Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GreatWyrmGold]

The fact that the planet is covered in ice and has a surface temperature of 40 below 0 suggests otherwise.

Many planet's with life were covered in ice at one point. Including Earth (ice ages).
[/quote]
The ice ages most people think of didn't really affect most of the planet. Sure, the tropics were drier, but they were still tropical. There were ice ages where the Earth was basically a big ball of ice, but there wasn't extensive flora on Earth like there was on that world.

Also, 40 below zero is the average surface temperature, not the maximum. Differences happen.

Yes, but that means that about half the planet is below 40 below, and only half is above. Without more information, we can't say with any kind of certainty except uncertainty the amount of the world which is pleasantly warm, but it will be in the minority. And that's ignoring that such "balmy" temperatures as one or two degrees Celsius (33-34 F*) on a notable portion of the world would make it no longer ice-covered, and anyways aren't conductive to large-scale plant growth.

*In the colloquial sense, not in the actual equivalency sense.**
**I thought it would be humorous.

Oh, and the Goldilock's zone is just the zone in which there's liquid water on the surface. No life required.

True, but all life we know of requires water, and any kind of life would be impeded by 40-below temperatures. Besides, as we don't really know of how any kind of life without water would work, it's just speculation at that point. The new fluid, and there would need to be some kind of intra- and possibly intercellular fluid, would need to be abundant, probably simple, and of course liquid at temperatures around -40. Whatever is making up the ice (so far assumed to be water) is almost certainly the most common fluid on the planet in question, and is certainly one which freezes at the common surface temperature of the world.
Water does have some qualities which make it a great fluid for life. It's made from common elements; many substances dissolve in it; and it expands in volume as it freezes, for instance.

(Note the difference from liquid water on the surface with liquid surface water. The first can have a surface ice covering (as long as it melts sometimes))

So? I fail to see why this would be germane to our current discussion.

[10ebbor10]

((You could have extensive plant live that is temporaly covered by ice at certain points))

Oh, and life can easily survive minus 40 degrees. Growing's another matter, but I'm pretty sure that too could happen. (Also, speaking about daily maxima rather than planetary. It's possible the planet warms up at day, enough to let the plants grow, which then go in a microhibernation for the night.)

[intelligentmoron]

((You could have extensive plant live that is temporaly covered by ice at certain points))

Oh, and life can easily survive minus 40 degrees. Growing's another matter, but I'm pretty sure that too could happen. (Also, speaking about daily maxima rather than planetary. It's possible the planet warms up at day, enough to let the plants grow, which then go in a microhibernation for the night.)

That's essentially my idea just with a vastly accelerated hot-cold cycle.

[10ebbor10]

On a side note, I liked yours more. In general, the other's to full of holes. Also, such temperature changes would be devastating for equipment.

[GreatWyrmGold]

((You could have extensive plant live that is temporaly covered by ice at certain points))

That's not an ice world. Nor terribly probable.

Oh, and life can easily survive minus 40 degrees. Growing's another matter, but I'm pretty sure that too could happen.

I don't think there'd be worldwide growth of anything bigger than what grows at the Terran poles (ie, lichens if that).

(Also, speaking about daily maxima rather than planetary. It's possible the planet warms up at day, enough to let the plants grow, which then go in a microhibernation for the night.)

Again, I don't think that would work very well. In order for temperatures to vary that much, not only would rotation need to be slow, atmosphere would need to be pretty minimal. And repeatedly freezing isn't any better for cells than it is for roads.

Once we get into life that lives without water and/or much air, and planets which work the way you're describing, we're getting a bit too speculative for my preferred type of fiction.

[Morrigi]

Right, while the catalog is still in progress, it'd be nice if we could get a consensus on a planet to land on.

[10ebbor10]

I'm voting for the first. It's more interesting, and has a much sturdier scientific base. (I did my best to justify the other one, but it's a near impossible task)

[TopHat]

PTW.
Anything starting with an Ebbor/GWG science debate has to be good.
Plus this looks quite fun.
No preference on the planet.

[Morrigi]

((You could have extensive plant live that is temporaly covered by ice at certain points))

That's not an ice world. Nor terribly probable.

Oh, and life can easily survive minus 40 degrees. Growing's another matter, but I'm pretty sure that too could happen.

I don't think there'd be worldwide growth of anything bigger than what grows at the Terran poles (ie, lichens if that).

(Also, speaking about daily maxima rather than planetary. It's possible the planet warms up at day, enough to let the plants grow, which then go in a microhibernation for the night.)

Again, I don't think that would work very well. In order for temperatures to vary that much, not only would rotation need to be slow, atmosphere would need to be pretty minimal. And repeatedly freezing isn't any better for cells than it is for roads.

Once we get into life that lives without water and/or much air, and planets which work the way you're describing, we're getting a bit too speculative for my preferred type of fiction.

Deserts can vary in temperature significantly. I've been camping in California and Texas and had it be sweltering during the day and below freezing at night. It wouldn't be hard to imagine a planet with a slower rotation that had a more severe version of this, at least in some areas.

[Fr0stByt3]

PTW

[GreatWyrmGold]

Deserts can vary in temperature significantly. I've been camping in California and Texas and had it be sweltering during the day and below freezing at night. It wouldn't be hard to imagine a planet with a slower rotation that had a more severe version of this, at least in some areas.

Deserts? Sure. But...wait, why do you bring this up?