Don't know about stacking -- RF is NOT my field. And my brief tests with reflectors indicated there wasn't much to gain from such,and definitely loss in terms on omnidirectional capability. It's cheap and it works fairly well -- what could be dearer to a Scottish heart?
Besides, I'm not the one watching teevee. *\;-)
I don’t waste a lot of time with TV, but it was the reason I learned about ETFE.
A long time ago, someone asked what would be a suitable material for the walls of our Venus balloon forms. I think I now know.
ETFE is “the next thing to Teflon”, perhaps as suitable as any material could be for the atmosphere of Venus.
I’m envisioning carbon fiber struts supporting ETFE “pillows”, as they are currently developing them architecturally, and filled with nitrogen gas extracted from the atmosphere of Venus.
Building a wall of these pillows filling out the interstices of a space frame geodesic dome, you’d easily have enough interior volume for the breathable air to provide buoyancy to the whole structure.
Add dirt scooped from the depths below, and suitably enriched, and you could grow your food supply and your oxygen supply.
It seems the only thing you really have to fight for is the hydrogen. Coaxing hydrogen away from sulfuric acid takes real salesmanship.
We've got this "Maker Faire" out in San Mateo annually (and there are others in various locales) that brings out some creative folks, such as the gentleman who authored "Absinthe & Flamethrowers", who display their creative works for the amazement of packs of curious onlookers. Around the world you find other such faires, and creative genii such as the gang that built, and operated "The Sultan's Elephant" as part of a production of the same name.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQbTMEupTpk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sultan%27s_Elephant
Excellent still shot here.
The actual "show" began with a Vernesque "rocket" crashing -- nose first -- into the paving
Some guy on Flickr has a whole set of shots here.
It's all quite fantastic, in the archaic sense.
The dissonance of the olde world costuming juxtaposed with the modern mechatronics -- it's a genre that's acquired the name "steampunk." Think Jules Verne; The Nautilus, where a pipe organ and cast iron meet nuclear power with brass fittings, steam pipes, and clockwork instrumentation.
Alas, you say, but you can't do without your bits and bytes? No worries, because somebody's gone and built a steampunk laptop that even dual-boots to either XP or Ubuntu.
And then there's this blog page featuring a few DIY steampunk conversions.
All quite cool.
