Re: How to really terraform (part 1)

From: quibbler (quibbler247_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 06/13/04 

Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 16:51:29 -0600

In article <20040613120017.15665.00000599@mb-m24.aol.com>,
tkalbfus@aol.com says...

> We could instead build a pipeline from the poles to the equator,

That would probably be a bit easier, but still no small chore.

> use solar
> power to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen

Solar energy will be less intense from the poles and less intense on
Mars anyway. You'd probably need quite huge solar panels to electrolyze
the quantities of water mentioned. If one wants to use solar, one might
try to just coat the ice with black materials that would encourage local
melting and sublimation.

>, release the oxygen and
> transport the hydrogen via the pipeline to the equator,

> Then we separate oxygen
> from the local rocks and combine it with hydrogen to make water.

Sounds like a lot of additional work.

> You see it
> would be easier to send hydrogen through the pipelines than water as the
> hydrogen won't freeze.

It would be easier to just heat the water up periodically than to
electrolyze it. In any event one imagines that one would bury the
pipeline and further insulate it if necessary. Introducing impurities
into it would allow it to stay colder also and actually you could pump
partially frozen slush without much problem. Your only challenge would
be to prevent complete freezing, but with sufficient pressure and
heating that probably wouldn't happen. H2 can actually be quite energy
intensive to pump, surprisingly. It's also highly corrosive. 

-- 
      Quibbler (quibbler247atyahoo.com)
"It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the 
threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, 'mad cow'
disease, and many others, but I think a case can be 
made that faith is one of the world's great evils, 
comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to 
eradicate."  -- Richard Dawkins

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