tries it. I would like to see some pics of what it eventually looked like.

TheRedneck

Mainly to provide a safety zone perhaps.
advantage is climate control.
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what do you think of the Great Wall or Hadrian's wall?
Or even the great firewall (now)?
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a simple dome can float by thermal heat.
i not sure if this would work if a section is missing.
therefore a frame is best for important structures
as missing panels may occur
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similiar to the concept of arcologies.
a small community that may be semi self-sufficient for a certain length of time.

reply to post by SnowWhite

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That is what I wanted for the world trade center reconstruction.

But my email was ignored by the Illuminati as usual.

Domed in would be so cool, but no, rejected again.

If I lived in a tornado,or hurricane area I would think a domed house would be the ultimate design,with part of the home subterranean,reason roof's get torn off they have square edges that the wind can catch,and as far as building cost,I could build one of this design for same price as a regular wood framed building,only design that would be altered would be the roof system,and engineered trusses could be made easily enough,plus being partially submerged would keep heating and cooling to a minimum