Xavier Onassiss Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 From (where else?) the latest Rocketpunk Manifesto blog entry, discussing the colonization of Venus: To my surprise there has even been some credible discussion of colonization - not of the hellish surface but the upper atmosphere, with aerostats AKA balloons. At 50 km above the surface the atmospheric pressure is equal to Earth's, and temperatures are near the human comfort zone, 0-50 C. Human breathing mix is a lifting gas on Venus (with roughly half the lifting power per cubic meter of helium on Earth), so the entire gas envelope can contain breathing air. I love this image: a magnificent floating city inside a gigantic bubble of air, drifting on poisonous winds, 50 kilometers over hell. Humanity collectively lifts a technological middle finger to the hostile universe, signaling our intention to thrive everywhere.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! While laborers sweat and struggle in hideous conditions on the surface to mine the minerals needed to support the cloud city, and condemned prisoners confined to an inescapable cavern of survivability curse the dwellers above. If there was ever a scenario for a social division into Heaven and Hell, this is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! While laborers sweat and struggle in hideous conditions on the surface to mine the minerals needed to support the cloud city, and condemned prisoners confined to an inescapable cavern of survivability curse the dwellers above. If there was ever a scenario for a social division into Heaven and Hell, this is it. It's all good until Captain Kirk shows up:) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cloud_Minders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! I was afraid someone would pounce on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! I wouldn't sell any life insurance to the inhabitants, their situation is definitely "fail deadly." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! a magnificent floating city inside a gigantic bubble of air' date=' drifting on poisonous winds, 50 kilometers over hell. Humanity collectively lifts a technological middle finger to the hostile universe, signaling our intention to thrive everywhere....[/quote'] ...as sulphuric acid slowly eats through the balloon's skin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! ...as sulphuric acid slowly eats through the balloon's skin... Sigh. There's always a party pooper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Sigh. There's always a party pooper. nahh we just need to coat 'em with either lead or glass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! nahh we just need to coat 'em with either lead or glass Stained glass. Just in case the original concept wasn't completely over-the-top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsedgamer Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! It's all good until Captain Kirk shows up:) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cloud_Minders I was afraid someone would pounce on that. Sigh. There's always a party pooper. Stained glass. Just in case the original concept wasn't completely over-the-top. Xavier, don't mind these guys. Just because an idea is a little over the top, requires a little applied phlebotinum, and may be an homage to a classic show, does not mean it is not good fiction or gaming fodder. I like the idea. If you can figure out a way to update all the classic tropes in your game, more power to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! If the game is of a more Space Operatic variety, the balloons might be covered with a force field ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Stained glass. Just in case the original concept wasn't completely over-the-top. Ooooohhhhh, Pretty! Either coating is do-able for hard SF assuming realistic nanotech. I see Airships with self-sealing Fullerene pressure hulls with lead coatings to resist the acid as workhorse vehicles. Of course, it's possible I just like the idea of a setting with Lead Zeppelins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Boooo! Get off the stage! ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Xavier' date=' don't mind these guys. Just because an idea is a little over the top, requires a little applied phlebotinum, and may be an homage to a classic show, does not mean it is not good fiction or gaming fodder. I like the idea. If you can figure out a way to update all the classic tropes in your game, more power to you.[/quote'] I say, let 'em have their fun. This concept fits my campaign, so it'll find a place there. (Maybe not on Venus...I already destroyed Venus. Some other hot-house planet with a super-dense atmosphere.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Ooooohhhhh, Pretty! Either coating is do-able for hard SF assuming realistic nanotech. I see Airships with self-sealing Fullerene pressure hulls with lead coatings to resist the acid as workhorse vehicles. Of course, it's possible I just like the idea of a setting with Lead Zeppelins. And with all those stained-glass cities floating in the sky, we'll have to get Roger Dean to do the album cover art.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Hey, try and find any concept that hasn't had something like it done somewhere already. The freshness lies in the details and where you take 'em, and I for one like where this is going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Maybe not on Venus...I already destroyed Venus.Now this is why we can't have nice things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! You know, all this talk of floating stained-glass cities reminds me of a Chronicle from Keith "Adjective" Curtis's magnificent HERO post-apocalyptic campaign website, The Savage Earth. Let me show you one of the destinations of his brave adventurers, "The Celestial City": Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! BTW "Cloud Cities of Venus" also sounds like an awesome title for a pulp serial. The way this concept has progressed would certainly translate well to a "planetary romance." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! The wind speeds are high up there, too. I am not sure how turbulent they are, but wind shear is deadly to airships and the like. But if you can get into a place with high winds and low wind shear, then the superrotation of the atmosphere will give you approximately a day-night cycle of approximately 4 Earth days, rather than about 116 Earth days for a point fixed to the solid surface. The temperature 50 km up is tolerable, but there are problems with the atmosphere chemistry. You're going to have have a sealed environment anyway, though, since humans can't tolerate much CO2 in their breathing gas at all. So if you give the outer hull (and the air locks, of course) a good layer of corrosion resistant stuff ... easy enough to handwave in a sci-fi campaign ... then it'd be OK. The thing would still be well under the tops of the clouds, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevelon Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! I wonder if you could stick some probes into the acidic atmosphere and get free battery power? Or have a post hanging down into the hotter clouds for a psudo-geothermal thing. That's it! STEAM power! Pipe down water, have it boil up the pipe, turn a turbine, condense, return, etc... Because if you are going to have a stained glass balloon city on Venus, it needs to be powered by steam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! I wonder if you could stick some probes into the acidic atmosphere and get free battery power? Or have a post hanging down into the hotter clouds for a psudo-geothermal thing. That's it! STEAM power! Pipe down water, have it boil up the pipe, turn a turbine, condense, return, etc... Because if you are going to have a stained glass balloon city on Venus, it needs to be powered by steam! Using the thermal differential could probably be made to work. Another idea that's been put forward is lowering a tether with a wind turbine on the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted April 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Question: Should there be a 2pt adder on Life Support called "Safe in Corrosive Environments"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted April 30, 2010 Report Share Posted April 30, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! My hard sci-fi campaign would have floating cities on Venus in the planning stages. I need to take a closer look at this one. Thanks for sharing this, Xavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Re: Cloud cities of Venus: I am totally gonna use this idea! Question: Should there be a 2pt adder on Life Support called "Safe in Corrosive Environments"? It seems reasonable to define an additional Safe Environment for a condition that's unique to but common in your campaign setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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