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Talk:Megastructure

Merged entries
I've merged "orbital tower" and "space elevator" entries in this list, as to the best of my knowledge, they're the same type of structure. I've also merged "rotovator" and "skyhook", for the same reason.

At present, both "rotovator" and "skyhook" are redirects that point to "space tether", which is incorrect. I'll fix this later if nobody else does.

I added "Bishop Ring" again, and put a stub article on the other end. It's a bona fide megastructure; IMO it's better to fill the target of a broken link with a stub than to remove it. --Christopher Thomas 18:05, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Bishop ring

 * fyi, Bishop ring and Bishop Ring (two separate articles on the same topic) are listed on Votes For Deletion: see Votes for deletion/Bishop ring if you wish to voice your thoughts. —Stormie 19:14, Feb 14, 2005 (UTC)
 * The Bishop ring page was very poorly written. The request for deletion notice on that page mentions unclear distinction between fact and fiction, which my new entry for Bishop Ring doesn't suffer from. The VFD for the old Bishop Ring page must have passed, because the page did not exist when I created my version. If you want to add my new page to VFD, please read its contents first, to assess whether this is justified. I feel that the new page has merit. --Christopher Thomas 20:07, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * No, the VFD was for Bishop ring, I added Bishop Ring to it since it's another article about the same topic. Please do not take this as any criticism of the quality of your article - VFD is supposed to be about the notability of the topic, not the quality of the article. On that note, you asked why Ringworld and Culture Orbital should be acceptable while Bishop Ring is not - imho, those are major topics from the works of major science fiction authors, whereas as far as I can tell, Bishop Ring is a very minor topic (certainly the Orion's Arm web page didn't seem to give it any great prominence) from unpublished internet fiction. Not really the same thing. —Stormie 10:27, Feb 15, 2005 (UTC)
 * Fair enough. I've removed "bishop ring" from the megastructure article.--Christopher Thomas 05:49, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * huff now I'm curious about it and I don't have a Wikipedia article to read on it. You have failed me my free encyclopedia! theanphibian 04:18, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Bishop ring - redux
I've restored Bishop rings, since Orbitals and Halos are the same type of structure, and all three have their own pages. Plus the result of the deletion was that the entry for Elysium incorrectly referred to it as a Stanford Torus. I've also added an entry for Ringworlds back under the theoretical stellar-scale structures, since it was immediately referred to, without explanation, by the very next entry, which seems unnecessarily confusing for readers. And certainly there's no conceptual difference between a ringworld and the other physically-impossible stellar structures listed. I also tweaked a few wrong or weak descriptions, shuffled a couple of items around and removed the funny but inappropriate See Also link to Cost overruns -- PaulxSA (talk) 06:41, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Great Wall of China
Wouldn't the Great Wall of China be considered an existing megastructure?.--Shawn Wilson 18 Feb 2005
 * Indeed it is. I've added it, along with Mega-City One, and have broken the document into sections by category (existing, space-based fictional, other fictional). Thanks for the heads-up :).--Christopher Thomas 06:03, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I'd think that engineering projects like systems of roads, railroads, and canals would count as megastructures, no? They're certainly big enough. Frjwoolley 16:22, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * There's actually usually a constraint imposed that the megastructure has to be rigid and self-supporting. This actually excludes pretty much all of the existing examples listed in the article. I'll make clear the distinction between these two categories of megastructure once I figure out how to phrase it properly (requiring the structure to be rigid eliminates space elevators, for instance). --Christopher Thomas 20:09, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Distinction added. --Christopher Thomas 23:25, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I've added a secion for "Mega-scale" Structures that do not meet the ridget and self supporting requirements. I also split Orbital into orbital for things that actually orbit, and Trans-orbital for things that a ground based but project into space. Fosnez 22:43, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Definitions vary
As far as I'm aware, there isn't any single rigorous and widely-accepted definition of what a "megastructure" is - the author of the external link only gives his "current best attempt" at one and no other sources are cited. I've rewritten the article to be more vague in the meantime, but does anyone know of other references a definition may be based on? Bryan 16:00, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

 * As far as I am aware there is not an exact defination of a megastructure, but one way I could say to constrain it would be "not buildable with todays' technology". Fosnez 16:16, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Not necessarily a universal constraint, though, since many things that are commonly called megastructures could indeed be built with today's technology (though not with today's industrial capacity). A Dyson sphere doesn't need to be particularly sophisticated, gazillions of ordinary solar panels and microwave emitters could be used for it. Space elevators could be built on the Moon or Mars using materials already available in bulk quantities. Etc. Bryan 00:43, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

 * True, so should we add that "most megastructures could not be constructed with today's level of industrial technology" or something?

