On Monday, August 11, 2014 11:23:24 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Can we move the moon to L1?



Well, we can certainly analyze the requirement.



Velocity requirement:



The moon orbits the Earth at 384,400 km. L1 is 1,500,000 km away. So, a transfer orbit has a 942,200 km semi-major axis. This means that at the right time the moon's velocity must be increased by 0.26 km/sec and 1.92 months after you do that you've got to increase the speed again by 0.18 km/sec when you reach L1. A total delta vee of 0.44 km/sec





Energy requirement:



The moon's mass is 7.3477e22 kg. An object this mass moving at 440 m/sec contains 7.11e27 Joules! This is an under-estimate of the requirement. If we eject material from the moon at 44 km/sec - to create a sort of rocket action - we will need to eject 7.21e20 kg which requires the expenditure of 5.85e29 Joules - which is nearly 100x more energy that is retained on the moon.



Where to get the energy?



The moon's regolith contains 4 ppm lithium-6 and deuterium. Lithium-6 by absorbing a neutron fissions producing a helium nucleus (alpha particle) and a tritium nucleus. The energetic tritium nucleus reacts with the deuterium producing another helium nucleus along with the original neutron - and even more energy.



That means each kg of lunar material can release about a giga joule of energy. Since it takes only 40 megajoules of energy to vaporize a kilogram of rock, into its component parts, this is where we get the energy!



Can we do a project on this scale?



So, with the right fuel we can generate the energy needed. But the moon is a big place! Can we move the moon?



No, humanity cannot do a project on this scale using the techniques and tools it has historically used.



Is there any way we could conceivably move the moon?



Well, others have speculated in the past that self-replicating machine systems could remake worlds. This has appeared from time to time in scientific journals, and from time to time been placed before the public in popular form.



Self replicating probes create a dwarf star from a gas giant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEAbI1x7IMs



Self replicating probes create an ecology on a dead world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbWCrzWJo4



A one kilogram probe landed on the moon, capable of using lunar rock to power the construction of daughter probes, each 1 kg, and building one copy per hour, would double in mass every hour. It would take



LN(7.3477e22)/LN(2) = 75.96



Around 76 hours to convert the entire moon into self replicating probes.



It would take only 70 hours to cover a hemisphere of the moon to a depth of nearly a kilometre with self replicating robot swarms that cooperate to build an array of fusion powered thrusters that ejected regolith to produce thrust that boosted the moon into a transfer orbit, and changed its spin so that the thruster would face the leading edge as it arrive at L1. The second boost would also allow the face we now see to be oriented toward the sun, and thus be tidally locked to the Sun.



The tides on Earth would become milder, but would not disappear, since the Sun contributes somewhat to the tides on Earth today.



Dropping the moon into the disc of the sun reduces the solar input to Earth. Placing the moon in a halo orbit that is outside the disc of the sun affects the Earth not at all. Reducing the diameter of the halo orbit so that the sun eclipses only a portion of the solar disc, allows us to engineer the effect of the moon. In fact, a halo orbit that can be adjusted, would be something that would allow humanity to adjust the climate on Earth.



Of course, this is not the only thing we can do with swarms of self replicating robots. Its not even the highest best use of this technology. We can for instance, reshape life on Earth



http://www.scribd.com/doc/77588930/Brand-New-World



http://www.scribd.com/doc/213068266/Super-Cities-3



http://www.scribd.com/doc/106112900/Resources



and promote the development off-world and the exodus of 310 million people from Earth each year by first building 20 lunar bases and then building McKendree cylinders and Bishop Rings from the major asteroids.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZn5k8_my_o



http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/nano4/mckendreePaper.html



These seem a much better use of this capability.



However, they're not mutually exclusive! We could move the moon to L1 and then convert the moon into a large array of connected stations.



The asteroid belt is 3e21 kg and the moon is 7e22 kg. While its true the surface has been processed by the sun for billions of year, that may not be true of its centre. However, if a natural reactor has been operating on the moon for billions of years, its centre may also be devoid of lighter materials.



This is not true of the asteroid belt. There is plenty of water and ice out there. Though there is likely plenty of water on the moon given the recent discovery of ice on Mercury. This likely comes about due to hydrogen in the solar wind interacting with oxides in the soil to produce water.



We just don't know enough yet. However, we do have the capacity to find out, and make plans on that basis.



Again, things are not mutually exclusive. We could rebuild the Earth to make it a more pleasant place. Begin taking 310 million of the most talented off world each year first to underground lunar bases dug with nuclear powered subterrene operating on the moon. In this way we reduce human numbers to 500 million in 25 years.



We next process the asteroids in their entirety. Understanding the techniques we'll use later. Building large pressure vessels there.



We then move the moon to a better locale, to Earth-Sol Lagrange Point 1, and then process the moon into habitats that reside on the neutral gravity surface between Earth and Sol.



We also terraform Mars and Venus, and convert Mercury into a vast ring of industrial habitats making use of its 3.3e23 kg of very rich materials in full.



At this point we would be ready to deploy self replicating solar panels on the surface of the sun. Totally encasing Sol, making use of all its energy. The solar panels convert sunlight to positronium, which is stored on board. The panels also absorb heavy materials from the solar atmosphere, from which solar panels are produced and maintained. Excess positronium and other materials are exported to the Mercurian industrial ring. 4 million tonnes per second of positronium. 6 million tonnes per second of metals.



The back side of the solar panels are equipped with autostereoscopic displays that permit the entire surface of the sun to be used as a phased array emitter to beam energy anywhere desired. This allows us to maintain whatever lighting conditions we like throughout the solar system and control the environments of all worlds. It also allows us to send ships to the stars as well as provide a defensive capability for our star system.



The array may also be used to receive light, a telescope of immense power.. It can also be used to implement ...

Why not simply tow the moon out to Earth L1, utilizing a very long tether as easily made from lunar carbonado, a substantial mass as easily obtained from the moon, and good old centripetal force?

Of course on the tethered mass could be those Mook ion thrusters, as solar powered and tossing those trillions upon trillions upon trillions of ions/sec at .5 c.

You were planning on slowing the orbital velocity of our moon down, were you not?

Isn't slowing the velocity of the moon offering darn a good form/resource of energy?