Thaumas Program: Difference between revisions
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Azimuth estimates that a fully-operational colony will generate approximately 1.4 gigawatts of power and will only consume 190 megawatts of power to operate, for a surplus of 1.21 gigawatts. The Thaumas Program plans to store the excess energy in enormous molten salt batteries, and to wire the colonies to nearby islands, from which the power can be further distributed. None of the three corporations has commented on what uses it has for the excess power. | Azimuth estimates that a fully-operational colony will generate approximately 1.4 gigawatts of power and will only consume 190 megawatts of power to operate, for a surplus of 1.21 gigawatts. The Thaumas Program plans to store the excess energy in enormous molten salt batteries, and to wire the colonies to nearby islands, from which the power can be further distributed. None of the three corporations has commented on what uses it has for the excess power. | ||
==Life on the Colony== | ==Life on the Colony== | ||
The living space within the colonies, which is the innermost portion of each unit, is designed to house as many as 100,000 people. | The living space within the colonies, which is the innermost portion of each unit, is designed to house as many as 100,000 people. | ||
Revision as of 22:35, 10 February 2011
The Thaumas Program is a massive joint undertaking by Azimuth, Datalite, and Halon to colonize the world's oceans. Two such colonies are currently under construction, and two more are in the planning stages. Thaumas I, located in the vicinity of Kiribati, is already inhabited, and is scheduled to be completed within a year. Thaumus II, in the Indian Ocean near The Maldives is scheduled to be completed within two years. The total projected cost for the Thaumas Program is in excess of $500 billion, though the colonies are designed to be self-sustaining once they are completed.
Design and Operation
The Thaumas Program colonies represent the pinnacle of engineering technology and innovation. Each colony is hexagonal in shape, and is approximately seven miles across. The outer edges of the colonies comprise breakwaters, designed to shield the interior pools and the innermost habitation zone from the forces of the ocean. These are designed approximate natural beaches, complete with sand dunes and natural foliage. Fruit trees, vegetables, and open parkland are found in the interior of the breakwater ring. At the heart of each colony is its ocean thermal energy conversion engine, or OTEC, which, along with solar materials integrated into the surface structures, power the station. Additionally, the OTEC serves to bring nutrient-dense, cold water from the depths of the ocean to interior pools of the colonies. These pools are used to grow blue-green algae and other marine organisms, to be used as food for the inhabitants.
Azimuth estimates that a fully-operational colony will generate approximately 1.4 gigawatts of power and will only consume 190 megawatts of power to operate, for a surplus of 1.21 gigawatts. The Thaumas Program plans to store the excess energy in enormous molten salt batteries, and to wire the colonies to nearby islands, from which the power can be further distributed. None of the three corporations has commented on what uses it has for the excess power.
Life on the Colony
The living space within the colonies, which is the innermost portion of each unit, is designed to house as many as 100,000 people.