 * I would rather not add "not buildable with todays' technology" to the definition of "megastructure". After such a definition, pointing out that "most megastructures could not be constructed with today's level of industrial technology" is a mere tautology.
 * I suggest beginning this article with a very simple definition, before qualifying (or loosening) it in various ways, perhaps:
 * "A megastructure is a built structure typically at least 1,000 kilometers in length -- in other words, at least 1 megameter, hence the name. The definition is often informal and varies from source to source."
 * With such a definition (if we count "highway systems" only once, as 1 kind of megastructure), I think it still remains true (and is more informative) to point out that "most megastructures could not be constructed with today's level of industrial technology". --68.0.124.33 (talk) 15:46, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

 * No objections? OK, I'll go ahead with this definition in the lead. --68.0.124.33 (talk) 06:06, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Possible and impossible materials
Both the Alderson Disk and the Dyson Shell require materials that are flat-out impossible if we're restricted to chemical bonds. These should probably be moved to the "fictional megastructure" section, in line with the rationale for keeping Ringworld there. --Christopher Thomas 16:51, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

 * I think the term "fictional" is too, well, harsh, for lack of a better word. Human flight was fictional 100 years ago. Fosnez 19:49, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

 * The difference is that 100 years ago it was obvious to science that we could develop flying machines, it was just a question of engineering. A ringworld requires materials with properties that no known laws of physics predict are possible. Bryan 19:53, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

 * Actually, only one specific sub-type of dyson sphere is hopelessly unrealistic- the solid shell with a biosphere magically glued to the inner surface. This is the type that's most common in fiction, but the other types that are actually discussed in plain old science literature are realistic. Check out the Dyson sphere article for more detail. Bryan 19:53, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

 * That's why I specifically mentioned Dyson shell, not Dyson sphere, Dyson swarm, or Dyson bubble. All of these are listed in the article, in various places. A rigid shell around a star is subjected to stresses that cannot be maintained with chemically-bonded material. A swarm (Dyson's original idea) works just fine. The bubble idea can't be built with present materials, but its requirements don't seem to be demonstrably be beyond materials that _may_ exist (a conducting mesh with holes substantially smaller than one micron might be light eonugh while still being reflective). --Christopher Thomas 20:55, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Symbolism
I wonder if this is the place to mention the literary meanings and symbols that the Megastructure represents. It is more than just an architectural or scientific concept - there are symbols ranging from obvious Freudian ones to those more complex. The Megastructure pops up in abstract conceptual form in many, many types of fiction (I'd put BLAME! on one end, House of Leaves in the middle, and The Dark Tower on the more abstract side). I think there is a wealth of psychological exploration to be done about an idea so widespread and resonant with humans from such diverse backgrounds. Unfortunately, I'm new to the wikiworld, and I'd like your opinions. Thanks. --Eli Brody 17:33, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

 * The thing to do if you want material about this to be added is to look for publications that talk about the psychological and literary implications of megastructures. The idea is that any information presented in the article has to be properly sourced (and the article does a bad enough job of this already). You're probably in a better position to look for these publications than I am (I'm in engineering). With citations in-hand, you can then add a section to the article that outlines the different authors' views on the associated symbolism.--Christopher Thomas 20:10, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

dingo Fence
What about dingo fence, which runs across Australia (length comparable to Great Wall). SYSS Mouse 17:19, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, the article currently contains the following unsourced statement: "Networks of roads or railways, and collections of buildings (cities and associated suburbs), are usually not considered megastructures, despite frequently qualifying based on size." I'd say that if these and major oil/gas pipeline networks and electrical power networks don't qualify, neither should the Great Wall, Dingo fence or the rice terraces. But I may well be wrong. --KFP (talk | contribs) 17:56, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
 * lol, good catch. That sure is a fun one to read about.  I think the Great Wall of China has been a rather difficult inclusion from the start, and I'm sure you could find some source out there that would include it and some source that wouldn't include it.  In every case of road or fence or wall the 100 km rule is just barely fit, but the great wall I think goes above and beyond due to the fact that it has both appreciable height and width.  You can actually walk around in the inside and it could be said that it's just sort of a big house :-/  I agree that it's a difficult distinction to accept, but the dingo fence sadly doesn't seem anywhere close to getting on the list as long as interstates aren't. theanphibian 04:45, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Silly Straight of Gibraltar Ideas
These have all been clearly notable proposals for the following things to build all the fregin way from Spain to Africa. Which qualify as a megastructure and why? GO! theanphibian 04:18, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Atlantropa - A Gibraltar dam (currently in the article)
 * Gibraltar Tunnel
 * Gibraltar Bridge

