Skip to main content

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

16
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ "How this whole forging process could work": what forging process? The question does not describe a forging process, it describes glass blowing. Metals do not really behave like glass. (And why would you want the metal to cool "rapidly"? Most of the time this is undesirable.) (And why do you believe that making the outer shell of a ship is the difficult part? It isn't.) $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2020 at 14:00
  • $\begingroup$ Probably not. What you're describing is essentially the same as glassblowing, but glass is a viscous liquid, which allows control & shaping. Most (perhaps all) metals have an abrupt transition between solid and fully liquid states. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2020 at 15:30
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ This has been proposed as a method of rapidly turning asteroids (which tend to have lots of cracks in them) into air-tight vessels in which to build habitats. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2020 at 17:11
  • $\begingroup$ @alexp rapid cooling makes the metal harder, andeless ductile. I'm assuming this would be desirable, do you disagree? $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2020 at 18:42
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Why would it be desirable to make the metal brittle? Most definitely you don't want to do that for any structural elements. For blades and such, maybe, sometimes. Look up heat treatment for a taste of how complicated this whole issue is. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2020 at 19:03