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Old 08-25-2018, 04:14 PM   #541
dcarson
 
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Default Re: New Sci Fi Setting Seeds

Comets are mostly water ice but do have other stuff. Looking ate spectrographs of the gas cloud gives.
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Molecular abundances relative to water are 0.09%, 1.8%, 0.4%, and 0.08% for HCN, CH3OH, H2S, and CS, respectively. An abundance of 0.5% for NH3
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Old 08-25-2018, 04:26 PM   #542
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Fear usually helps, but sometimes hinders survival.
I can see friction between those saying air-mining Earth is necessary and those that calling it a death sentence to even go near the planet. But I see a middle group wanting a compromise of as close to pure automation involved as possible with harsh sterilization and quarantine protocols.
I'd be voting for group three until more data comes my way. Although the upper atmosphere should be fairly safe. Infectious agents generally can't live too far up. There are exceptions, but it's a good bet.
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Old 08-25-2018, 04:40 PM   #543
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It is still going to be ten times as expensive to mine the Earth for nitrogen than to just get it from Titan. Or you could mine the atmosphere of Venus for nitrogen, which costs half as much to mine than the atmosphere of Earth (normal air mixtures are lifting gases in the atmosphere of Venus, so you can support floating harvesters that use fusion-powered railguns to accelerate canisters to Venutian escape velocity). Or you could mine ammonia ice from Triton, which still costs half as much as mining the Earth for nitrogen. The only reason to take nitrogen from the Earth is if you lack the technology to get it from anywhere else.
The very nearness of the Earth would always be an argument in favor of mining the Earth's atmosphere. Although a TL9 society might be comfortable with the time it takes to get to Titan.

By the way, TL9 seals might ease the problem of nitrogen leakage.
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Old 08-25-2018, 04:41 PM   #544
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Comets are mostly water ice but do have other stuff. Looking ate spectrographs of the gas cloud gives.
Catching a comet sounds like a PC kind of job. Maybe they fly to the comet in Sunjammers propelled by Solar Sails.
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Old 08-25-2018, 05:02 PM   #545
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The very nearness of the Earth would always be an argument in favor of mining the Earth's atmosphere. Although a TL9 society might be comfortable with the time it takes to get to Titan.

By the way, TL9 seals might ease the problem of nitrogen leakage.
Proximity does not matter when you can reduce the cost by ninety percent by doing it another way. If nothing else, people will invest in the most economically efficient method that will allow them to make money.
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Old 08-25-2018, 05:33 PM   #546
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The Gift
An alien visitor arrives in the solar system and gifts technology and ultra tech items to some of the residents of earth. The gifts are given to groups or individuals that are considered most worthy by the alien standards of the visitor.

Peace
The alien values are such that the gifts (space stations, craft and the technology to maintain them) are given to the top 5 most peaceful nations. Iceland, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark.

Wealth
The technological gifts (fusion tech) are this time given to the top 10 most weathly people in the world.

Wealth 2
Wealthy nations are selected this time Monaco, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are gifted exploratory vessels.

A bit gonzo but there may be some interesting variations on the theme.
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Old 08-25-2018, 05:35 PM   #547
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The Gift
An alien visitor arrives in the solar system and gifts technology and ultra tech items to some of the residents of earth. The gifts are given to groups or individuals that are considered most worthy by the alien standards of the visitor.

Peace
The alien values are such that the gifts (space stations, craft and the technology to maintain them) are given to the top 5 most peaceful nations. Iceland, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark.

Wealth
The technological gifts (fusion tech) are this time given to the top 10 most weathly people in the world.

Wealth 2
Wealthy nations are selected this time Monaco, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are gifted exploratory vessels.

A bit gonzo but there may be some interesting variations on the theme.
All five of the most peaceful nations were once noted for pugnaciousness. On the other hand I cannot think of any time Andorra went to war.
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Old 08-25-2018, 05:39 PM   #548
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Peace keeper
Andorra is given a TL 10 cruiser for peacekeeping purposes.
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Old 08-25-2018, 06:00 PM   #549
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All five of the most peaceful nations were once noted for pugnaciousness. On the other hand I cannot think of any time Andorra went to war.
Every nation is made up of people. And people are naturally aggressive. Once it becomes a "reasonable" option to go to war, it becomes all but inevitable.
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Old 08-25-2018, 08:20 PM   #550
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With what helium for the blimps and with what fuel for the jets?
Use hydrogen for blimps. Jets aren't necessary, any old air-breathing engine could do. Maybe electric propellers.
nearer to the
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Catching a comet sounds like a PC kind of job. Maybe they fly to the comet in Sunjammers propelled by Solar Sails.
Nitrogen is fairly common on Venus. With higher solar winds and no fuel expenses for solar sails, it could prove economical to scrape Venus's atmosphere. An floating city would be able to remain buoyant in the upper atmosphere with a atmospheric gas mix.
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