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From: steven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Maurer)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,net.tv
Subject: Re: drying planets...
Message-ID: <1097@qubix.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-May-84 16:21:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: qubix.1097
Posted: Mon May 14 16:21:51 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 16-May-84 07:17:19 EDT
References: <7673@watmath.UUCP>, <1786@mit-eddie.UUCP> <1261@ucf-cs.UUCP>, <1797@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: Qubix Graphic Systems, Saratoga, CA
Lines: 62

[In our lives, we all must suffer ourselves]

> > Okay, what are some of those reasons?  Did everyone decide to drink at the
> > same time?  (Or is it flush?)
> 
> Planet-wide drought, caused by imbalances in the hydrogen-oxygen mixture
> of the planet's atmosphere.
> 
> The same, caused by the planet moving out of orbit (closer to its sun).
> 
> The same, caused by contamination of the planet's atmosphere (perhaps
> natural, perhaps not).

	1] "imbalances in the hydrogen-oxygen mixture" ????
	    That would mean that there was either Too much Hydrogen,
	    or Too much Oxygen.    Either one, would kill the entire
	    planet long before lack of H2O became a problem.   Besides,
	    just what is performing the seperation into component
	    elements?   Last I heard, it takes a lot of KCALs to persuade
	    those little H's to break up from the O's.

	2]  "Caused by the planet moving .. (closer to its sun)".
	    That would not make the water go away.   It would vaporize
	    it (and the planet too).

	3]  "caused by cotamination of the planet's atmosphere"
	    This could only mean that the planet has been producing
	    reducing agents at a volume beyond compare.   Even then,
	    the amount of water on the planet would be basically
	    unchanged, and it certainly would be easier to just
	    extract the water, than to travel to another planet to
	    get some.


> > 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.
> 
> That is assuming those type of planets exist in their solar system.  If
> they don't, they must come to other planets.  And if they are going to
> do that, they might as well get water in its natural form (even if they
> have to steal it) rather than go to Jupiter and do it the hard way.

	1]   There must be 100,000,000 balls of ice between here
	    and the "home planet".   The ice contained in all, is
	    no doubt considerably larger than the size of jupiter.

	2]   Grabbing a spaceship full of water, is not exactly going
	    to solve the draught problems of an entire planet.

	3]   There is a story told by Asimov called "The Martian Way",
	    which is about the sheer stupidity of people, and what
	    happens when it is used by a demogouge.   The sheer stupid
	    subject used by that demogouge?  Earth was running out of
	    water (due to Martian use of it).

    Steven M.