Abstract
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune fall under this rubric. Why even mention them in the same breath as colonization, given that the prospects for this appear so far in the future? For several answers to this question, as well as a description of them all from a free-market perspective, read the chapter. As well, we also focus on the challenges they pose against mankind exploiting them.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
An alternative view is that hydrogen does not form a liquid metal at high pressures but takes on one of two other forms: an unusual solid in which molecules associate weakly with neighbors and another in which they bond with adjacent particles to form planar sheets (Foley 2013).
- 3.
We greatly rely on this author for our discussion of these large planets.
- 4.
- 5.
Saturn’s gravity is only about 7% higher than Earth’s according to Williams 2016. This sounds counterintuitive. The reason is that most of the mass is farther away from the surface (i.e. deeper) than Earth and in net consists of much lighter materials such as hydrogen and helium instead of our planet’s iron, silicon, lead, and such.
- 6.
Ibid.
- 7.
- 8.
Williams, Ibid.
- 9.
Williams, Ibid. The tilt means that once every 84 Earth years (the length of one Uranian year) the North Pole is aimed almost directly at the Sun. Also of interest, the direction of spin is opposite to that of every other planet of the solar system except Venus.
- 10.
Harrison , op. cit.
- 11.
Ibid.
- 12.
Ibid.
- 13.
Ibid.
- 14.
Williams, op. cit. One bar equals 14.5 pounds per square inch (29.5 inches of mercury) or slightly less than the earthly average atmospheric pressure at sea level.
- 15.
The Uranian moons are quite small and consist mostly of water and rock. Refer to Chap. 9 regarding the colonization of small celestial bodies.
- 16.
The concern expressed in this paragraph relates to the very common desire of statists to demand specific, though ossified, answers. Free thinkers tend to accept uncertainty and enthusiastically “go with the flow.” They know that people are always thinking of how to improve their lives and that this constant series of acts improves the lot of everyone. In sharp contrast, both left-leaning socialists and rightist neo-conservatives (fascists ) incline towards the need for a plan laid out in detail in advance. They fail to appreciate that their “clever” proposals will invariably be undone by the mere fact that people act to promote a future better in their view than that which would otherwise have obtained (Mises 1998). Among the latter, a frozen rigidity of thought is all too common.
- 17.
While many do not have the imagination to overcome challenges on their own and readily assume others cannot, the worst of the statists are perfectly willing to injure, cage, or even kill those who emerge from Plato’s cave and see the light, especially if they then proclaim what they see.
- 18.
Yes, it is warmer even though farther away from the center of our little solar system. It emits more heat than it receives from the Sun. The source of the internal energy is a matter of speculation.
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Nelson, P.L., Block, W.E. (2018). The Gas Giants. In: Space Capitalism. Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7_8
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