I am a dome enthusiast. I have subscribed to the DOME magazine since
1990, but so far I am just dreaming of a dome living. I have some
ideas such as the "Crystal Dome" made of translucent aerogel in the
form of an igloo.
Now that my subscription seems to be due for renewal, I would like to
request that DOME magazine use First Virtual™ Internet Payment
System for subscription renewal. It would make foreign (even Canada)
payment so much easier...
Thank you very much for your attention.
Dome Construction?
This GeoBond stuff seems to be similar to "Starlite", which was invented by a non-chemist (hair-stylist?) in England. The inventor, who mixed 20 or so ingredients to form this polymer, claims that it is stronger and withstands extreme heat better than anything else in existence, and various Ph.D.s and professors have confirmed its merit. I am recalling from an "Invention" show on the Discovery Channel.
Although I consider Monolithic Dome and American Ingenuity to be the best (oops, I should say "my favourite" to avoid libel from other manufacturers) at the moment, I am searching for new materials for dome shell. The objective is a maintenance-free translucent insulating and structural material (possibly modular interlocking) so that the dome needs nothing else - no insulation, coating, blind, curtains, etc. Here are the materials under consideration.
Glass blocks
Teflon blocks
Asterite (acrylic-quartz composite)
Ceramet (ceramic-metal composite)
Ceramic blocks (Space Shuttle tiles)
Aerogel
Any comments are welcome.
Dome Community?
If Disney can control an entire housing development, has anybody with foresight thought about a dome community? The prime developer can mandate a requirement "dome shape" with a fibre optic line to every dome home in a given area. Such a development project would also serve as a showcase for different dome manufacturers.
Such a dome community could be a trigger to transform the entire housing industry from thousands of local builders to fewer high-quality companies with long-term view, just like an automobile industry. The key is to offer many custom choices with a combination of standard parts and components.
I have been in a situation in which I cannot even sue contractors and subcontractors who tend to be in business for only 5 years here in Québec just to cover legal requirement and then quickly disappear, but reappear as brand-new builders with same faces but no liability... (I am not naming any names to avoid libel.)
