Questions tagged [atmosphere]
For questions about the gases which surround a planet or some other celestial body.
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2answers
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Argon Environment Spelunking
Monster Slayer Stan, we are in dire need of your help! The caves in our nearby mountain are filling up with a dense but non-toxic gas that is protecting a monster's nest. The monsters are weak but are ...
6
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6answers
308 views
Producing oxygen without plants
Obviously, current oxygen levels should last us years, so we are talking about a long-term solution.
Also, in this hypothetical scenario, plants have stopped releasing oxygen but haven't stop ...
5
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2answers
150 views
Which hydrogen halide to have in blood to replace water?
So I want to have an alien creature on a planet with a halogen atmosphere. It will have to be at a temperature where the hydrogen halide is liquid or solid.
This hydrogen halide I would have as the ...
6
votes
1answer
112 views
Making Titan's atmosphere transparent
I'm interested in what kind of events / processes would it take to make Titan's atmosphere more or less transparent.
The year is around 2150. The technology has progressed, sure, but it's nowhere ...
5
votes
2answers
191 views
Is it possible for an atmosphere to have gasoline mixed in it?
Is there such a thing as gasoline vapors, or some kind of gas that can be given off by gasoline? I'm trying to come up with a planet where the atmosphere is combustible and constantly catching on fire ...
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5answers
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A very small part of an office building is gone, leaving vacuum. How does this affect its surroundings?
A small perfect sphere is suddenly gone. Everything inside is teleported somewhere -- through space or even maybe through time, we're not sure. It's a small sphere, just enough to fit a human sitting ...
4
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1answer
105 views
How can the Progenitors oxygenate a world?
The Progenitors are an ancient race of almost infinite technological sophisitication, who mysteriously vanished millions of years ago for no good reason (I don't like TV Tropes, but you are welcome to ...
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2answers
94 views
Earth-like planet which is smaller but has the same gravity
If there were a planet similar to earth where the lines of latitude and longitude were half as far apart (about 35 miles instead of about 70), but the planet's density were increased to compensate for ...
20
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6answers
5k views
An iron rain to starve a planet
I have a generic Earth like planet, same atmospheric composition, and the same oceanic composition. The crust of this planet is predominantly silicon based but plenty of iron, nickel and copper. ...
2
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2answers
96 views
Necessary atmospheric conditions for humans to survive on other planets [closed]
So my question is about what the acceptable envelop of a planet's atmosphere would need to have to enable humans to live there.
As we all know, earth is comprised of a mix of 21% Oxygen, 78% ...
3
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1answer
42 views
High-atmosphere wind dangers on a rocky planet
What would be a good way to explain dangerous winds on a rocky planet like mars? I'm looking to create a dangerous situation for atmospheric pilots trying to land, specifically for sudden changes in ...
2
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4answers
210 views
Clouds on a planet surrounded by a giant “meridian” wall
I am writing a fan-fiction (thus the world that my story is set in is not mine though some modifications can be done in accordance to my story's timeline and setting in relation to the canon universe) ...
0
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1answer
50 views
Planet-sized creatures floating in breathable system-wide atmosphere
In the future, we created a Dyson Swarm.
Each node (which I'd like to call a Gigalga) is an asteroid-sized, biotechnological, space-adapted, sentient plant that speaks the same evolved language as we ...
10
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4answers
400 views
Prevailing winds on a rotating space habitat
A common, matter-efficient science-fiction habitat is a hollow cylinder or ring in space that is spun to simulate the pull of gravity on its interior surface. These habitats have been imagined as ...
0
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3answers
87 views
Conditional deniability of a natural asteroid belt with an atmosphere?
Is it unreasonable to suspend one's disbelief that an asteroid belt naturally formed with enough mass distributed through the belt to justify the formation of a belt-wide atmosphere given the ...
1
vote
4answers
235 views
How tall do atmosphere retaining walls on rotating space habitats need to be?
A common, matter-efficient science-fiction habitat is a hollow cylinder or ring in space that is spun to simulate the pull of gravity on its interior surface. These habitats have been imagined as ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
How can a planet have an atmosphere in a universe full of water? [closed]
Imagine a universe where the space is not empty (or almost empty) but somehow it's full of water or other liquid.
How could planets still have an inhabitable atmosphere? What could make this "air ...
