12-02-2014, 05:48 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Nov 2011
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TL 4 Lava Use
Lava* is cool. Low tech use of lava in forges and stuff is a common concept in fantasy. People have historically used lava produced materials like obsidian and profited from geothermal energy. Modern people have even cooked meat on lava. What could a TL 4 society realistically accomplish with lava? Of course lava isn't an identical substance so uses may vary based on it's composition.
*Or magma |
12-02-2014, 06:07 PM | #2 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: TL 4 Lava Use
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12-02-2014, 06:11 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: TL 4 Lava Use
Rock has very little capacity to hold thermal energy, so it will rapidly cool and solidify once it's removed from the heat source. Often a matter of mere seconds for man portable masses.
I saw a video of a lava "sculptor" that pulled out head+ sized amounts, and had to work ridiculously quickly before it "froze".
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12-02-2014, 06:17 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: TL 4 Lava Use
If you have a source of lava, it's a geothermal heat source, and can be used in much the same way as any other geothermal heat source, which at TL 4 mostly means hot springs.
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12-02-2014, 06:33 PM | #5 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2011
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Re: TL 4 Lava Use
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Could you usefully heat places using plumbing to transport the water from hot springs? |
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12-02-2014, 09:58 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: TL 4 Lava Use
Of course lava may have elementals associated with it and provide alternate benfits that way.
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12-02-2014, 10:20 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Re: TL 4 Lava Use
Places with lava tend to have many items interesting to alchemists.
I can think of advantages relating to steam power, but that's not TL4, and is essentially a geothermal adaptation. Might be a good place to put filth, as you're already dealing with noxious fumes from the area. Waste disposal is a problem at TL4. There are defensive applications, but they require extraordinary engineering. Then again...you're talking about a place living near a lava vent, so probably not an issue. With the ability to maintain steady high heat, you might be able to do some year round farming or tropical greenhouses. |
Tags |
heat, lava, low-tech, temperature, volcano |
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