/sci/ - Science & Math

>>3670376

>Space is the only place we have left to go

I think you might be forgetting something Pic related. But overall I agree on the importance of space colonization.

>>3452308

>>if there was some adventure at some frontier to go to

There is. A radiant blue frontier, barely explored, rich in resources. And you were born at just the right time to help settle it.

>>3444632

>>what if sea levels rise high enough that the dome is submerged?

It's supposed to be submerged. That's the entire point.

>of what if there is seismic activity that displaces the anchors?

Lots of people die, just like on a regular island when seismic activity causes tsunamis. No plan is completely free from all risk.

>I don't see why anyone would go under some fancy bubble island while there are other non-bubbled islands around with the same qualities and clean outdoor air and sun.

Because it's different, beautiful and a novelty. And actually the air would be cleaner, and there would be plenty of sun as it's well within the photic zone.

Pic related, how do you explain the sunlight if you believe it's pitch black anywhere underwater?

>>3215029

>>I don't see actual need to live in water

Nobody needs to live in Hawaii either. The idea is that people will *want* to. It's pretty. (Pic related)

And once people with money live there, soon enough an economy grows around them as people find ways to get them to spend that money, and businesses that don't justify the expense of an undersea colony by themselves but which can benefit from one already existing for other reasons.

>>3116510

>>You don't seem to understand. A single one-kilometer-wide asteroid contains more metal than has ever been mined on Earth since mining was fucking invented.

Most of the metals in asteroids aren't even slightly scarce on Earth. And the metals that are scarce can be mined from the ocean, where they are plentiful.

We will mine asteroids, but not because it makes sense to sell the products on Earth markets. We'll do it because it's cheaper to mine the ore we need to build shit in space than it is to mine it on Earth and then launch it into space.

We'll need enormous economic growth to become capable of meaningful industrialization of space. That growth will come from the settlement and exploitation of the seafloor frontier.

Look at that view. The sand beneath his feet, dotted with swaying plants. The blue glow he's bathed in. The sun shining through the shimmering waves overhead, like a second sky.

This is a seabro driveby. Reminding everyone that the ISS is ten times larger than America's only undersea science base, which does ten times as much actual science.

>>2204668

I don't know honestly, but I had the same concern, and asked the same question. His answer was that the air compressors do not run continuously. They only run for a few minutes every hour to top up the air tanks.

Older habitats had no external tanks and did require compressors to run continually, but it was wasteful because it forced air through the habitat faster than the inhabitants could deplete it of oxygen.

With a compressor->air tanks->habitat setup, and the use of sodasorb based passive CO2 removal, air can be fed into and circulated throughout the habitat at the most efficient rate, being flushed outside only after it has been rebreathed several times and approaches unsafe CO2 concentrations. This means that a comparative slow trickle is required from the tanks, rather than the constant blast from compressor-only systems.

The result? It's possible not only to meet the colony's oxygen needs via solar and wind power, but to make due without wind and sun for up to two weeks by using the reserve air, just as our own government's Aquarius undersea lab does (pic related)

>>2132799

Okay, got two people. Starting!

>>2099708
>>2099940

Who cares how the religious react? That's not why we should do this.

Religion has lasted so long because of the human capacity to rationalize away evidence contrary to their preferred reality.

Even evolution is deeply incompatible with most popular religions, but a century worth of frantic apologetics has many moderates convinced that it doesn't conflict with scripture, through sheer doublethink.

Life on Europa won't phase the religious for that reason. They'll hastily fabricate some rationale for how it fits perfectly into their worldview and insist that their holy book predicted it all along.

So don't pin your hopes on that. It's a lousy reason for science to do anything. We're going to Europa to discover new forms of life. How some simpletons on Earth react to that discovery should be of no concern to us.

Something like this, but much bigger, and deeper....

>>2081138

>>I'd rather have more research facilities in space.

For what? We have the ISS. It's ten times the size of Aquarius but does a tenth of the useful science.

There's not much to study in open space. You're surrounded by radiation blasted vacuum and there's only so many experiments you can do that benefit from being in zero G.

