[TML] Close to the Edit #46, The Song Remains The Same

[Brad Murray]

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 10:32 PM, Michael Jenkins <darvedd at gmail.com> wrote:
>  Another likely reason is that a sphere *minimises* surface area, but
>  surface area is desirable because that's valuable real estate for
>  mount points, airlocks and all sorts of other useful stuff.

But you don't choose a sphere *because* it minimizes surface area --
it just happens to. So you can always increase the surface area in
detail and still be a sphere for all other purposes -- say you want to
increase your ability to radiate heat so you add heat sinks all over
the thing and now your surface area is huge but you're still a sphere.

You can also rotate a sphere very rapidly on any axis with minimum
stressing on the structure, which would be an essential feature in an
agile vessel.

-- 
Brad Murray (halfjack)