Space Colony — Constraint Study¶
A physics-based feasibility study asking: what does an O'Neill cylinder actually need to work?
This started as a curiosity after reading science fiction — wondering what space habitats in the near future might realistically look like. Rather than doing theoretical physics, the approach here is practical: model the constraints, find the limits, and see what the math actually says.
The Surprising Finding¶
O'Neill's original Island Three design imagined cylinders 32 km long and 6.4 km in diameter.
This study finds that material stress makes long cylinders structurally unsafe. The length is constrained by radius — wider cylinders can be longer, but the ratio is far more limiting than O'Neill assumed. The feasible geometry is much stubbier than the classic vision.
Feasible Design at 1g¶
| Parameter | Lower bound | Upper bound |
|---|---|---|
| Radius | 982 m | 9,177 m |
| Binding constraint | Cross-coupling | Rim speed (300 m/s) |
| O'Neill reference (3,200 m) | ✅ comfortably inside the band |
How to Read This¶
The documentation follows the order of discovery — from first principles to surprising results:
- How does it work? — the physics of spin gravity
- Can humans live there? — comfort and physiology limits
- Will the structure hold? — material and geometry limits, including the cylinder length surprise
- Findings — what the model concludes
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