Hellish Weather on Other Planets

[Nyrath]

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/01/hellish-weather-on-other-planets.html

 

(dunno if this is a re-post or not, it's from a year ago)

 

Just imagine the look on the faces of your stable of players when they see the death-trap planet you are sending them to.

[Kristopher]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

Good read as usual.

 

(Rep if I can, because you post this stuff on a regular basis.)

[Drhoz]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

Try CoRot-Exo-7b - where the very rock boils on one end, it rains molten rubies, the other end is cold enough for liquid water, and still manages to have an oxygen atmosphere

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php/70705-The-Icarus-Planet?p=1918626#post1918626

[RexMundi]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

Yeah there's some O2 there most likely, I wouldn't call the rest of the gaseous metallic Elements and Sodium to be very breathable though, heh.

 

~Rex

[Drhoz]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

Yeah there's some O2 there most likely' date=' I wouldn't call the rest of the gaseous metallic Elements and Sodium to be very breathable though, heh.[/quote']

 

Didn't say it was

[RexMundi]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

It's definitely usable on the "I want my Players to THINK." level. Player: "Do we detect O2?" GM: "Yes there is O2" Action: Player runs outside the ship in his Bermuda Shorts and carrying a Surfboard, takes a deep lungful of gaseous Sodium and aluminum, dies horribly. Player 2 (Ship Commander) "Hmmph. I guess this Beach ISN'T safe to surf...."

 

~Rex

[Zeropoint]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

On a related subject, 1) do we have the technology to analyze an arbitrary mix of gases and determine the composition well enough to stake human lives on our belief that it's safe to breathe?, 2) how bulky and heavy would the equipment to do this need to be?, and 3) how long would it take?

 

I know that the equipment to detect the concentrations of specific compounds can be handheld and give readings in seconds or at most tens of seconds, but that's a whole different ballgame than analyzing an atmosphere which could contain anything that's a gas.

 

Obviously, checking for airborne pathogens is yet another complication.

 

You know what? I'll just stay in the ship.

[RexMundi]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

1. Yes.

 

2. Varies from a scrap of paper to things the size of a small laptop case nowadays (those used to be suitcase sized when you drug them through missile silos behind you).

 

3. Not long. Most thing that take longer to dcipher will kill you so fast it wouldn't matter.

 

4. Nyrath can assuredly add more.

 

~Rex

[Kristopher]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

3. Not long. Most thing that take longer to dcipher will kill you so fast it wouldn't matter.

 

I think you'd have it installed on the ship in such a way that you wouldn't have to step outside to take a reading.

[RexMundi]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

True, but then there is the theme of It's harmless until it combines with something Else already in your system.

 

~Rex

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

Kris' suggestion of mounting the instruments inside the hull has some merit. I think that's what I'd do.

I'd also suggest a body suit instead of Bermuda shorts. I'm not a surfer, but I've heard that they're more practical.

[RexMundi]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

Old school LB. Besides. When you are told that beach is safe to surf. It's safe to surf. Death by inhalation of gaseous metals is not an acceptable excuse to disobey orders.

 

~Rex

[Cancer]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

On a related subject, 1) do we have the technology to analyze an arbitrary mix of gases and determine the composition well enough to stake human lives on our belief that it's safe to breathe?, 2) how bulky and heavy would the equipment to do this need to be?, and 3) how long would it take?

 

I know that the equipment to detect the concentrations of specific compounds can be handheld and give readings in seconds or at most tens of seconds, but that's a whole different ballgame than analyzing an atmosphere which could contain anything that's a gas.

 

My answers are like those above, but frankly, with optical/ultraviolet/infrared spectroscopic methods you don't even need to enter the atmosphere to get a decent handle on its composition. That could be done from interplanetary space ... a few AUs away ... in a few minutes, given a dedicated spectrometer (size of a filing cabinet) with a modest telescope (again, size of a filing cabinet) feeding it; both those instruments would be useful for other purposes as well. The from=space results won't be as precise as, say, gas chromatography or mass spectrometry done on actual gas samples in the atmosphere itself (and it won't get you trace constituents, especially if there's stuff like heavy hydrocarbons in the atmosphere), but you will know, at least light-hours away, whether or not you want to walk around in your shirtsleeves or not.

[Kristopher]

Re: Hellish Weather on Other Planets

 

My answers are like those above' date=' but frankly, with optical/ultraviolet/infrared spectroscopic methods you don't even need to enter the atmosphere to get a decent handle on its composition. That could be done from interplanetary space ... a few AUs away ... in a few minutes, given a dedicated spectrometer (size of a filing cabinet) with a modest telescope (again, size of a filing cabinet) feeding it; both those instruments would be useful for other purposes as well. The from=space results won't be as precise as, say, gas chromatography or mass spectrometry done on actual gas samples in the atmosphere itself (and it won't get you trace constituents, especially if there's stuff like heavy hydrocarbons in the atmosphere), but you will know, at least light-hours away, whether or not you want to walk around in your shirtsleeves or not.[/quote']

 

And that's with what we have right now, today, correct?