Global Warming

Out of the well-known scientific sources comes out an obvious conclusion: if the Earth is overheating due to the internal processes and the Sun, we should cool it down. At the present day the Earth absorbs 70% of the sun radiation, that’s why we have to find a solution to reduce this figure.  The ideas are rather eccentric. And namely, Roger Antsel, astronomer from the Arisona University, suggests to place around the Earth millions of lenses of 60-sm diameter, which shall reflect the sun rays. The well-known climatologist from the Columbian University Wollas Broker suggests dispersing in the stratosphere at the altitude over 150 kilometers the particles of sulfur, which should stay on that lever for one or two years. One more suggestion – using special devices to transform sea water into clouds saturated with sodium chloride. But "land-based” ideas seem more real. Such as construction of artificial floating islets in the sea zones, having the white-colored surface, which shall reflect radiation, or covering some of the desert areas with white-colored plastic materials. The main idea of all these suggestions lies in reflection of the sun radiation.  There is one more useful suggestion, which is being implemented for already a few years in some zones of Antarctica.  Above the Ocean they are dispersing substances, which accelerate the growth of seaweeds which are absorbing carbonic acid gas (CO2). The Nobel Prize laureate Paul Krutsen, for instance, states that only the dispersion of the sulfur shall cost 50 milliards USD, in other words – this project is unreal. In his turn, Gvido Visconti from the Aquilla University states, that the reduction of the sun radiation, which is being absorbed, for 5% should help to lower the average temperature on our Earth for a few degrees. The French climatologist Edward Bar in his interview to the news-paper "Le Monde”, described some of possible geo-engineering methods of changing climate "by-hands” in case of sudden and unexpected worsening of the climate situation. The most promising, to his point of view, way of cooling the Earth is connected with the installation outside the Lunar orbit of the huge mirror between the Earth and the Sun, which could have provided additional sun shade and reduce the illumination of the Earth. But E. Bar gives no estimations on feasibility of this scheme. Developing the ideas of E. Bar, Volodymyr Prisnyakov (member of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine) have analyzed the option of placing the space shield at the orbit  (the space "Umbrella”) consisting of the developed and experimentally tested  "space sails”, which are seen as the main element of future space propulsions. Such a sail would be a huge canvas made of ultrafine material (for instance aluminic plastic), which reflects the falling illumination and under the pressure of photons provides a traction. At present there are developed few variants of membranes, their constructive presentation and systems of placing them at the orbit. Among them there are very light ones with small traction highly economical electric propulsions, which on the one hand shall stabilize the huge space "Umbrella”, and on the other hand – shall keep it at the orbit. Thus, the creation of space shields could be started not from the very beginning, as we already have significant scientific and constructive developments. The main problem, appearing as a result of scale indices of difference between the space shield and the sun sail (the dimensions are few times bigger) – it is a solidity of the shield membrane and its weight. It is obvious that there should be found an optimum of these mutually exclusive characteristics. At this, a significant facilitation for the creation of the shield in comparison with the sun sail would be a possibility of placing it at the distance from the Sun under the less tense thermal conditions. At present time some of the developed sun sails have a surface density less than 10 g/m ². The solidity of the sun sail may be increased due to the insertion of steel ribs into the sail, which would lessen the damage from collision with micrometeorites. At present, we may talk about possibility of construction of the thin shield, consisting of few layers of solid, heat-resistant composite fiber with the reflective surface, having surface density less than 1 g/m ². In future we may count on possibility of creation of sun sails with the surface density of 0,1 g/m ².  Now it is practically considered the possibility of creation of the infrastructure for production of membranes for the sun sails directly in space. Using vacuum deposition there is possibility to produce in space big steel plates 20-30 nm thick. At this, it is possible to get a surface density of the shield up to 0,05 g/m ². In future nanotechnology should make it possible to create perforated or porous membranes. So, if perforations in it shall be significantly smaller than the wave-length of the light falling onto it, then the small mass and the high reflectivity, by supplementing each other, could significantly raise the productivity of the sun shield. As for the electric propulsions, there’s coming the time of their wide exploitation. They have considerably bigger specific impulse, which gives them possibility to work for a long time with a little supply of working medium at little impulse, which is characteristic exactly for the electric propulsions. At present we have, a developed 25 years ago, electric propulsion of the type ТХД and a Russian one СПД-290 with the parameters rather close to solving this task. The advantage of the suggested system of shielding the Earth is, on the one hand, low cost of the shield, engines and the whole installation, and on the other hand – possibility of withdrawal from the operation at any time without serious consequences for the Earth, which you cannot say for sure about other variants of interference to the biosphere of the Earth, which could result in more harm than expected use, due to their uncontrollability.

Developing the presented above ideas, the Author suggests his own idea of the space shield (space "umbrella”) which would also be placed between the Earth and the Sun, that would provide the additional shade and would reduce the illumination of the Earth with the sun light, which is "the way of cooling the Earth and fighting the global warming”.

The Auhor wishes to patent and realize the presented idea with the help of European Union and the USA.

Contact information: Shevchuk Anatoliy Ivanovych, town of Rakhiv, Verbnyk str. 152/12, Transcarpathian region, Ukraine.

e-mail:A.Shevchyk@yandex.ru  . tel.+38(096)7448403 .