Basically, no amount of mirrors and lenses can result in the energy beaming down on Mercury being denser per square meter than the energy beaming out of a square meter of Sun surface. The best you can do is make it so that Mercury is effectively surrounded entirely by Sun. And if that’s not good enough, then you are out of luck… I notice I’m a bit confused, because surely that is good enough. Wouldn’t that be enough to melt, and then evaporate, the entirety of Mercury within a few hours? After all isn’t that what would happen if you dropped Mercury into the Sun?
>Kokotajlo writes:Wouldn’t that be enough to melt, and then evaporate, the entirety of Mercury within a few hours? After all isn’t that what would happen if you dropped Mercury into the Sun?
I think weverka is referring to the phenomenon explained here: https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/
Basically, no amount of mirrors and lenses can result in the energy beaming down on Mercury being denser per square meter than the energy beaming out of a square meter of Sun surface. The best you can do is make it so that Mercury is effectively surrounded entirely by Sun. And if that’s not good enough, then you are out of luck… I notice I’m a bit confused, because surely that is good enough. Wouldn’t that be enough to melt, and then evaporate, the entirety of Mercury within a few hours? After all isn’t that what would happen if you dropped Mercury into the Sun?
weverka, care to elaborate further?
>Kokotajlo writes:Wouldn’t that be enough to melt, and then evaporate, the entirety of Mercury within a few hours? After all isn’t that what would happen if you dropped Mercury into the Sun?
How do you get hours?
I didn’t do any calculation at all, I just visualized Mercury falling into the sun lol. Not the most scientific method.
Yeah, that’s where you got things wrong.
I have sinned! I repent and learn my lesson.
Specifically, you can focus 10^15 watts on mercury, but Eternity in 6 hours proposes 10^24 watts to be used. It’s a 9 order of magnitude difference.