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From: tll@druxu.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.movies.sw
Subject: Re: Death Star Population = Imperial Casualties
Message-ID: <837@druxu.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Dec-83 18:54:39 EST
Article-I.D.: druxu.837
Posted: Thu Dec  8 18:54:39 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Dec-83 02:11:25 EST
References: <168@astrovax.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 16

Ed's calculations of the surface temperature of the Death Star
(temperature required to radiate heat from "normal" energy consumption)
give a possible reason why the Death Star would have to be so large.
In order to support a large population (such as 200 million), you would
need to have a large surface area simply to radiate the waste heat, even
though the population density is extremely low.  Perhaps this also
explains why they have passageways large enough for spaceships
penetrating from the outer skin to the main reactor area:  to allow heat
to escape (although it wouldn't radiate out of the hole very well --
you'd probably need to allow some gases to escape to carry away heat.
Obviously, the loss of a little raw materials isn't a major concern to
someone who'd build something that big.).

				Tom Laidig
				AT&T Information Systems
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