/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.3511352]

Yo /sci/,
I like thinking about solving the world's problems. I've been thinking about the potable water problem and just read this
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-desalination-technology-key-world-shortage.html
and was curious on peoples' ideas on solving the water problem around the world. My personal favorites are:
http://www.thewatercone.com/Index.html
Very small scale

There was also a link (Can't find) of an idea to dig huge trenches, like rivers and lakes, in the desert and then flood ocean water in to build the humidity level up more inland.

So, /sci/ what are your other ideas/criticisms

[Scientist !!ThFjnJh4EkH No.3511379]

>>3511352
Molten salt thorium reactors.

That's my answer to most policy problems nowadays.

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511387]

>>3511379
Are thorium reactors a new meme?

[Scientist !!ThFjnJh4EkH No.3511393]

>>3511387
>>3511391
But really, the problem with desalinization plants is largely power. If you gets lots of cheap power, then the problem mostly goes away. LFTR = lots of very cheap power.

[Scientist !!ThFjnJh4EkH No.3511391]

>>3511387
I hope so!

[Anonymous No.3511396]

>>3511391
I see a lot of thorium reactor shit theses days, but my question was about water, not NRG

Not a joke \/
reCaptcha
>SALTS WORMEM

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511403]

>>3511352
>evaporate salt water
Wouldn't that create vast planes of nothing but salt and dead fish?

I suppose the flood planes could be closed off and dried allowing us to spend a few years removing the vast quantities of salt from the surface.

But one more problem, water vapor is a major greenhouse gas!

[Anonymous No.3511409]

>>3511379
Pretty narrow minded, to be obsessed only with molten salt thorium reactors.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511411]

>>3511379
I wrote a article on LFTRs, pic related, would appreciate constructive criticism
>>3511396
Waste heat from LFTRs provide extremely economical desalinization of water

[Scientist !!ThFjnJh4EkH No.3511421]

>>3511409
Not my fault that LFTRs are frequently the best answer.

[Anonymous No.3511426]

What's going on in that picture? Why are there only roads between desert lakes when there are rivers and seas everywhere? Why are the lakes perfectly circular?

[Anonymous No.3511434]

>>3511426
supposed to be an example of >>3511352

[Anonymous No.3511435]

>>3511403
Nope, you do it with reverse osmosis. No vast salt plains necessary, you just end up with a very concentrated salt solution which you pipe back into the sea.

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511448]

>create evaporation pools and the canali that feed them
>terraform Mars as we terraform Earth
>runaway greenhouse effect caused by CO2 emissions and the vast quantities of additional water vapor in the atmosphere warm Earth uncontrollably, wiping out life
>1 billion years from now when the Sun has boiled Earth's hydrogen away, an emergent Martian civilization will view Earth's canali for the first time using a 6" aperture telescope

[Anonymous No.3511583]

any other thoughts on this, specifically terraforming the desert?

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511594]

>>3511583
Engineering the climate is impossible in a democracy. That is why the US quit testing while China still does.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511604]

>>3511583
Terraforming the desert causes instabilities in the climate for other regions. Humanity does not at present have enough understanding of the processes that tie together the environment in order to even begin drafting such a proposal, sorry. With entire dead planets such as Mars it's a far simpler matter of 'Smack Phobos into it' for you don't have to worry about fucking up already good places elsewhere.

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511614]

>smack phobos into Mars
That sounds like a terrible idea. It would probably lose Mars more energy than it gives due to the dust cloud.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511624]

>>3511614
>Smack Phobos into South or North pole
>massive debris cloud is not fast enough to leave Martian gravity, most falls back, over the entire surface
>dust and debris rains down through the thin CO2 atmosphere, burning up and causing a rise in temperature
>this rise in temperature causes more CO2 to outgas, as well as other gasses

Mars already has planetary duststorms. No doubt this will fuck up the air quality for a couple of decades, but I reckon it will be in a better position for full-scale terraforming than we first found it.

Ignore the monetary values in the pic, I really did pull them out of my ass.

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511635]

>>3511624
How the hell are you going to push Phobos all the way to the Pole? That would take a LOT of energy.

