In-reply-to: kickaha@student.adelaide.edu.au's message of 18 Jan 1994 01:46:56 -0600 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science Subject: Re: Recreational Astrophysics References: Distribution: --text follows this line-- This sounds fun! I suppose you already have those almost useful schemes like Dyson spheres, ringworlds, Alderson discs and whatever-it-is-called sphagetthi. Lets see, what would *I* do if I was a bored super-being? Syncronizing novas could be fun. Make the stars in a galaxy go nova in nice patterns. Different stars will produce different types of light (and it could be reflected from interstellar clouds to change its colors). Of course, you have to arrange the explosions so the light reaches your wantage-point at the right time (detonate the farthest stars first). The whole scene would not look as nice from any other place (personally I would sit some thousand ly above the disc) Black holes can be fun to play with. Take two and let them revolve around each other. As the radiate away their energy as gravitational waves, they will come nearer each other, until they collide in a nice bang (which will rip apart nearby stars by tidal forces, and release lots of funny energy. Planets nearby will never be the same again.) Putting several holes into orbit around each other could create a fun light- (and gamma-) show. Try to make them collide in topologically interesting patterns. Focus the gravitational waves by using a galaxy as a gravitational lens, and surprise your neighbours! In "The Cyberiad" by Lem the main characters advertise themselves by moving the nearby stars into a gigantic "Jobs wanted" sign. They used blue-white supergigants for the headline, and more modest stars for the rest of the text. Make a sun flare up, and place a silloutte in front of nearby planets. The result is that your message will be written on the surface. If you do this on a planet with life, you can write your name in djungles and deserts (actually, you don't need to create a flare in this case. Continous shadow or extra sunlight from mirrors would do the trick as well) Create puzzle systems for lesser civilizations. A system where every planet has exactly the same size and exactly the same number of moons. A system with several planets arranged in a Kempler rosette and a toroidal athmosphere around them all. Planets with weird chemical compositions (like Technetium crystals or a core of gold). Create stars with weird properties or placements, like long string of Cephid variables, synchronised to create a "ripple", making an arrow pointing at something (like a statue of yourself, built out of planets). Using super-strong materials, build a city around the event-horizon of a black hole. Imagine the view! Above the horizon the whole universe, and below ...absolute darkness. Note that the horizon will bend upwards, as if the city was built in a bowl, or the Universe is a large sphere above the city. Waste disposal is quite easy, but the radiation afterwards is a bit irritating. Why not start to create flares on one side of all the stars in a globular cluster? The cluster will begin to move, and could be used for lots of fun. Regattas around the galaxy. Accelerating two clusters to relativistic speeds and colliding them. Smashing them into galaxies, or aim them at pesky planets. By changing the galactic magnetic fields you can move the plasma in interstellar clouds. Create beautiful images. Create stars in nice patterns (create a long string of supergigants. Make one end go nova, and try create a domino-effect.) Collect a lot, arrange nicely in intergalactic space and you will be able to design a galaxy from scratch (of course, it will take its time) Imagine the inhabitants surprise when they discover that their galaxy is the only cubical galaxy in the universe!