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/sci/ - Science & Math

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3542232 No.3542232 [Reply] [Original]

I've been reading this book lately, it's actually quite interesting. The author suggests using low pressure atmospheres (3psi) made up of mostly oxygen to sustain ourselves in outer space. This is possible due to the fact that we don't use most of the gasses in our atmosphere when we breathe. At first I thought it was a good idea, but then I started thinking.

How would sound be affected in this low pressure atmosphere though? Sound is created by compression waves travelling through some sort of medium. Surely this low pressure and change in the medium composition would affect these compressions? Anyone know if we would still be able to talk normally in these conditions?

>> No.3542259

...alright, i'm not sure how to explain this because its almost 4 am here and i'm tired as shit
i'll just toss this out there, though it might not be related to anything at all
in underwater habitats, the oxygen you breath is gonna be compressed all to hell because of the pressure
pressurized oxygen is bad. causes all kinds of nasty shit to happen to us, so they gotta dilute it with other gasses like helium and shit, so you're not breathing 'pure' oxygen.
the sound you make would depend on the other gasses you're breathing
...or something like that

>> No.3542258

Anyone else actually read this book?

>> No.3542267

>>3542259
Dude, get some sleep. I said outer space, not underwater, the pressure of the air inside a space colony can be very low.

Even though it's completely unrelated, your other point didn't make any sense anyhow. If you have pressurised oxygen, mixing helium with it wont make it any less pressurised, the partial pressure of the oxygen will still be the same and will still do damage.

>> No.3542274

Since sound doesn't travel through a vacuum, i'd think that the less pressure there is.. the shorter sound would travel.

>> No.3542288

>>3542274
Thought so, We would definitely have troubles communicating in that environment, which is something the author didn't think about. Changing this pressure would cause a lot of problems for his bubble habitat designs. That being said, most of this book so far is quite intelligent and thought provoking.

>> No.3542320

>>3542288
>troubles communicating
>2011
It's cool, we have google+

>> No.3542371

>>3542320
True! I think I would get pretty tired of not being able to talk to anyone further than 2m away from me pretty fast though. That would probably be an asspie paradise though.

>> No.3542427

What's the point of sending fleshbags that naturally evolved on earth up there? Create a new form of life complete with it's own set of technologies for building economies on other worlds.

>> No.3542433

>>3542427
The advantage of which to humans would be? Human's are pretty adaptable, that's why we came to be the dominant species on earth in the first place. If one species get's to populate our universe, why can't it be us?

>> No.3542436

I'd be more worried about food and water systems in such a resource-limited environment as space and other planets. Does the book tackle that?

>> No.3542439

>>3542427
It'd be fun and interested to create new wildlife explicitly to flourish in new environments... But to change ourselves to do so seems a little pointless. We could do it fine as-is.

>> No.3542460

>>3542436
Yeh it tackles pretty much everything you can think of dude (apart from sound obviously). Water can be harvested from lunar rocks and asteroids. Oxygen can be steadily supplied by spiraluna algae. Every environment he describes in the book is completely self sustainable (for good reason!).

>> No.3542470
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3542470

I've read it, visionary stuff. And in fact, it's been done; Skylab originally had a 5psi pure oxygen environment. IIRC, it was changed due to a fire. Pure oxygen environments make it very easy for things to catch fire.

>> No.3542481

>>3542460
Awesome. What's his quickest target for suitable off-planet living? Meaning, where could we most quickly set up a self-sustaining community, and how long would it take?

I may have to pick it up.

>> No.3542486
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3542486

Savage is one of the few authors who really understands the necessity of undersea development as a technological analogue to colonization of space. It yields immediate return on investment (deep sea minerals and food) while at the same time advancing technologies that directly benefit space exploration. It's like a life support and habitat research program that not only funds itself but turns a profit.

I hope the age where we thought we could fly without first learning to swim is over. Oceanic industrialization and agricultural development will give us the wealth and technology we need to do anything meaningful in space. It's really the last big storehouse of untapped resources we have left, if we don't go after it in a big way, we're not going anywhere.

>> No.3542489

fucking amplificators,how do they work?

>> No.3542494

>>3542470
He covered fire hazard in the book though. The partial pressure of the oxygen would be practically the same as it is on earth, so that high a chance. Skylab isn't really anything like the space station he described, not self sustainable and is very cramped. You know if the astronauts on board the station had trouble with communication in this environment?

>> No.3542506

>>3542481
Yeh first we have to get used to the rigours of living in space by living in ocean colonies. This will provide the money and mentality needed for space exploration. We move into space in gradual steps, first with a sustainable bubble like space station, then a colony on the moon, then mars etc. The detail he goes into is quite frankly amazing. Definitely worth a read dude.

>> No.3542516
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3542516

>>3542494

I doubt it. Sound carries well even in a thin atmosphere. The communication problems I'm aware of are mostly in hyperbaric environments with a heliox air mixture, everyone's voice sounds ridiculously high pitched to the point of being unintelligible. This was a significant problem aboard Sealab I and II that was resolved by the use of code.