From: Mike Dierken (mike@DataChannel.com)
Date: Thu Feb 15 2001 - 13:48:37 PST
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,136313,00.html
<http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,136313,00.html>
"In the waters off the Maldives, the Global Coral Reef Alliance has used
solar-generated electric current to accrete minerals from ocean water to
form anchorages for coral. The alliance's inventors have found that a
continuing flow of the low-voltage current also stimulates the growth of
coral transplanted to the anchorages. Thus, some of the devastation of coral
reefs worldwide may be mitigated, and natural breakwaters, which help
protect shorelines from erosion, may be created."
http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/sci/9709STRSM.html
<http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/sci/9709STRSM.html>
"...It represents the ultimate application of the "mineral accretion"
building technology he pioneered when he was an associate professor of
architecture at the University of Texas. Simply put, Hilbertz has found a
way to use sunlight to turn the minerals in seawater into limestone."
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Dierken [mailto:mike@DataChannel.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 1:31 PM
To: 'strata@virtual.net'; FoRK@xent.ics.uci.edu
Subject: RE: Magic Kinkdom, for sale, sold (fwd)
>
> Building things on an island is vastly more expensive than you
> probably imagined. Everything (!everything!) you need for building,
> with the possible exception of sand for concrete (and coral sand
> may be too salty or too limestone rich to meet structural 'crete
> requirements) must be brought in from somewhere else.
I once read about a process that used low-level DC current through wires in
saltwater to accrete a concrete-like material around the wires. Using mesh,
the pseudo-coral grew to fill in the gaps creating a solid & structurally
sound building material.
I'll look for a link...
mike
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