# Kim Stanley Robinson's MARS books prove to be prophetic

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-stanley-robinsons-mars-books-prove-to-be-prophetic/202394>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 18, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-stanley-robinsons-mars-books-prove-to-be-prophetic/202394 "2003-09-18T15:38:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-stanley-robinsons-mars-books-prove-to-be-prophetic/202394/21 "2003-09-20T03:13:44Z")

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Any ideas about just how large that coal-fired power plant has to be in megawatts?

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-stanley-robinsons-mars-books-prove-to-be-prophetic/202394/22 "2003-09-20T04:48:38Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Short Guy \*  
> \*\*There’s probably some element here I don’t get, but how would you build an elevator to something that’s not in a geosynchronous orbit? The moon would be damn near impossible, let alone Mars, Venus, or the asteroids. (Wait a minute, I think I’ m seeing the light while I’m writing this - is the elevator simply a way to circumvent the whole ‘escape velocity’ thing from Earth’s atmosphere, after which you can simply use space shuttles without having to propell them into space?) \*\*

“Once you’re in orbit, you’re halfway to _anywhere_.” – Robert A. Heinlein

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-stanley-robinsons-mars-books-prove-to-be-prophetic/202394/23 "2003-09-22T23:02:55Z")

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Well, [Motorola’s found a cheap way to make nanotubes.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=196519) Of course, their interest is solely in TVs at this point, but I’m sure that the technology will start spreading rapidly. I can imagine that the carbon fiber panels in high performance sports cars will be replaced by such things soon enough.

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**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kim-stanley-robinsons-mars-books-prove-to-be-prophetic/202394/24 "2003-09-22T23:19:51Z")

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I think ol’ Skyhook Row (its name in _Tailgunner Jo_) is one of those “wouldn’t it be neat if it could work without crashing horribly?” ideas. In its impracticality, sort of like building panzertanks out of spit & styrofoam, or total unilateral gun confiscation, or about anything a more optimistic nanotechnologist imagines.

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