Atlantropa
This is listed a "proposed structure"; this and the way the details are described implies it is actually under serious consideration, which is clearly not the case.

Just to be sure...
OK, I just read the article and theres one thing that really strikes me as something "unpolished". Actually, it's just a problem with the arrangement of the sections. In my opinion, planetary and orbital structures should precede the stellar structures. It's just about the size, isn't it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.242.52.41 (talk) 01:21, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

Mass Effect
The Citadel was constructed by the Reapers billions of years before the games. Space Commander Plasma (talk) 00:49, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Why the citation needed comment on Theoretical?
I'm an infrequent editor of Wikipedia looking to get a better understanding of one of the tags.

The "Theoretical" section of this page is currently tagged as lacking citations. But this is a page listing examples of megastructures, and each of those items listed is linked to a page describing what it is, several of which define themselves as a megastructure. What kind of citation is needed to define something as an instance of something else when that is its own definition in its own entry?

This is one of those times when the citation needed tag seems to me to be very oddly applied, and I would like to understand what would make this section better in the eyes of other editors so I can better edit other entries. AristosM (talk) 07:45, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Spelling of Ralph Wilcoxen
Wikimedia received an email regarding the spelling of Ralph Wilcoxen. ticket:2018060710010904

One complication is that an article mentioning the publication make a structure was written by somebody who use a misspelled version of the name. As a consequence it is possible to find the misspelled version and what normally would be reliable sources. In addition, the misspelled name is becoming ubiquitous and Google searches due to the misspelling (now corrected) in the Wikipedia article.

However, careful Google searches of the incorrect and correct spelling will clarify the correct spelling of the name. In particular the Amazon link to the publication and the world cat link:

 * Amazon

 * Wordlcat-- S Philbrick (Talk)  18:12, 9 July 2018 (UTC)

Star lifting
Would a star lift count as a mega-structure do to its inherent size. If i'm wrong i understand, i was just simply curious why it wasn't here.

Added subsection for Star Wars
There were a few from that franchise in the "[p]lanetary and orbital scale" section, so I added a section for Star Wars. Please let me know if this was a good or bad idea.--Thylacine24 (talk) 12:45, 6 March 2021 (UTC)

Megastructure
Voice 103.81.25.12 (talk) 12:01, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

The Line
Might the proposed Linear City in Saudi Arabia be considered a proposed megastructure? 2A0C:5BC0:40:2E34:8583:5287:F2D6:2680 (talk) 17:38, 3 December 2022 (UTC)

Large Hadron Collider
This is no where near the 1,000km suggested lower limit, why is it included in existing megastructures? 81.170.70.180 (talk) 03:30, 20 March 2023 (UTC)

The Supremacy
Would Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship, the Supremacy, from Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi be considered a megastructure? It certainly seems to be large enough, but I'm not sure if spacefaring vessels can count as megastructures. Both Death Stars and Starkiller Base were/would have been mobile when fully operational, though. Yet Another Dragon (talk) 02:35, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Megastructure


text:
Coster

Coster is a Dutch occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include:

 * Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744–1818), French painter
 * Arnold Coster (born 1976), Dutch mountaineers
 * Charles Coster (1837–1888), American soldier and public official
 * Charles De Coster (1827–1879), Belgian novelist
 * Dick Coster (born 1946), Dutch sailor, father of Sven and Kalle Coster
 * Dirk Coster (1889–1950), Dutch physicist
 * Coster–Kronig transition named after him
 * Elizabeth Coster (born 1982), New Zealand swimmer
 * Francis Coster (1532–1619), Flemish Jesuit theologian
 * Herman Coster (1865–1899), Dutch lawyer and soldier
 * Howard Coster (1885–1959), British photographer
 * Janet Coster, English operatic mezzo-soprano
 * John Coster (1838–1886), New Zealand politician
 * Kalle Coster (born 1982), Dutch sailor, son of Dick Coster
 * Keith Coster (1920–2012), South African army officer
 * Laurens Janszoon Coster (c. 1370–c. 1440), Dutch printer
 * Moses Elias Coster (c.1791–1848), Dutch diamond cutter
 * Nick Coster (born 1985), Dutch footballer
 * Nicolas Coster (1934–2023), British-born American actor
 * Ritchie Coster (born 1967), English actor
 * Salomon Coster (c. 1620–1659), Dutch clockmaker
 * Samuel Coster (1579–1665), Dutch playwright
 * Stan Coster (1930–1997), Australian country musician
 * Sven Coster (born 1978), Dutch sailor, son of Dick Coster
 * Tom Coster (born 1941), American musician, father of Tommy
 * Tracy Coster (born 1966), Australian country music singer
 * Willem Jacobszoon Coster (1590–1640), Dutch Governor of Ceylon

 * Coster-Waldau
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (born 1970), Danish actor
 * Nukaaka Coster-Waldau (born 1971), Greenlandic singer, actress, and model

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Coster


text:
Bishop Ring

Bishop Ring may refer to:

 * Bishop's Ring, a type of atmospheric effect that causes a colored halo around the sun
 * Bishop Ring (habitat), a theoretical type of ring-shaped space habitat originally proposed in 1997 by Forrest Bishop.

title: Bishop Ring


text:
User talk:Brian313

Please stop. If you continue to vandalize pages, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. Carrp | Talk 18:09, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Replacing project pages with the goatse.cx image is not funny. Do it again or commit any other vandalism, and you'll be blocked. --David Iberri | Talk 18:16, Feb 14, 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Brian313


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Friedrichsdorf

Friedrichsdorf is a town of the Hochtaunuskreis, some 20 km north of Frankfurt am Main in Hesse, Germany.

Location
Friedrichsdorf is located in the Taunus area, ranking third among the Hochtaunuskreis boroughs after Bad Homburg vor der Höhe and Oberursel (Taunus). The municipal area includes, on the one hand, agricultural land such as that between Burgholzhausen and the edge of the Wetterau. On the other hand, there are vast woodlands on the crest of the Taunus, where the highest point in Friedrichsdorf's rural areas can be found: the Gickelsburg at 471 m above sea level. From the Taunus' heights, the river Erlenbach makes its way down and through town.

Neighbouring communities
Friedrichsdorf borders in the north and east on the town of Rosbach (Wetteraukreis), in the south on the town of Bad Homburg, and in the west on the community of Wehrheim.

History
The town's founding in 1687 goes back to the persecution of the Huguenots in France, where millions of them fled their country. Part of this exodus was granted asylum by Landgrave Friedrich II with the words "Lieber will ich mein Silbergerät verkaufen, als diesen armen Leuten die Aufnahme versagen" ("I would rather sell my silverware than deny these poor people asylum."). The Huguenots then founded Friedrichsdorf, gratefully naming it after the Landgrave. They brought flannel and stockings with them from France, which spread quickly. Later, Zwieback was produced in Friedrichsdorf, which is why Friedrichsdorf is known as the "Town of Zwieback". The zwieback factory "Emil Louis Pauly" became Milupa, still in business now as a baby food maker, and still headquartered in Friedrichsdorf. It is now owned by Numico, a Dutch company, and the production facilities have been moved abroad.

The town's most famous son was Johann Philipp Reis, a teacher at the Institut Garnier. He is the inventor of the electric transmission of speech, better known as the telephone and has been dedicated a museum. Friedrichsdorf's comprehensive school (Philipp-Reis-Schule) is also named after him.

In 1916, Dillingen, which had been founded only in 1804, was joined with Friedrichsdorf. Dillingen took its name from a village which had been forsaken in the Thirty Years' War, on the rural area of which Friedrichsdorf's Huguenots later settled. Paul Tirard reported that the town archives were kept in French up until 1871, but thenceforth in German. He also states that the names on grave stones were French up and till 1914 and that Protestant Sunday services were held locally up until the same date.

Constituent communities
In July 1972 the communities of Friedrichsdorf, Seulberg, Köppern and Burgholzhausen merged to form the town of Friedrichsdorf/Taunus.

