Is an Orbital the same as one of Larry Nivens Ringworlds?
Here’s what Banks writes on the subject in _A Few Brief Notes Of The Culture_: “Perhaps the easiest way to envisage an Orbital is to compare it to the idea that inspired it (this sounds better than saying; Here’s where I stole it from). If you know what a Ringworld is – invented by Larry Niven; a segment of a Dyson Sphere – then just discard the shadow-squares, shrink the whole thing till it’s about three million kilometres across, and place in orbit around a suitable star, tilted just off the ecliptic; spin it to produce one gravity and that gives you an automatic 24-hour day-night cycle (roughly; the Culture’s day is actually a bit longer).
Here’s what Banks writes on the subject in A Few Brief Notes Of The Culture: “Perhaps the easiest way to envisage an Orbital is to compare it to the idea that inspired it (this sounds better than saying; Here’s where I stole it from). If you know what a Ringworld is – invented by Larry Niven; a segment of a Dyson Sphere – then just discard the shadow- squares, shrink the whole thing till it’s about three million kilometres across, and place in orbit around a suitable star, tilted just off the ecliptic; spin it to produce one gravity and that gives you an automatic 24-hour day-night cycle (roughly; the Culture’s day is actually a bit longer).
