No, it doesn't create a plot loop. The book explains that all of the H2O on Ceres was used to apply spin to Ceres to create artificial gravity. This is a symbol of Inner Planet's dominance over the Beleter's, because a _real_ Belter would never trade precious water for artificial gravity. This is mentioned fairly subtly in the first book, and is easy to miss while taking in the rest of the world.
In addition the spinning up of Ceres is often mentioned as one the of many engineering feats attributed to Tycho.
EDIT: For scientific context to my statement H2O can be turned into really good propellant. Two of Blue Origin's engines run on Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen for example.
I had missed that Ceres' gravity is due to its spin.
Does that mean humans are living upside down in their tunnels compared to Earth?
And if that's the case, surely a spin that's greater than the local gravity should shatter the planet itself as the matter has no reason to stay concentrated around its core right?
No. The fact that Ceres is a sphere implies that its scale is large enough for its material to behave as if it were a fluid and so reach hydrostatic equilibrium. Without serious engineering it would indeed come apart if you spun it up.
I vaguely remember something about Tycho Corporation wrapping cables around it and making it stronger, but maybe I'm confusing that with a Scott Manley video about Ceres in the Expanse.
But yes, walking feet towards the surface of Ceres, head to the core. The core is also where the poor people live in The Expanse, because the gravity is less/worse there together with weird Coriolis effects like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryrGPjyKhO4
> For scientific context to my statement H2O can be turned into really good propellant
Note that in The Expanse universe, water isn't usually used as propellant, but simply as reaction mass. All we know about the actual propellant is that it's used in fusion reactors and is surprisingly efficient.
> Note that in The Expanse universe, water isn't usually used as propellant, but simply as reaction mass. All we know about the actual propellant is that it's used in fusion reactors and is surprisingly efficient.
It's actually ambiguous if Ceres was spun up before the Epstein drive was invented or not. If the H2O was consumed in an Epstein drive (fueled by D-He3 fusion) then only Hydrogen was consumed to produce thrust. What's not ambiguous is that the H2O on Ceres was consumed
We know that mars was colonized 200 years before the Epstein drive was invented. We know that the OPA was founded about 100 years after the Epstein drive was invented, and that 130 years after the Epstein drive is when the main story starts. We know Earth was the first owner of Ceres. We don't know how old Tycho is, other than Fred Johnson was not the first leader of Tycho.
It's an open question on to what extend the belt had humans in it during the 200 years humans were on Mars before the invention of the Epstein drive. It's safe to say that answer is somewhere between more than none, and less than what is shown during the opening of the series. It's highly plausible Ceres was spun up during that time.
> All we know about the actual propellant is that it's used in fusion reactors and is surprisingly efficient.
Since we're being specific with terminology, if it's used in a fusion reactor, it's not a propellant, since propellant is a combination of chemical fuel and oxidizer.
In addition the spinning up of Ceres is often mentioned as one the of many engineering feats attributed to Tycho.
EDIT: For scientific context to my statement H2O can be turned into really good propellant. Two of Blue Origin's engines run on Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen for example.