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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!decvax!mcnc!duke!ucf-cs!giles
From: giles@ucf-cs.UUCP (Bruce Giles)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,net.tv
Subject: Re: drying planets...
Message-ID: <1261@ucf-cs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 9-May-84 10:10:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucf-cs.1261
Posted: Wed May  9 10:10:16 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 11-May-84 07:38:41 EDT
References: <7673@watmath.UUCP>, <1786@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: University of Central Florida
Lines: 27


>>  1. There is a planet of amphibious(?) beings which is literally "drying"
>>  up, for any number of reasons.... 

Okay, what are some of those reasons?  Did everyone decide to drink at the
same time?  (Or is it flush?)

Seriously, you can't get rid of water that easily.  Contaminate it, yes.
But destroy it, no.  (unless you have *very* inefficient fusion plants :-)).

And, even if by some unbelievable process their water does disappear, it
would probabily be far easier to skim hydrogen of the neighborhood gas
giant and combine it with oxygen smelted from any nearby rocky planetary
body; at least compared to hauling megamass of water over interstellar 
distances.

No -- Drying planets with indigenous life belong in the same class of
stories as those with alpha Centari visible from New York.  Perhaps 1
out of 10,000 has a valid explanation, but certainly none generated
in Hollywood falls into that category.


ave discordia				going bump in the night ...
bruce giles

decvax!ucf-cs!giles			university of central florida
giles.ucf-cs@Rand-Relay			orlando, florida 32816