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I had an idea, perhaps a weird fantasy. Of a special tube train with blocks of ice. You’d need to have various pits dug in, and pumps to drain the water. Yes w

I had an idea, perhaps a weird fantasy. Of a special tube train with blocks of ice. You’d need to have various pits dug in, and pumps to drain the water. Yes water and power electronics is “fraught”. I just like the idea of trains trundling along, blocks of ice being carted out and gradually melting. Another idea is to move mechs-bots via Underground in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but that’s not so relevant here.

laurencerowe 1y ago
This was actually tried: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jun/05/transport.world https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jun/05/transport.world
LeoPanthera 1y ago
This would also increase the humidity to swamp-like levels.
- zeristor 1y ago
  Not if it was kept separate a metal box with fins could absorb the heat without leaking any humidity. Besides at that temperature, more water can be absorbed in the air, so not just latent heat of melting, but heat absorbed in evaporation too. Of course that would have to be wafted out, and not pumped were it just water.
surfingdino 1y ago
Various fungi would love it.
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
But then they'd spend more energy (and more braking) hauling that ice around; would the amount of heat absorbed be more than the one ice train would generate? There's probably more efficient materials to use, big lumps of supercooled metal. Someone else mentioned liquid air, that could just be evaporated in the tunnels and stations. Of course, generating liquid air costs a lot of energy too. I'm sure the problem is easily solved if you assume infinite and free energy.
mk_stjames 1y ago
Make tram cars that sit on giant plates that straddle giant cuboids of ice, and rail beds that are like luge lanes, pulled along by overhead ropes. Have the water in the lanes flow at the ends into waterwheels that help drive the ropes as a primitive form of energy recovery, all driven by a power-take-off from a giant coal power steam engine on the surface that also serves to power a massive reverse-rankine cycle refrigerator that makes the ice blocks and slides them down into the tunnels - the gravity also helping pull the ropes that drive the trams. Of course, the massive coal plants are going to accelerate global warming, so you're gonna need to build more of these ice-cooled underground transit systems and even water chilled underground housing for people as the surface temperatures rise and rise.... And now you've got this wild 19th century Jules Verne-esque icepunk world in thermal runaway all built up for a hell of a novel-to-be.

laurencerowe 1y ago

This was actually tried: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jun/05/transport.world https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jun/05/transport.world

LeoPanthera 1y ago

This would also increase the humidity to swamp-like levels.

zeristor 1y ago
Not if it was kept separate a metal box with fins could absorb the heat without leaking any humidity. Besides at that temperature, more water can be absorbed in the air, so not just latent heat of melting, but heat absorbed in evaporation too. Of course that would have to be wafted out, and not pumped were it just water.

surfingdino 1y ago

Various fungi would love it.

Cthulhu_ 1y ago

But then they'd spend more energy (and more braking) hauling that ice around; would the amount of heat absorbed be more than the one ice train would generate? There's probably more efficient materials to use, big lumps of supercooled metal. Someone else mentioned liquid air, that could just be evaporated in the tunnels and stations. Of course, generating liquid air costs a lot of energy too. I'm sure the problem is easily solved if you assume infinite and free energy.

mk_stjames 1y ago

Make tram cars that sit on giant plates that straddle giant cuboids of ice, and rail beds that are like luge lanes, pulled along by overhead ropes. Have the water in the lanes flow at the ends into waterwheels that help drive the ropes as a primitive form of energy recovery, all driven by a power-take-off from a giant coal power steam engine on the surface that also serves to power a massive reverse-rankine cycle refrigerator that makes the ice blocks and slides them down into the tunnels - the gravity also helping pull the ropes that drive the trams. Of course, the massive coal plants are going to accelerate global warming, so you're gonna need to build more of these ice-cooled underground transit systems and even water chilled underground housing for people as the surface temperatures rise and rise.... And now you've got this wild 19th century Jules Verne-esque icepunk world in thermal runaway all built up for a hell of a novel-to-be.