First World Generation with v5.09
- Thread starter yamsi3467
- Start date
Modess Fluid Dynamics Corporation has established a small fluid processing plant on the surface of the planet.
They are looking for new biochemicals that could be used for medical purposes, as well as usable surfactants and lubricants.
They process the fluids to extract possible peptide chains, and are also looking for chemical signatures previously unknown to science.
To date, they have indications of a new fluid that can possibly convert heat to electricity. If they can isolate it and get enough for proper experimentation, it may lead to an extremely efficient heat sink that will convert excess heat to electrical power.
They are looking for new biochemicals that could be used for medical purposes, as well as usable surfactants and lubricants.
They process the fluids to extract possible peptide chains, and are also looking for chemical signatures previously unknown to science.
To date, they have indications of a new fluid that can possibly convert heat to electricity. If they can isolate it and get enough for proper experimentation, it may lead to an extremely efficient heat sink that will convert excess heat to electrical power.
Yeah, tech level 9 is usally the minimum for insidious atmosphere, so they've got to rely on external help to maintain the station. And with the small population and crappy startport, it's not like ships are coming in all the time. You're just one equipment failure away from death.
Maybe the "employees" are atmosphere-tolerant sophonts. (What sort of hide would you need to tolerate insidious atmospheres? **)
Alternately, perhaps the atmosphere is "less insidious" at very high altitudes.
Alternately x 2, perhaps they're researching "Lo-Tek" materials that can stand up to insidious atmospheres. (Imagine what sort of trade they'd do if interstellar commerce were to collapse; high pop worlds on Atm C worlds would be buying that stuff up at a high markup). Heck, that would be one of their sales pitches: "Stock Up and Be Prepared!".
And so on.
** Note that you don't have to know what sort of hides they'd need in order to create them: T5 Sophont Generation has a slot for native atmosphere. Protection and adaptation are taken for granted. Now, thinking up the nature of that protection is where our creativity is exercised. Also part of that creative thinking: is "standard" air as poisonous to them as "insidious" air is to the typical Traveller character? Do they wear "encounter suits" when they have to deal with humaniti? Are their starships (if they have any) filled with that horrid yellow-green haze of their homeworld (wherever that is)?
Alternately, perhaps the atmosphere is "less insidious" at very high altitudes.
Alternately x 2, perhaps they're researching "Lo-Tek" materials that can stand up to insidious atmospheres. (Imagine what sort of trade they'd do if interstellar commerce were to collapse; high pop worlds on Atm C worlds would be buying that stuff up at a high markup). Heck, that would be one of their sales pitches: "Stock Up and Be Prepared!".
And so on.
** Note that you don't have to know what sort of hides they'd need in order to create them: T5 Sophont Generation has a slot for native atmosphere. Protection and adaptation are taken for granted. Now, thinking up the nature of that protection is where our creativity is exercised. Also part of that creative thinking: is "standard" air as poisonous to them as "insidious" air is to the typical Traveller character? Do they wear "encounter suits" when they have to deal with humaniti? Are their starships (if they have any) filled with that horrid yellow-green haze of their homeworld (wherever that is)?
I would expect that the multicellular ones would generally tend towards silicates if it's insidious due to chemistry, or armored if it's' due to particulates on the winds or to solar radiation. (The "Mars with a windstorm" type insidious would likely be a world with only two hadley cells ...) As for heat, sufficiently high heat of condensation and solidification.
Insideous can also be high hydrogen content - too low a mass to catch solar winds, but enough to retain most of it... which results in interesting chemistry...
Or Any fluorine or oxygen rich atmosphere - which doesn't require extensive protections but is inherently toxic due to excess reactivity. (PPO2 at 50% atmosphere is mildly toxic if PPO2 >0.3 bar... )
Aramis,
*** What are your graduate studies in? You seem to have a very keen knowledge of Earth Science and Astrophysics. ***
Color me impressed.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
Elementary Education
I have a feeling that your elementary students are going to get an excellent science foundation.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
I'm a sub; I injured myself prior to my scheduled student teaching, resulting in not attaining the MAT. My preferred subject area to teach is music.
That's interesting. Would a type-B "corrosive" atmosphere have similar situations? As far as I can tell, "insidious" is basically "even more corrosive than corrosive", anyway.
Often, but not always. H2 is considered insidious, not because it is corrosive, but because the size of the molecule is small enough to defeat all suit-seals and can even diffuse through metals over time.
The key to insidious is "defeats all means of protection". It may or may not be corrosive.
Likewise, a high flourine or high oxygen atmosphere simply deletes the seals.
It's possible to have a perfectly breathable air mix that is corrosive and borders on insidious...
1 Bar PPNO2 + 0.5 Bar PPO2. Any spark and BOOM! And, due to oxygen's rapid combining with almost anything... it would be a sure sign of life. Actually, note that in a PPO2 of 1 Bar, Iron ignites at a mere 900°F... and aluminum will burn at about 350°F. Paper drops to about 100°F ignition.... Simply walking will generate sparks that ignite your garments...
Any atmosphere where fluorine replaces Oxygen in the environmental cycles is insidious, simply because fluorine compounds are wickedly unstable.
It's possible to have a perfectly breathable air mix that is corrosive and borders on insidious...
1 Bar PPNO2 + 0.5 Bar PPO2. Any spark and BOOM! And, due to oxygen's rapid combining with almost anything... it would be a sure sign of life. Actually, note that in a PPO2 of 1 Bar, Iron ignites at a mere 900°F... and aluminum will burn at about 350°F. Paper drops to about 100°F ignition.... Simply walking will generate sparks that ignite your garments...
Any atmosphere where fluorine replaces Oxygen in the environmental cycles is insidious, simply because fluorine compounds are wickedly unstable.
If you remember the Apollo 1 accident, NASA was running 100% pure oxygen in 16 psi. All it took was a spark to ignite an inferno. The pure oxygen along with the pressure was a deadly combination. In that environment, the Accident Review Board found that Velcro (a favorite of the Apollo-era astronauts) explodes like a grenade, and aluminum BURNS like a log on a fire!
So, insidious doesn't have to be an exotic atmosphere. Oxygen in the right circumstances is deadly in many ways.
Yamsi
So, insidious doesn't have to be an exotic atmosphere. Oxygen in the right circumstances is deadly in many ways.
Yamsi
