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And once the water was in Venus' atmosphere, it could reach high altitude, where it would be dissociated by solar radiation. The hydrogen could then escape to
by pfdietz 1y ago
And once the water was in Venus' atmosphere, it could reach high altitude, where it would be dissociated by solar radiation. The hydrogen could then escape to space. The signature of this remains in the isotope ratio of deuterium to ordinary hydrogen in the atmosphere there: deuterium enriched by two orders of magnitude above the level seen on Earth.
- taneq 1y agoOk, so this is all leading to one very specific place: An anarchic society of steampunk airships harvesting Deuterium from the shirtsleeve zone in Venus’ upper atmosphere.
- westmeal 1y agoWhat would they want with it?
- est31 1y agoDeuterium might be the oil of the future as one can do fusion with it easily (in comparison).
- pfdietz 1y agoTo make enough giant H bombs to blow Venus' atmosphere into space? This scheme would have some negative aspects. BTW, hydrogen on Mars is enriched in D by a factor of 5 relative to Earth.
- taneq 1y agoThey'd export it to Earth in exchange for other necessities. Airship parts, water, protein bars, TV shows. Earth would then use the deuterium for its 'free unlimited energy' fusion reactors.