| Culture Orbital |
Website Links For Orbital |
Information AboutCulture Orbital |
|
In Iain M. Banks ' fictional '' Culture '' universe, an Orbital is a purpose-built Space Habitat . Banks has described them as looking like "a god's bracelet" hanging in space. Orbitals are ribbon-like hoops of superstrong material (see also Unobtainium ) reinforced and joined with forcefields. On the inside of the hoop, there can be any type of planetary environment, from desert to ocean to jungle to glacier. At the edges are high walls to keep the atmosphere in and protect the inhabitants from radiation, typically tens or hundreds of kilometres high. Orbitals spin to mimic the effects of Gravity , and are sized so that the rate of rotation necessary to produce a comfortable gravity level is approximately equal to one day. In the case of the standard Culture day and gravity, this diameter is around four million kilometres. By tilting the axis of the Orbital relative to its orbit around a star, a convenient day-night cycle can be experienced by the inhabitants. The Culture's Orbitals are each governed/managed by a Mind , which is situated in a structure in space at the centre of the Orbital, known as the Hub. The Mind is generally referred to simply as "Hub" by the inhabitants of the Orbital. Other civilisations also build Orbitals, however, and it is not clear that all are so-managed. Vavatch Orbital is the setting for most of '' Consider Phlebas ''; '''Masaq Orbital''' for '' Look To Windward ''. In both books, attempts are made to destroy the habitat. Vavatch is destroyed by The Culture after an ultimatum, to stop it falling into Idiran hands, and Masaq is the target of a Chelgrian revenge strike on its Hub. An Orbital is similar to a Ringworld , but is much smaller and does not enclose its primary star within itself, instead orbiting the star in a more conventional manner. Many different civilizations use Orbitals, sized according to the preferences of the builders; the Culture's Orbitals are approximately ten million kilometres in circumference and have widths varying between one thousand and six thousand kilometres. Vavatch, a non-Culture Orbital seen in '' Consider Phlebas '', had a circumference of fourteen million kilometres and a width of thirty-five thousand kilometres - significantly larger than the Orbitals built by the Culture - and produced greater simulated gravity. The computer game '''' by Bungie Studios is set on a structure similar to an Orbital, only much smaller, only ten thousand kilometres across. EXTERNAL LINKS SEE ALSO |
|
|