It feels to me like all the described problems should be something we will encounter in space. If we want to grow beyond this planet, isn't that a good motivation to solve them down here?
The Last Egg
201–204 of 204 posts
Re: The Last Egg
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd have to question what "near-zero" actually means. I don't doubt that outside the humidity is super low, but inside I have my doubts. Super low humidity increases the risk of ESD which wouldn't be fantastic for any electronics. You'd need to walk around with a grounding strap all day otherwise you'll be zapping every bit of metal you encounter. I worked in a newly built data centre where the air conditioning (not…
Among other factors: humidity, even at modest levels, means frost and ice accumulation in any spaces with a thermal gradient. Given that there's a roughly 150F / 85C temperature differential from the inside (assuming ~70F / 20C interior temperature, and -70F / -55C exterior), and that it never thaws , this means frost/ice accumulation is probably a major structural hazard. Even if it was possible to humidify interior…
I talked about this with an architect friend, who also mentioned that at-scale humidification is difficult, expensive, and prone to molding. In thinking about air exchange, it seems like they would have to desiccate the outgoing air and shift the moisture to incoming air, which would have to be a challenge.
Re: The Last Egg
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
Among other factors: humidity, even at modest levels, means frost and ice accumulation in any spaces with a thermal gradient. Given that there's a roughly 150F / 85C temperature differential from the inside (assuming ~70F / 20C interior temperature, and -70F / -55C exterior), and that it never thaws , this means frost/ice accumulation is probably a major structural hazard. Even if it was possible to humidify interior…
I talked about this with an architect friend, who also mentioned that at-scale humidification is difficult, expensive, and prone to molding. In thinking about air exchange, it seems like they would have to desiccate the outgoing air and shift the moisture to incoming air, which would have to be a challenge.
Interesting.
I've heard of heat recovery on air exchange, but never humidity recovery.
I'm not sure to what degree water is readily available at ASSPS (yes, there's snow all around, but it's cold, and actual precipitation is low), but humidifying air is ... reasonably low-cost, modulo thermal budget for melting snow/ice in the first place.
Re: The Last Egg
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting idea but there might be some issues. I think this would dramatically increase ventilation needs. How many people are on base? Remember, you're not even getting 1 egg per chicken per day. At that point, you're in the chicken farming business, not the science base business. Also, how long would the chickens last with zero exposure to natural sunlight and cramped conditions? It could be hard on them.
That’s literally what a factory farm is so there’s no issue with that.
There's no other factory farms in Antarctica that I'm aware of, I think it's exponentially more difficult to establish and conduct such an operation there is my point.