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Let's Colonize Titan

blogs.scientificamerican.com

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Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#231

Post by banach »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #226
banach wrote: post #106

I think that, before colonizing other planets, we should start by realizing that Earth can easily sustain human kind for the foreseeable future, given some pretty modest tweaks to our way of life (compared to "going multi-planetary" that is). If we start valuing quality over novelty, stop eating animal-based foods and re-organize to live closer to where we work, we can stop the consumption and that is taxing our ecos…

It's not an either/or proposition. We can become more sustainable and take care of earth better, while shooting for the stars and increasing our scientific knowledge.

It is not, and we can, but it seems like some of us need to re-evaluate their priorities: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-ear...

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#233

Post by jack9 »

Who cares about a magenetosphere? Dig underground with water tanks lining the top and problem solved 100%. If you can't do that on Mars, you aren't going to survive Titan anyway. SMH scientific american.

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#234

Post by throwanem »

nekopa wrote: post #193
throwanem wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trouble there is that, in order to attenuate high-energy radiation like the cosmic rays under discussion, you need something that's either extremely dense or extremely thick, and ideally both - dense so a speeding particle is more likely to hit it instead of zipping past between the atoms, thick so that Bremsstrahlung X-rays get absorbed before they reach human tissue susceptible to ionization injury. Both of the…

I'm completely out of my depth here, but couldn't we develop some kind of force field to do this? I'm thinking something along the lines of a Faraday cage, but for the GCRs. Is anyone researching this line of thought?

It might not be impossible, but we'll need to develop some new physics first.

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#235

Post by Almaviva »

banach wrote: post #106

I think that, before colonizing other planets, we should start by realizing that Earth can easily sustain human kind for the foreseeable future, given some pretty modest tweaks to our way of life (compared to "going multi-planetary" that is). If we start valuing quality over novelty, stop eating animal-based foods and re-organize to live closer to where we work, we can stop the consumption and that is taxing our ecos…

> If we re-distribute our wealth, population growth will subside.

I don't get this argument. People want to fuck and reproduce, and the next generation will contain the genes of precisely the people who most want to, and so on. Something needs to check this other than wishful thinking.

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#236

Post by rbanffy »

woogiewonka wrote: post #230

"It’s cold on Titan, at -180°C (-291°F), but thanks to its thick atmosphere, residents wouldn’t need pressure suits—just warm clothing and respirators." Sure, JUST warm clothing. I'd like to see the author step outside in -291F! How can this possibility be sustainable?

Also keep in mind those "warm" clothes would keep residents at what locally would be rock-melting temperatures.

It'd be like keeping hot lava lifeforms happy above Earth's surface.

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#237

Post by Ericson2314 »

ambicapter wrote: post #183
bitL wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's because you need to perform physically demanding tasks on the Mars surface, which is a bit difficult with severely damaged bones. If you are on ISS, after 6 months you get to be pampered upon landing and the doctors try to ramp your bones back up for some period of time, limiting your physical stress and minimizing risk of e.g. a fatal broken hip injury.

Performing physically demanding tasks on earth will strengthen your bones, why not on Mars?

I assume the idea is by the time one gets to mars, they could only restrengthen through light activity—any more would risk broken bones—and yet there's a lot of work to be done so there is little time for reconditioning.

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#238

Post by maxerickson »

blueprint wrote: post #227
chc wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we're able to survive on a planet with inhospitable temperatures and no ecosystem, why would climate change and ecosystem destruction be a problem? It's almost impossible to make our planet as inhospitable as Titan, where coming into brief contact with the air would leave grievous and permanent injury due to freezing, sunlight is so weak that it's basically incapable of supporting either solar power or agriculture…

Good question. The problem I'm talking about originates in the gravity field of Earth. Human activities have formed an obstruction in its circulation which according to models can lead, rather quickly, to a big explosion of energy from the core. But it's pretty tough to find people who I can converse properly with about gravity because even the majority of specialists today lack (a) the basic knowledge about how grav…

What activity is obstructing the gravity field?

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#239

Post by dmoy »

Almaviva wrote: post #235
banach wrote: post #106

I think that, before colonizing other planets, we should start by realizing that Earth can easily sustain human kind for the foreseeable future, given some pretty modest tweaks to our way of life (compared to "going multi-planetary" that is). If we start valuing quality over novelty, stop eating animal-based foods and re-organize to live closer to where we work, we can stop the consumption and that is taxing our ecos…

> If we re-distribute our wealth, population growth will subside. I don't get this argument. People want to fuck and reproduce, and the next generation will contain the genes of precisely the people who most want to, and so on. Something needs to check this other than wishful thinking.

The argument is that richer people reproduce less, because you don't need to in order to guarantee reproductive success.

Re: Let's Colonize Titan

#240

Post by Demiurge »

blueprint wrote: post #223
Demiurge wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You keep alluding to some cataclysm but that's not enough to make your point count to say you have some paper in the works.

Of course. When I find people who are truthful enough to be able to pursue the line of questions that could lead them to having to abandon their existing knowledge, I can guide them to see the world by making their questions concrete enough, and then helping them to confirm them. But those people are the exception. When you observe me doing this on the internet, most people can't understand what I say, much less have…

You're not saying anything factual, at all. You need to back up your assertions, not as someone to prove your assertion negative.
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