Re: [Traveller_TNE] Low Tech Stuff

On 19 May 2007 at 16:47, Gerry Harris wrote:

> Actually, the world has been terraformed for several tens of
> thousands of years (think, the Ancients, but not quite as old), and
> peat bogs in Europe are only about 9,000 years old. I did a little
> research on peat and it's a very slow-burning, low heat kind of
> fuel. It might be good for heating homes, but until more
> modernrefining techniques, it's not that good for industrial uses.

Ah, I got the wrong impression.

> One person did turn me onto using methane from animal waste, which
> turns out to be nearly as good as gasoline, energy-density-wise.

A *much* better source is available if they know what we know know
(even if they are a lower TL).

Methane clathrate can be found in *huge* amounts on the continental
shelves.

Basicly, under moderate pressure and *above* freezing (but still
cold) water and methane interact to form a sort of "ice" that has
methane trapped in molecular cages between the water molecules.

When samples are dragged back to the surface they fizz like crazy as
the methane escapes.

>From your description, there's been *more* than enough time to form
deposits. The methane comes from the decomposition of organic
material in the seabed.

--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com