4 ms·
why didn't they use a some sort of steam probe? Or heated probe?
by ed209 15y ago
why didn't they use a some sort of steam probe? Or heated probe?
- cfontes 15y agothey claim that they could not generate the electricity needed for those.
- sp332 15y agoA cubic meter of water is 1 metric ton. Assuming the ice is half that dense (from being compressed under all the other ice), it would take about 150 megajoules of heat to melt each cubic meter of ice. And that's just for the phase change - that doesn't include warming the ice up to 0C first.
- ed209 15y agoI wonder how they would plan to do the same thing on Europa? I read about a nuclear-powered cryobot somewhere http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryobot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryobot
- sp332 15y agoSure, if you've got the power for it, there's a lot to be said for a drill with no moving parts!
- kaybe 15y agoIf you need to warm it up depends on the depth - at the bottom the ice is not much colder than 0°C due to geothermal flux. So if, say, you only used the hot water method for the lowest part, the amount of heat for warming can easily be neglected.
- kaybe 15y agoIf you need to warm it up depends on the depth - at the bottom the ice is not much colder than 0°C due to geothermal flux. (That's why the lake is there too.) So if, say, you only used the hot water method for the lowest part, the amount of heat for warming can easily be neglected.