what kind of boat will nasa design for the methane sea on the moon Titan

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Boston, Dec 20, 2009.

  1. BlackSnow
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    BlackSnow Junior Member

    Should be easy enough to test designs on earth, using a tank of LNG. Probably a number of alloys that have the low temperature ductility and toughness that is needed. A sealed cylinder with a big skeg and some thrusters would be my first thought. Does prop design software handle liquid methane???

    I visited the Idaho National Labs in June, where they are making the plutonium-stirling gizmo. Neat device. If your average citizen could be trusted with radioisotopes, you could easily mass produce a small, lightweight (including shielding) electrical generator that could power a car/boat/house for years and years without refueling. Sadly, it will have to be reserved for space use due to human nature.

    My take on NASA: They were great in the glory days, when they had a proper perspective on risk. Now, they try to design for a six sigma probablility of a safe flight instead of three or four sigma, and it ends up costing 100 times more than it needs to. There are plenty of people willing to sign up to be astronauts, even at high risk levels. Of course, they will never go this direction because of the politically correct and risk averse nature of goobermint. Super-safe craft are appropriate for commercial space travel, not exploration. Having said all that, I would still much rather fund NASA with my tax dollars than reward some big businesses for being stupid and greedy, like is the current fad in DC.

    Burt Rutan was mentioned here earlier. That guy is in my top five list of heroes of the decade. He exemplifies the spirit of freedom and innovation that gives me hope for the future. If you haven't already, try to catch the documentary on his space vehicle that was released a couple years ago. You won't regret it.

    Cheers,

    Greg
     
  2. ancient kayaker
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    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    Maybe another thread could be created for the purpose of judging NASA's achievements so this one can be left for it's original purpose: its going to be a complicated enough journey without all the sidetrips.
     
  3. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    what I read was talking about liquid methane oceans and rain
    rain will induce convection currents that are bound to be more than 1 mph

    methane exists as a gas above -164°C and melts at -182.5°C
    has a liquid density of 1.013 at -164°C and I cant find the viscosity in liquid form but its not much or at least I wouldnt think it was,

    so it is a slush somewhere between melting and freezing in these oceans ( TItans surface temp is something between -149°C and -179°C ) but mostly liquid of low density ( roughly that of air here on Earth. Im still a little fuzzy on how and why the methane precipitates out of the atmosphere or evaporates into it in the first place if the saturation point is constant. seems like 100% humidity would lead to 0 additional evaporation

    the rest of the atmosphere is nitrogen 98.something %

    I would think you could float a boat on that and maybe even get it to putter around a little if you could capture those convection loops somehow, although that submarine idea is starting to sound more attractive

    I also found this on the winds of Titan
     
  4. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    NASA has contributed greatly to our science, culture and technology. Sadly, lately much tripe has come out of NASA but that is mostly since it came under new management. I just wish it went back to its original mission of ; 1. Aeronautics and 2. Space. It should have stayed out of the Global Warming Debacle which have no real effect on 1 and 2 above, except at the launch pad.
     
  5. mark775

    mark775 Guest

    But, as Michael Crichten said (did you read the essay I posted in the "hoax" thread?), science has evolved into "science by consensus". It's not just NASA scientists that arguably cannot be called scientists anymore. Skilled individuals, some, to be sure, but I don't think science, per se, scientific method, is taught in schools anymore. At the least, scientific method is viewed as something to be used when one can but "if enuf of us believe", a consensus can substitute for real science.
     
  6. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Give it a rest, gents. There are other threads where you can carry on about the global warming hoax, socialism, the disintegration of our educational systems and the perfidy of modern scientists.

    I think this thread is about a boat design for the methane seas of Titan.
     
  7. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Why study the methane seas of Titan when our earthling cows et al make perfectly good methane right here at home? Some believe the Devil's Triangle is partially due to a large methane deposit off the coast which periodically belches, relieving ships of their buoyancy if they happen to sail into the belch.
     
  8. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Because we need to find the cows that are producing all that methane on Triton?

    Hmm...maybe NASA should hit up McDonald's for some funding.
     
  9. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    I thought you said NASA's mission is the defense of freedom.? Doesn't flying to Titan and researching accomplish both 1 & 2 above?
     
  10. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Research is great but flying to Titan is a big waste of fuel. It is not as though there is anything of value there worth bringing home, as we already have enough methane. Let's get back to the moon, if even that. The Martians should keep their water for their own use.
    No one is going to get off this rock and survive, so let's just make it as good as we can while we are here.
     
  11. dskira

    dskira Previous Member

    Mostly will open a new landfill for some billion of dollars in vaine research.
    I will say something which is like talking apple and orange, but I will say it anyway:
    Cure the cancer, aids, malaria, nutrition, and poverty in earth before playing the great discovery in space, which nobody see the day by day difference anyway.
    This is not only for us but for the Russian and the Chineses.
    The internatiuonal space station is a dump in aluminum and titanium, for .........what?
    Sorry for that, I know I will get flack. But it is my thought.
    Cheers
    Daniel
     
  12. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    actually we need disease and pestilence, starvation and anything else that helps reduce the population
    its random
    its necessary
    and if we keep breading like rats we are destined for destruction
    until we can expand off the planet
    then we can go ahead and cure all diseases without risking a near immediate and radical overpopulation problem
    imagine if no one died anymore starting right now
    we would double the population not in what 50 years
    but instead in about 5


    I think the big deal about going to titan is that there are earth like habitats
    thing is I agree we should be on the moon but I heard someone from NASA say something a while ago very OFF THE RECORD about that. Im sure Ill take my share of abuse for mentioning it but it went something like this.
    "Maybe we're just not very welcome on the moon"
     

  13. yipster
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    yipster designer

    [​IMG]
    guess "we" are looking fwd
     
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