I am thinking I can build an igloo of sand by heating it to a glass-like temperature where I could mould it into an igloo. It would then solidify when cooling off. Could steam do this if put under pressure?
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
7
-
3$\begingroup$ The glass transition tempeature of ordinary window glass (= soda-lime glass) is between 520 °C a and 600 °C. The glass transition temperature for fused quartz is around 1,200 °C. Pick your choice depending on what exactly is the sand made of. Unfortunately, the critical point of water is about 374 °C (and 218 atm). (The word "sand" refers to the size of the grains, 0.063 mm to 2 mm, and not to the chemical or mineralogic make-up. Some kinds of sand, such as the white marble sands or the black magnetite or basalt sands, cannot be made into glass at all.) $\endgroup$– AlexPFeb 8 at 0:58
-
1$\begingroup$ Something worth thinking about might be that steam isn't the issue... it's metalurgy. There probably is a maximum pressure that steam can be subject to before cool chemistry gets involved to change the state of the vapor, but you'll hit problems with metallurgy long before that. So, can you believably do this with steam? Sure! But you'll need to either define impessive boiler and piston materials - or ignore them completely and move on. $\endgroup$– JBHFeb 8 at 4:09
-
1$\begingroup$ @KerrAvon2055: Nah, it is just a reminder to the original poster that they must make up some fictional physics, and that the words steam and glass cannot have the same meaning as in the real world. Which may or may not be fine with them. $\endgroup$– AlexPFeb 8 at 4:16
-
1$\begingroup$ Also, I removed the worldbuilding-resources tag. It's used when people are asking about tools for the worldbuilding process (e.g., what kind of tool or resources are available to help me build a map of a specific type?). It's always a good idea to read the tag wikis before using them. $\endgroup$– JBHFeb 8 at 4:43
-
1$\begingroup$ If you apply enough heat you can turn (most) sands into glass. But to make an igloo you want boxshaped building blocks so you would need some sufficiently heat resistant containers to make sand into glass blocks. $\endgroup$– quaragueFeb 8 at 12:15
|
Show 2 more comments
1 Answer
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
3
Water can be put under a lot of pressure. However, at some point, "steam" isn't the correct term. See this question https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/394943/what-happens-when-you-put-water-under-intense-pressure
There is another way to solve your problem. Add a binder to the sand. Sandstone is made up of sand with a binder of silica, calcium carbonate or iron oxide (https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-sandstone-1441016). The binder determines the strength of the sandstone. Mix the sand with a binder and use the steam to form the structure and pressure the mix till it hardens. Basically, you are trying to recreate the conditions that form metamorphic rock. https://www.britannica.com/science/metamorphic-rock/Pressure
The real problem is the nature of the building that you want. In cultures that have used the igloo, they are temporary structures, built out of packed snow and used till the snow changes into more ice than snow (as ice does not hold heat in as well). Will trying to build a sand igloo take more time than is available for using it?
Building a sand igloo from raw sand and binder will take a lot of concentrated energy. In most cases, it will take less concentrated energy to find a supply of sandstone that could be used to build a dwelling and move that sandstone to the location. A donkey pulling a wagon with a load of stone is more available than the energy to use steam. Other cultures have used sun dried clay (which uses a lot less energy) or used lime as a binder.
-
$\begingroup$ Given the temperatures and heat-retention properties of the materials involved, how long after construction finishes would the "igloo" be cool enough to be habitable? Hours or days? $\endgroup$ Feb 9 at 21:16
-
$\begingroup$ @KerrAvon2055 that all depends on which materials and how thick. The biggest issue is how to cool it in a way that minimizes internal stress and not crack. Regular blown glass takes up to 24 hours to cool safely. Something several inches thick will take days to cool without cracking. Even experienced potters have a percentage of their pots crack in the oven. $\endgroup$– David RFeb 10 at 15:07
-
$\begingroup$ Thank You, David. A great answer and appreciate the links as well. $\endgroup$ Feb 22 at 9:07