The answer is 42

Molybdenum, is the 42th element and has a few pretty awesome features. It is acid resistant, used in military and air/space crafts, but also a phantastic fertilizer, with next to no negative impacts on the biology of the consuming organism. In other words, this slightly radioactive half-metal could really be the answer to where we find the solutions to our problems. Just imagine:

The stuff is all over the place, it has been found in the very first probes from the moon and maybe will be the critical element for constructing probes and roboters to harvest the ressources on the more toxic worlds, like Titans methane lakes. Or for our first terra-forming endeavours and i fancy the mars to be a good candidate for this. With help of cyanobacteria, of course.
The moon could be our outer Earth "mining and production" site, also a quick jumping point for further travells and the docking and assembling place for bigger spaceships. The biggest problem we have is, we literally "# where we eat". That would solve all that. The moon has no atmosphere, no water, no life and no destroyable environment. Also the transport costs from the moon to Earth would be mostly what we would need to break the load. Also with magnetic propulsion acceleration, we could hopp of the moon slingshoot around Earth use it's magnetical field to accelerate till Jupiter and that's where we possibly could find enough energy, with the right system to harvest it's magnetic potential for an infinite acceleration. With a material like Molybdenum, we could invent new alloying hard enough to stand that thrust.
So, Smarties, where am i wrong? What are your ideas?

a reply to: Peeple

Although you put forth a good argument everyone knows the answer is always 67 no matter what the question is.

I still have a tape of that movie in the original box... i'm gonna see if it's worth maybe $2 on ebay or whatever

I guess I will have to open some boxes to find the cassette, maybe that will give me more info if the movie, hitch hikers guide to the galaxy copy I have was made before the TV episodes or not... its pre 1981 at least , that's 43 years old at least and only played once

42th?

Where are you wrong? by saying there is no water on the moon... that's where you're wrong.. news.bbc.co.uk...

originally posted by: Kukri
a reply to: Peeple

Although you put forth a good argument everyone knows the answer is always 67 no matter what the question is.

I'll have to disagree with you. I just ask Google which confirmed the answer is 42. Are you implying that Google might be wrong?

here

Take apart an old hard drive, and find 2 or 4 Molybdenum, rare-Earth magnets.
They will probably be the strongest magnets you ever played with. Carefull... pinch your fingers.

a reply to: charlyv

I think you mean neodymium.

a reply to: Majestic RNA

didn't say there is water on the moon. Sure some ressources would have to be shipped there.

@all: thanks for the stars. usually i'm too far out there even for ATS!

As I recall the answer wasn't 42. We couldn't understand the answer unless it was presented to us as "42". Someone correct me. The earth being built to figure out the question that 42 was the answer to.

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, "The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately no one knows what the question is. Thus, to calculate the Ultimate Question, a special computer the size of a small planet was built from organic components and named "Earth".

Nuts

Meanwhile, back on the farm…

Moly

The answer is 42!



You win!

The answer is 42

The question is 21 times two?



Sorry, I couldn't resist.

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h

No, it's still the golden rule!

Those with gold, rule!

The answer really IS 42 if you take the trouble to find out what the 42 triangles in the Tantric Sri Yantra encode:

smphillips.8m.com...

But then you would need some postgraduate knowledge of group theory and superstring physics in order to understand.

a reply to: Peeple

Very cool you picked up on this connection as well! I've only mentioned it to a few close friend offline but it's really nice to see someone else working through the Great Question in a similar vein of speculation. Guess there's something to be said for Deep Thought after all, huh? Always nice to meet someone else on a similar wavelength out there!

I remember reading something offline a while back attesting to the theory that molybendum may have been one of the metallic "catalysts" in the primal sea soups that helped give rise to life back in the early days of Earth. If so, this certainly would be an interesting tidbit to consider....not to mention another wonderful testament to the genius of Mr. Douglas Adams insights.

Happy travels and don't forget your towel!

Prof Steven Benner proposed in 2013 that RNA required oxidised elements such as Molybdenum to facilitate "life".

www.bbc.co.uk...

Benner (who is well qualified to speculate ) suggests the crystaline surface of the metal itself "wrangles" organic compounds into an ordered structure allowing RNA to form.

An absence of this crystaline surface interaction means organic compounds remain as a tar or sludge type substance.

If that isn't thought provoking enough- the implication is that due to the lack of Molybdenum as a free metal on Earth; it is statistically more likely that life ( incorporating RNA as we know it) evolved on a Molybdenum rich planet such as Mars!

Really interesting point, altough what does is exactly mean? What is the conclusion?

a reply to: tsurfer2000h

No, the question is:
"What do you get if you multiply six by nine?"

The answer is:
42


That is the ultimate answer to the ultimate question of the universe, which is a question and answer that makes Arthur Dent say:

"I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe"

originally posted by: Peeple
a reply to: Majestic RNA

didn't say Sure some ressources would have to be shipped there.

@all: thanks for the stars. usually i'm too far out there even for ATS!

Yes I agree you didn't say "there is water on the moon" you said there was none, which is why I pointed out why you were wrong...

a reply to: Majestic RNA

Sorry, I was partying and didn't read right. Yes there is, but there is no one we would harm, if we polute a bit there, was my point.