Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Problem solving: elevator story

[Racheli Gai (jnpalme]

I know a VERY cost-effective solution:
Stay firmly planted on mother-earth.  

R.

>> reminds me of the story, possibly apocryphal, about NASA commissioning the
>> development of a ball point pen that would work in zero gravity, upside
>> down, and in extremes of tempertaure, much money and time later they had
>> what they wanted - the Russians used a pencil

>Not apocryphal - I've owned and used several of the pen cartidges.
>Basically they have pressurized gas behind the (thick) ink, and the
>non-writing end of the cartidge is sealed.

>Pencils create graphite dust.  Graphite is conductive and can short
>electrical equipment.  It can also be breathed in or clog air filters.
>I'm not so sure the pens were a bad idea.  Remember that the biggest cost
>of anything in space is lifting it there, at $10,000 per pound. A pencil
>in orbit costs hundreds of dollars even if it was free on the ground. 
>And if the graphite dust caused an equipment failure or even a fire
>(graphite will burn), the cost could be - ahem - astronomical.  :-)

>       Howard A. Landman
>       River Rock Commons
>       Fort Collins CO

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jnpalme [at] attglobal.net (Racheli Gai)
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