Köppern
Köppern had its first documentary mention in 1269. At this time, Buchard von Printsac was given in fief a watermill at "coppern" by Count Gerhard von Eppstein. Linen weaving and brickmaking were for a long time, next to farming, the most important economic activities. Later came hatmaking and tanning. In 1901, the Waldkrankenhaus ("Forest Hospital"), which still stands today (as the Fachklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, or Specialized Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy) was founded by Dr. Emil Sioli from Frankfurt.

Köppern has a street hockey team, trained by, among others, professional hockey player Ingo Schwarz, who plays for Rote Teufel Bad Nauheim.

Burgholzhausen
In 1221, Burgholzhausen was being mentioned as Holzhausen in documents. The most important economic activity next to farming and linen weaving was said to be tilemaking, whose raw materials were dug from nearby clay pits. In the late 17th century, through the Ingelheimer family's lordly leadership, fruit growing was brought to Burgholzhausen

Seulberg
Seulberg was first mentioned in the Lorsch codex in 767. It is said to be one of the oldest settled places in the Hochtaunuskreis. Besides farming and linen weaving, pottery has long been an important activity here. With the Huguenots in Friedrichsdorf there was brisk trade. In a somewhat less cheerful chapter in Seulberg's history, there were witch trials in the 17th century which resulted in 31 women being put to death.

Coat of arms
Friedrichsdorf was given its first civic coat of arms in 1821 in remembrance of Russian Princess Alexandra's – and her eight guests' – visit to Count Friedrich in Bad Homburg: In azure a ring of nine roses argent (i.e. a blue shield with a ring of nine silver roses).

After amalgamation, a new coat of arms was created in 1975, taking the newly amalgamated parts of town into account. It might heraldically be described thus: Party per saltire, above, in azure a rose argent, dexter in argent a four-spoked wheel gules, sinister in argent a horseshoe gules, below, in gules a tower Or. The silver rose charge has been kept, although now there is only one instead of a ring of nine. The red stylized wheel stands for Köppern and the red horseshoe for Seulberg. The tower comes from Burgholzhausen's old arms.

Roads
Through Friedrichsdorf's outlying rural areas runs Autobahn A5, an important traffic artery that also has an interchange at the northern edge of the municipal area (16, Friedberg / Friedrichsdorf). Furthermore, Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B 455 also runs through the town.

Railway stations
There are four railway stations, one in every constituent community apart from Dillingen. Friedrichsdorf station is the end of Rhine-Main S-Bahn line S 5 which runs along the Homburg Railway line. Further lines here are Taunusbahn to Waldsolms-Brandoberndorf and Friedberg–Friedrichsdorf railway to Friedberg.

Air Traffic
The Rotorflug company provides helicopter transport.

Frankfurt International Airport can be reached via train in 50 Minutes or by road (30 km).

Population
(in each case on 31 December)

Mayor

 * Horst Burghardt (Green) is mayor of Friedrichsdorf since 1997. In March 2021, Lars Keitel (Green) was elected as his successor.

Twin towns – sister cities
Friedrichsdorf is twinned with:
 * 🇦🇹 Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting, Austria (1968)
 * 🇫🇷 Houilles, France (1973)
 * 🏴 Chesham, England, United Kingdom (1980)

Schools

 * Philipp-Reis-Schule
 * King's College The British School of Frankfurt

Notable people

 * François Blanc (1806–1877), French entrepreneur and operator of casinos
 * Abraham Louis Wallon (1807–1889), Methodist preacher in Germany and the United States
 * Pierre Jean Édouard Desor (1811–1882), German-Swiss geologist and naturalist
 * Paul Cérésole (1832–1905), Swiss politician and judge of the Supreme Court (1867–1870)
 * Johann Philipp Reis (1834–1874), teacher and inventor of the Reis telephone
 * Karl Willy Wagner (1883–1953), pioneer in the theory of electronic filters
 * Martin Schneider (born 1964), comedian, cabarettist and actor
 * Rob Pilatus (1965–1998), model, dancer and singer

Religion
In Friedrichsdorf stands one of the two Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany, called the Frankfurt Germany Temple (the other one is in Freiberg, Saxony). The Temple was dedicated for operation in 1987 by then President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ezra Taft Benson.

title: Friedrichsdorf