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New York, 11:37 PM
Thu Nov 12
75 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #co2 more →

    Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption

    Synthetic Tree Will Hopefully Capture Tons of Carbon Dioxide, Save the Planet

    CO2 Skyscraper Scrubs Away Smog With 400 Trees

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Whydoesthisalwayshappentome Whydoesthisalwayshappentome
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    Out of pure curiosity, what would happen if someone were to light a match next to this thing?
     Reply
    Curves promoted this comment Whydoesthisalwayshappentome was starred Whydoesthisalwayshappentome was unstarred
    Image of Curves Curves
    07/23/09

    @Whydoesthisalwayshappentome: I am no rocket scientist, but, I dont think you can produce fire in oxygenless space.
     Reply
    Curves was starred Curves was unstarred
    Image of Whydoesthisalwayshappentome Whydoesthisalwayshappentome
    07/30/09

    @Curves: I meant here on earth, since I'm not sure how Lithium Hydroxide would react if lit on fire.
     Reply
    Whydoesthisalwayshappentome was starred Whydoesthisalwayshappentome was unstarred
    Image of infmom infmom
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    ... followed up by "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave" ?
     Reply
    infmom was starred infmom was unstarred
    Image of admoseremic admoseremic
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    Are his shoes on backwards??
     Reply
    admoseremic was starred admoseremic was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    07/23/09

    @admoseremic: no, his feet are. Little-known side-effect of microgravity is that the bones in your feet can shift completely around so that your big and pinky toes become inverted.
     Reply
    GarciaConcern promoted this comment DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of strider_mt2k strider_mt2k
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    -and that's when the Taco Bell sponsorship deal really kinda fell through...
     Reply
    strider_mt2k was starred strider_mt2k was unstarred
    Image of Knowitallguytherevenge Knowitallguytherevenge
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    Thanks to The Lab for being a voice of reason in the usual shit storm of stupidity in all things internet. Well done.
     Reply
    Curves promoted this comment Knowitallguytherevenge was starred Knowitallguytherevenge was unstarred
    Image of Curves Curves
    07/23/09

    @Knowitallguytherevenge: Agreed, some of the commenters here are very high level tech people and their insight and experience add some really good info to the usual "fart" jokes.
     Reply
    Curves was starred Curves was unstarred
    Image of FЯeeMan FЯeeMan
    07/23/09

    @Curves: Awww, come on, Curves! I'm usually pretty slow to the juvenile take on things, and that was the first thing I thought of!

    I do remember a TV show (NOVA, maybe?) from many, many years ago where they had someone rebreathing his own, unscrubbed air. He was copying sentances from a book for about 20 minutes or so before his handwriting really declined and he nearly passed out.
     Reply
    FЯeeMan was starred FЯeeMan was unstarred
    Image of Curves Curves
    07/23/09

    @FЯeeMan: I love the juvenile take as well, which is one of the reasons I love Giz, but there is a good mix here of information and idiocy. It makes learning more fun, and I learn new things here every day (including new fart jokes).
     Reply
    Curves was starred Curves was unstarred
    Image of The Lab The Lab
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    Let me preface this statement by saying that my balls are of composed of an inferior material that would prevent me from leaving our atmosphere.

    That said, the danger of this situation seems to be overstated. I'm pretty sure that Cassidy was not in any danger of being exposed to LiOH. This substance is used in SCUBA rebreathers and is well contained in that application. LiOH is corrosive but the Li polymers found in your laptop are explosive and you have that thing on your lap! You must have balls of asbestos.

    The device that broke was probably very similar to a SCUBA rebreather and thus this scenario was more akin to a scuba diver noticing his rebreather wasn't scrubbing CO2 well, resulting in shorter bottom time. Surely no fun but SCUBA rebreathers have small reserve tanks of O2, I'd bet NASA had a small contingency cylinder for just this type of malfunction.
     Reply
    The Lab was starred The Lab was unstarred
    Image of Candle Jack Candle Jack
    07/23/09

    @The Lab: What about the lethal gas in question, CO2? i.e, how long does he have if CO2 levels rise?
     Reply
    The Lab promoted this comment Edited by Candle Jack at 07/23/09 10:02 AM Candle Jack was starred Candle Jack was unstarred
    Image of The Lab The Lab
    07/23/09

    @Candle Jack: CO2 levels would have to increase 30X over basal levels before the first physiological effect which is drowsiness. My guess is that the increase was caught well before this and could be accounted for by diluting the spacesuit atmosphere with O2. If CO2 levels increased 240X, it would take 5-10 minutes for the astronaut to pass out.