5
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4answers
314 views
Would a denser atmosphere hold in more moisture even if the temperature was exactly that of Earth's surface temperature? (Atmospheric Density)
(My world's details) I have a super-earth world. The surface of the world is shallower due to extra gravity, so shorter mountain ranges and fewer ocean depths. The world orbits a binary star system at ...
3
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3answers
115 views
How thick does an atmosphere have to be in order to make the sky “light up” during “daytime” human or near human ocular sensitivity?
If a planet were to have a very thin atmosphere how thick or thin would it have to be to allow there to be a daytime and a nighttime given human or near human ocular sensitivity?
In other words, ...
6
votes
1answer
417 views
How would this super-earth world be? (Creature evolution)
I have a super-earth world. The surface of the world is shallower due to extra gravity, so shorter mountain ranges and less ocean depths. The world orbits a binary star system at a distance of the ...
9
votes
2answers
124 views
Atmospheric mixing on walnut earth
Suppose we had an Earth-like planet based on Saturn's moon Iapetus. Iapetus has an equatorial ridge, 13 km high, which runs around it. Scaling that up to an Earth-sized planet, it would have a ridge ...
3
votes
2answers
142 views
What would happen if a spaceship had a total power failure in regards to the crew? [closed]
On a spaceship with a total loss of power, say for instance, because of a system failure or something, what would happen to the people aboard? Would they become hypoxic? And would it get warmer or ...
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2answers
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Is it possible for any creature to stay on an altostratus cloud without falling down? what are its limits?
I am working on a story. i want to know if is it possible for creatures like snake, eagle, vulture to stay on an altostratus cloud without falling down. if possible the limits on how much force and ...
5
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2answers
132 views
Reality Check: Planet with low gravity and water vapour
Using Artefaxian's excellent spreadsheet I have created a basic idea for my planet, but in the 'Stability Checker' part my low gravity planet is unable to hold H2O.
I am wondering if it is possible ...
0
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1answer
95 views
Using the atmosphere to increase the efficiency of rocket launches [closed]
Rockets are heavy because they need to transport the fuel as well as the oxidizer agent. For example, the hydrogen is the fuel and the oxygen is the oxidizer. The problem is it makes the rocket heavy.
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3
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4answers
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Is a balloon rocket launch pad possible?
Rockets consume a lot of fuel and carry not eough payload.
To reduce the fuel needed, why not send it in the mesosphere?
Imagine a big balloon, capable of carrying a small rocket to the mesosphere (...
2
votes
2answers
77 views
Looking for ideas for a world that requires some earth based mineral to be released into its atmosphere to render it non toxic to life as we know it,
Im busy wrtiting a Space Opera and was going to utilise the "hypothesis", or whatever you call it of an ancient civ mining gold here and utilising it to disperse into its atmosphere, in turn either ...
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1answer
96 views
How does atmospheric density affect blunt force?
If one had three humanly habitable planets with the same gravity but different atmospheric densities due to composition, namely
Earth,
one with a denser atmosphere (about 1.5x as dense)
one with a ...
4
votes
3answers
166 views
Would this type of atmosphere be suitable for human life?
I've been trying to create a Earth-like planet but I'm not sure if my planet's atmosphere is breathable. (It's mostly the amount of helium I'm worried about).
I've tried to make it Earth-like while ...
1
vote
0answers
66 views
Life on oceans above the sky [closed]
The Leidenfrost effect is a physical phenomenon in which a liquid, in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapor layer keeping that ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
What atmospheric density would be required to allow a human being to fly without wings?
How dense would an atmosphere (that's presumably non-toxic) need to be in order for a human being (without wings, artificial or otherwise) to achieve unassisted flight (without killing said person ...
6
votes
3answers
437 views
Can you have reduced visibility (due to fog) but an atmosphere that is still breathable?
Is it possible to have an atmosphere that is essentially fog, but still be breathable by humans?
I'm basically looking to have an environment where visibility is very low (for suspense reasons) even ...
12
votes
7answers
2k views
Advanced civilization on planet with atmosphere only in large sinkholes
I want to have an Earth-sized planet (with similar gravity) with an extremely low-density atmosphere (comparable to Mars) at most of its surface. Complex life, including an information-age ...