And there are easier ways to melt the Martian ice that don't involve world smothering dust storms.

[Anonymous No.3511648]

>>3511635
They're not nearly as awesome, though.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511647]

>>3511635
Magnetic coilguns launching pieces of Phobosite away at extremely fast velocities, using solar or nuclear energy, slowly pushing Phobos into a polar elliptical orbit.

And this is my old Mars terraforming plan, my new one involves cannibalizing Phobos for massive orbital mirrors.

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511654]

>>3511647
>turn phobos into mirrors
Actally, I that was one of the first thoughts that popped into my head. I half wanted to mention it.

How about this, use solar sails to ship equipment to Mars (each taking years to get to Mars) and then using the sails as orbital mirrors?

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511663]

>>3511654
Why not use asteroid material already near Mars, in combination with a plasma gasification unit to seperate asteroid rubble into its constituent elements for fabrication by replicating robots to create both orbital cities, orbital mirrors, more plasma gasification units and extra robots?

[Anonymous No.3511666]

We should figure out how to terraform earth first. I feel like there's some potential in that water ball

[fizx !d75etXAowg No.3511669]

>>3511663
With what do you use to turn phobos into a mirror? Machines shipped from Earth? Well then why not use my plan?

[Anonymous No.3511674]

>>3511654
Because newton disagrees with you.

>>3511663
>moving an asteroid
>turning it into a mirror
You aware that you'll grow an old man, jacking off to CP, before this is possible?

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511688]

>>3511669
My plan requires minimal shipping of payload from Earth. using existing technology, we need to figure out how to create a compact plasma gasification unit to fit into a rocket, then about 50 robots ranging from asteroid rubble scraping to construction, and a LFTR with a supply of Th-232 for power.

The only thing I can see we would need to supply is circuit boards for the robots and control systems of extra PGUs, which brings down the payload price A LOT, seeing as everything else can just be recreated from asteroid material lying around Mars-side.

Oh, for those that don't know, a plasma gasification unit is a thing that uses vast amounts of electricity arcing from one point to another to create high temperatures which create anything inside it into a gas (running at temperatures of 12,000 to 15,000'C)

[Anonymous No.3511692]

>>3511647
And.... it's still more logical to focus on advancing other technology first which will inevitably open up more (feasible) options for colonizing other worlds and ironically would be a better means of achieving some dream of terraforming mars for fleshbags that evolved on earth for whatever reason, inurdaes and his fellow prancing popscifi fagbrigade hold back humanity and divert scarce R&D resources towards white elephants once again.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511707]

>>3511692
Got anything in your arsenal besides, heh, 'fagbrigade?'

[Anonymous No.3511733]

>>3511707
Carl Sagan focussed on research and discovery, he didn't propose to colonize mars with 50s era technology. He would inform you that rejecting the limitations society imposes on you is not the same as rejecting the limitations of the laws of physics.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511741]

>>3511733
I used a stencil picture of him, not 'SAGAN WOULD'VE BELIEVED IN ME'

[Anonymous No.3511752]

Big problem with desalination is the brine released from the plants and corrosion of the piping.

That said the part of this video relevant to solving that starts at around 7 minutes.
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_architecture.html

[Anonymous No.3511779]

>>3511741
So you admit sagan wouldn't have believed in you?

I used to think science's virtue was that it embraced reality, that people were flawed for escaping into fantasy instead of taking responsibility. Sorry but the cognitive dissonance is too much for me, it's alright if it's honest speculation or unashamed scifi like star trek that can't be taken too seriously but you crossed the line bro.

[Inurdaes !V1sPhobos. No.3511786]

>>3511779
I see you just continue going 'Lol ur wrong'

We'll continue this argument some other time, i'm off to play TF2.

[Anonymous No.3511791]

>>3511786
I don't need to explain to you the problems of sending robots to convert Phobos into mirrors and you know this.

[Anonymous No.3512207]

>>3511791
>my argument is so powerful, it's not necessary to talk about it

[Anonymous No.3512285]

>>3511692

you're right.. who need punctuation.... or even sentences?