    At high concentrations, CO2 dissolves into the blood as carbonic acid and causes the blood to become acidic. The process is very slow however and probably not an issue here.

    The place where carbonic acid is an issue is the ocean. Increased CO2 levels have acidified the ocean, leading to bleaching. I read the Barrier Reef has about 20 years left. The astronaut will be fine, the ocean is the one we should be worried about here.
     Reply
    The Lab was starred The Lab was unstarred
    Image of Nighthawke Nighthawke
    07/23/09

    @The Lab: Jet pilots have died because their O2 system malfunctioned.

    One test pilot nearly did while being escorted by Chuck Yeager while on a test run. Chuck noticed that the pilot was slurring his words and getting paunchy. Chuck tried to convince him of the problem, but the pilot said "shut up, I'm running this show." Chuck finally faked an emergency to con the pilot to follow him below 10,000 feet and the pilot perked back up. They got him back on the ground without further incident.

    A malfunctioning closed circuit system, especially with the LiOH canister, is grounds for an immediate abort, switchover to the "bailout" bottle, and to get to safety. That comment by the astronaut makes me think back to that Navy test pilot that Yeager bailed out of trouble. It could have gotten worse if they didn't shoo him back inside the station.

    CO2 poisoning is a subtle affair and someone not knowing that their CO2 levels are exceeding saturation until it's too late is all too common.

    And yes, the PLSS they use has two oxygen bottles to feed them supplemental O2 and to use as a backup.
     Reply
    OrbitalGun promoted this comment Nighthawke was starred Nighthawke was unstarred
    Image of PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    The heading along with the first sentence of the post led me to believe that this post was about a rookie astronaut, Chris Cassidy, who had a gas problem....

    Anyway, it's cool to know that the people in Houston are continuously monitoring all spacesuit sensors. I guess I always assumed it was the other astronauts within the ISS that would be doing this (especially considering the delay which although short, may be crucial in an event like this).
     Reply
    PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was starred PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was unstarred
    Image of Sockatume Sockatume
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    The "lethal gas" that built up to dangerous levels is the CO2, by the way. Not the lithium hydroxide, which is a solid.
     Reply
    SuperSonik promoted this comment Sockatume was starred Sockatume was unstarred
    Image of Hello Mister Walrus Hello Mister Walrus
    07/23/09

    @Sockatume: "His lithium hydroxide CO2 scrubber broke, allowing the lethal gas to build up to dangerous levels."

    Actually, this sentence indicates that the "lithium hydroxide CO2 scrubber" is the lethal gas.
     Reply
    Hello Mister Walrus was starred Hello Mister Walrus was unstarred
    Image of tande04 tande04
    07/23/09

    @Hello Mister Walrus:The lithium hydroxide is supposed to point out what the CO2 scrubber is made of.

    It might read a bit weird but it was just CO2.
     Reply
    tande04 was starred tande04 was unstarred
    Image of Hello Mister Walrus Hello Mister Walrus
    07/23/09

    @tande04 mile island in the sun: Yeah, I know what he meant to say. The sentence is not grammatically correct, so its literal meaning is distorted.
     Reply
    Hello Mister Walrus was starred Hello Mister Walrus was unstarred
    Image of geiko geiko
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    So now that China, India, and Japan are in the new and improved Space Race, are we gonna see much smaller and more reliable space suits that cost a lot less?
     Reply
    Hello Mister Walrus promoted this comment geiko was starred geiko was unstarred
    Image of OmniZero OmniZero
    07/23/09

    @geiko: Careful. The chinese ones will be full of lead.
     Reply
    thegreatfratsby promoted this comment OmniZero was starred OmniZero was unstarred
    Image of FЯeeMan FЯeeMan
    07/23/09

    @geiko: From Japan you'll get the quality, from China & India you'll get cheaper and smaller.

    Well played!
     Reply
    FЯeeMan was starred FЯeeMan was unstarred
    Image of NurseDave NurseDave
    07/23/09

    In reply to Spacesuit Gas Problem Forces Abrupt Spacewalk Interruption
    "Balls of titanium, I tell you."