2
votes
3answers
126 views
Plants grown in planet’s soil allow colonist to adapt to atmosphere
Is there a toxin which could plausibly exist in the atmosphere of a planet, which could make people sick but not too sick?
Is it possible that plants grown in the soil from this planet might be able ...
6
votes
6answers
552 views
Could I have an earth-like planet from which sun and moon would never be simultaneously visible?
On earth there can be hours where the moon is up during the same time the sun is in the sky (daytime moon) due to the combined rotation of earth and orbit of the moon. I would like to have an earth-...
6
votes
2answers
216 views
Syrup Atmosphere
As you look at the properties of the atmosphere as you scale up or down, things get weirder and weirder. One good example is the fairyfly and its environment. Fairyflies are so small that at their ...
5
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2answers
81 views
Looking to optimize the atmospheric gas mix and pressure for humans for minimal cellular degeneration
To build another world, I would want a perfected atmosphere that would sustain the air cycle and yet optimize a decreased cellular degeneration. i.e.: increase quality and length of life. Would we ...
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2answers
91 views
What can cause the formation of a water canopy above the Earth's surface?
Here is a link to the water canopy theory.
My question is: how this water could end up there, high above the surface?
I was thinking about two possibilities: a comet spreading ice/water as it ...
1
vote
2answers
89 views
Thermobaric weapons in dense atmospheres
Would thermobaric weapons be more or less effective in a denser atmosphere of another planet?
On one hand the shockwaves would be harder because of the more tightly compressed air. On the other hand ...
1
vote
2answers
189 views
Can you create a small atmosphere with giant walls?
Can you create an atmosphere on a celestial satellite by using giant walls? Perhaps assisted with some means of technology? In a story I am creating I want to create something different from the ...
0
votes
1answer
127 views
What is the concentration of oxygen at higher pressure that humans can adequately tolerate? [closed]
I am thinking of a scenario in which the protagonist travels to a world relatively similar to the earth, but with certain differences with respect to the atmosphere, specifically its atmospheric ...
4
votes
4answers
542 views
Cities in a world with rapid winds and denser atmosphere?
I am looking for information on how the trees and the flora would be in a world with a denser atmosphere and stronger winds.
I have read that due to the greater kinetic movement of the wind, that in ...
8
votes
3answers
825 views
What kind of gases in an atmosphere could accelerate oxidation processes?
Recently, looking for information for worldbuilding purposes of my story, I found a post about how in a more oxygen rich atmosphere, the oxidation processes would take place more quickly.
...
1
vote
3answers
359 views
Why would be preferable use crossbows than firearms? [closed]
First of all, I am aware that its impossible for a planet with less gravity than the Earth, to naturally maintain an atmosphere with the same terrestrial gases, in an equal or greater proportion. ...
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votes
1answer
95 views
In a city of skyscrapers, how would the height affect the individuals living there? [closed]
I'm writing a sci-fi/fantasy story that partially takes place in a supercity (Pop 15 Bil) made of skyscrapers. The inhabitants thereof are immortal, and so don't have to be concerned about atmospheric ...
4
votes
4answers
250 views
How do you get a thick atmosphere with less than earth-like gravity?
Basically: I want a highly viscous atmosphere but I want people to be able to walk around. I was thinking earth's gravity * 0.6 or similar.
I was thinking that an atmosphere of Sulfur Hexafluoride ...
25
votes
16answers
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How to make sure humans do not know the meteorological phenomenon rainbow?
You've got to love the rainbow, it's an awesome sight. But I don't want humans to have the pleasure of seeing the rainbow.
What change to the earth, atmosphere and so on, is needed so that humans ...
5
votes
1answer
153 views
Could N2O be a major constituent in an exo-planet's atmosphere?
Say there would be plants that release a lot of N2O (nitrous oxide or laughing gas). On Earth, N2O is a trace-gas and it is pretty stable. In our atmosphere it has a half-life of > 100 years, and as I ...
6
votes
2answers
200 views
How to keep this artificial water planet from evaporating or freezing?
Piggybacking on this question: Could soft matter infused with nano or pico sized magnets be used to clump together so that we could create environments with it?
...So we have a planet that has lower ...
0
votes
0answers
67 views
Why would a world have a floating ocean [duplicate]
I'm imagining an expansive body of water that is suspended high above the ground. One that can sustain diverse ecosystems that take advantage of the water to air conditions.
What natural or other ...