Meanwhile we know what we know about the effects of the oil spill on sea life in large part thanks to the realtime monitoring provided by Aquarius, and they lead the world in rejuvenating dying coral reefs, on which the health of the ocean largely depends.

Doing science in the ocean is a lot like doing science in space, except they find new life constantly instead of never.

>>2046506

>>Why exactly would anyone want to do this?

Some people want to live in the mountains. Some people want to live in the desert. Some people want to live in the sea.

It's quite beautiful in the first 600 feet, after all. Pic related.

Wonder if you'll ever get to walk on an alien planet that looks half this awesome. It'd be great if you did. We'd be happy for you.

The sea floor is ripe for exploration, exploitation and colonization. Ex-NASA engineer Dennis Chamberland, funded by an assortment of scuba companies to which he licenses his technologies, has already built a habitat prototype which successfully operated for two weeks in the late nineties. Since then he's purchased a submarine, two support vessels and he's now partway through construction of the first two modules of his planned undersea colony: http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/3/10/the-aquatic-life-of-dennis-chamberland-one-man-s-quest-to-coloni
ze-the-sea

The ocean offers us everything we were promised by the space program, but which it has failed to deliver. New plant, microbe and animal species discovered weekly. An intelligent nonhuman species to interact with and learn from. Near endless resources in the form of biomass, rare earth minerals and condensed natural gases. civilian colonies, personal vessels, the stuff scifi wet dreams are made of. All possible (and being done) with today's technology.

We've come a long way since then.

>>1922861

>>you would get crushed if you lived to far underwater

Yes, but people don't want to live very deep. Or won't, rather. Because it's cold, dark and nearly lifeless down there.

People will want to live in the upper layers of the daylight zone, perhaps 30-90 feet deep, because the water's warm, there's plentiful biomass (crabs, fish, etc.) and the beautiful radiant blue glow creates a view that would tempt even hydrophobics to buy our product.

It's seriously pretty down there. Pic related, it's 60 feet deep.

Another shot of Aquarius, and the special saturated diving suits used for maintinence dives. The pressurized helmet permits them to communicate with supervisors inside.

Here's one of my favorites.

Even exploration of the daylight zone would be valuable. Having the Aquarius reef base on site to monitor the oil spill has provided us with honest data about it's impact on coral reefs that BP sure as hell wouldn't have disclosed. A series of habitats monitoring the ocean at key points worldwide would offer immediate on site analysis of ocean water composition, signs of algae blooming, change in Ph and so on.

Besides, just look at that. It's a vast, beautiful, alien landscape waiting to be explored and we're ignoring it because you don't need a rocket to get there, and for some reason that makes it less exciting to the taxpayer.

...From a rich uncle you had no idea was part of your family. It has sixteen modules like this one, interconnected via utilidors. Provided you devote one of them to science fulltime, taxpayer dollars will continue to support the upkeep.

His will states that he wants to to build a micro-nation under the sea. With any combination of political, economic and even religious models. You can also design a flag and describe what sort of social systems you'd experiment with.

Challenge level: No Rapture.

...From a rich saudi uncle you had no idea was part of your family. It has sixteen modules like this one, interconnected via utilidors. Provided you devote one of them to science fulltime, taxpayer dollars will continue to support the upkeep.

His will states that he wants to to build a micro-nation under the sea. With any combination of political, economic and even religious models. You can also design a flag and describe what sort of social systems you'd experiment with.

Go.

In the 1960s-1980s there was a golden age of undersea science. The Navy had an actual "SeaLab" series of habitats that really were serviced by trained dolphins.

But issues plaguing undersea living (humidity, heat, exotic atmospheric mixtures made conditions miserable) and competition for state money with the space program slowly killed the dream.

Those issues were all eventually solved (compact dehumidifiers and air conditioners, plus separating the moon pool in it's own compartment ) but it was too late. Today the US operates only one undersea science habitat, the Aquarius. Pic related.

Here's a photo of an aquanaut next to the Aquarius undersea lab, the only one the US still operates.