    Yes, one would really expect a well trained astronaut to yell and scream like a girl.
     Reply
    NurseDave was starred NurseDave was unstarred
    Image of dancekat1 dancekat1
    07/23/09

    @NurseDave: Scream like a girl? Not sure if I'm offended or not...
     Reply
    NurseDave promoted this comment dancekat1 was starred dancekat1 was unstarred
    Image of NurseDave NurseDave
    07/23/09

    @dancekat1: Do your screams not sound differently than a man's? It all comes down to physics really. Don't shoot the messenger.
     Reply
    NurseDave was starred NurseDave was unstarred
    Image of dancekat1 dancekat1
    07/23/09

    @NurseDave: This whole thing is way off topic - it's my fault for starting it - I was pointing out that the implication by the post is that screaming like a girl is bad or weak somehow. Anyhoo - sorry for getting off topic.
     Reply
    dancekat1 was starred dancekat1 was unstarred
    Image of Duckspwn Duckspwn
    07/23/09

    @dancekat1: News flash. It is if you are a guy.
     Reply
    Duckspwn was starred Duckspwn was unstarred
    Image of squishyalt squishyalt
    06/23/09

    In reply to Synthetic Tree Will Hopefully Capture Tons of Carbon Dioxide, Save the Planet
    Or....you could just plant more trees & stop chopping down the ones we have.


    Oh, wait....that's be too simple.

     Reply
    squishyalt was starred squishyalt was unstarred
    Image of Curves Curves
    06/23/09

    @squishyalt: My thoughts exactly. Reforest the and let the real trees do their job.
     Reply
    Curves was starred Curves was unstarred
    Image of closhedbb closhedbb
    06/23/09

    @squishyalt: Do you realize that natural growth forests in the US are actually stable, and have been for over 100 years? We are actually the world's largest producer of timber grown exclusively for use. This means we are growing it as fast as we use it. Only 30% of the virgin land area of the US that existed when Europeans arrived has been used, and that has stabilized. The numbers are more impressive in Canada, too.


    As far as trees go, we're doing a pretty damn good job.

     Reply
    closhedbb was starred closhedbb was unstarred
    Image of Gann Gann
    06/23/09

    @closhedbb: At the risk of sounding like a hippy, rededicating some more land to old-growth forests can never hurt.
     Reply
    Gann was starred Gann was unstarred
    Image of Mathyc Mathyc
    06/23/09

    In reply to Synthetic Tree Will Hopefully Capture Tons of Carbon Dioxide, Save the Planet
    They should make real synthetic trees that turn CO2 in C6H1206 and 02 by using light. Now thàt would be useful.
     Reply
    Mathyc was starred Mathyc was unstarred
    Image of Gann Gann
    06/23/09

    @jeroenstuyts: you might as well ask for something that is self sustaining, reproductive, and produces delicious, healthy snacks once a year.
     Reply
    Gann was starred Gann was unstarred
    Image of ooqooʞɐɾ_Is upside down! ooqooʞɐɾ_Is upside down!
    06/23/09

    In reply to Synthetic Tree Will Hopefully Capture Tons of Carbon Dioxide, Save the Planet
    Ummm... Kay. Produce plastic, and CFC's in the process... and then kill REAL trees to make fake ones. Am I missing something?
     Reply
    ooqooʞɐɾ_Is upside down! was starred ooqooʞɐɾ_Is upside down! was unstarred
    Image of Gann Gann
    06/23/09

    @Jakooboo: You can't patent a tree.
     Reply
    Gann was starred Gann was unstarred
    Image of RustyO918 RustyO918
    06/23/09

    In reply to Synthetic Tree Will Hopefully Capture Tons of Carbon Dioxide, Save the Planet
    Is there any economical uses for the CO2?
     Reply
    RustyO918 was starred RustyO918 was unstarred
    Image of Hello Mister Walrus Hello Mister Walrus
    06/23/09

    @RustyO918: It can be used as a chloroform substitute, although somewhat less potent. Not that I know anything about this.
     Reply
    Hello Mister Walrus was starred Hello Mister Walrus was unstarred
    Image of gkimmina gkimmina
    02/09/09

    In reply to CO2 Skyscraper Scrubs Away Smog With 400 Trees
    not a botanist, though I play one on TV, but why do you need light bulbs for night time photosynthesis
     Reply
    gkimmina was starred gkimmina was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    02/09/09

    @gkimmina: I don't think the trees would fare well with a 24 hour daylight cycle.
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
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