3 ms·
An ideal structure should minimize convection, but rooms for people really can't be allowed to undergo large changes in temperature without exchanging air with
by jwmerrill 12y ago
An ideal structure should minimize convection, but rooms for people really can't be allowed to undergo large changes in temperature without exchanging air with the outside environment, because that would imply a large change in pressure.
A 10 percent increase over atmospheric pressure might not seem like that much, but it's enough to notice, and would probably be uncomfortable. It's like being under 1 meter of water. It's also enough to break large windows.
- mikeash 12y agoI don't think comfort would be much of an issue given a slow adjustment period, but structurally it would be ludicrous. You'd be unable to open or close doors. Your walls would have to be built a hundred times stronger than the walls of a normal house. Any breach in the pressure envelope would be a miniature version of Aloha Airlines 243. This is, by the way, why hard drives have filtered air holes rather than being completely sealed.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]