Is this plausible?

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deadlungs

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Ok, here goes. I've recently gotten into creating planets in Photoshop. I have an interesting idea for a planet that i'm not sure is possible. Any scientific input on plausibility would be great. So here's the story of Anteiron:<br />We begin with an earth-like (although not nearly as far in the evolution process) planet in another galaxy. Interplanetary political tensions between other, more advanced planets in this galaxy is at an all time high before a huge galactic war ensues. The largest battle of this war occurs in space above Anteiron. After the battle, wreckage from all manner of destroyed ships plummets to the surface of the planet, scarring the surface with huge impact craters and causing immense tidal waves. The planet is forgotten for millions of years; the mostly iron wreckage remains unmoved in the waters and land. As the years pass, the water becomes filled with rust from the decaying hulls of the remnants of this epic battle. The organisms on the planet also change, adapting to the high levels of iron in their environment. As time passes, species of plants and animals gain the ability to process this iron and convert it into bio-armor which is as natural as our skin. The questions I have pertain to the actual formation of a rust ocean, the adaptability of any creature to such high levels of iron, and the ability to internally create armor out of this iron. I know that things rust faster in salt water than in fresh water, although i know little else about this stuff. I have the planet's picture in my photobucket account and if anyone is interested in seeing it, the url is http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/eighthxdeadlyxsin/PlanetSmallk.jpg . a larger, more detailed copy is stored in my computer, just ask! thanks for any ideas! <br /><br />EDIT: Oops! This thread was intended for the science fiction forum, although it fits in somewhat here, as it is a
 
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vogon13

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Unusual iron deposits in earth's crust seem to have been deposited during the putative "Iceball Earth" era. IIRC, with the oceans completely frozen over and isolated from the atmosphere, unusual chemistry occured that resulted in these iron ore deposits.<br /><br />Sorry I don't recall more about this, but perhaps some popular articles on the subject may give you some ideas for your story.<br /><br />Is the lead character named Xemu by any chance? <br /><br /><br /><br />(that last bit is a jokey)<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>
 
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mental_avenger

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It is unlikely that spacecraft would be made largely of iron. Iron (steel) is too dense for spacecraft because all that mass has to be accelerated. Spacecraft would likely be made of aluminum, magnesium, and lots of composites.<br /><br />Spacecraft falling from orbit would not generally make big craters. Most would either burn up on reentry, or break apart on the way down.<br /><br />Salt water does not accelerate rust except when the object is exposed to air and salt water mist.. Rust is a function of interaction with oxygen. Steel and iron wrecks in the ocean last for a very long time.<br /><br />The amount of iron in the crust of an Earth-like planet would probably be several million times the amount that would rain down from even a fleet made entirely of iron. Even a very large battle would probably not add noticeably to the iron in the oceans.<br /><br />Other than that……………<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2" color="#ff0000"><strong>Our Solar System must be passing through a Non Sequitur area of space.</strong></font></p> </div>
 
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Saiph

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well, they do have the resources and requirements for a large scale interplanetary war...<br /><br />So if they could pull that off, i see no problem with enough material being present to do large scale effects. <br /><br />I don't see much iron use though, as opposed to more advance ceramics or synthetic plastics emphasizing light weight and durability. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>
 
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tomnackid

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I don't see any reason why spacecraft would NOT be made of steel. Its strong, easy to work and cheap. Obviously we are dealing with advanced propulsion systems, not our puny little rockets. Anyway the space shuttle SRBs are made of steel and they fly fairly well.<br /><br />Still, that would be an awful lot of ships to change the ecosystem that much. An awful, awful , awful lot of ships. A few volcanic eruptions or a couple of iron asteroid strickes would probably put more iron into the biosphere then a billion star destroyers.<br /><br />When I saw your pic I thought it looked kinda like a planet with a world spanning city--like say Trantor--that had collapsed and started to decay.
 
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lampblack

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Trantor -- Lord, how long has it been since I've thought about Trantor? Asimov lives!<br /><br />Instead of the remains of a rocket fleet, why *not* have the ecological disaster be due to a planet-spanning city that (due to some huge disaster or other) has been abandoned and left to rot away over time. It wouldn't have to be *only* rust in the environment, but also decay from industrial chemicals and abandoned power sources (like nuclear, except more exotic and more deadly if left untended). Or, the ecological effects could be due not only to the city's deterioration, but also to whatever specific event precipitated its demise. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>
 
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lampblack

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I feel led to add to what I just posted.<br /><br />We could take things a step further and attribute the city's demise to the aforementioned rocket fleet. Tremendous battle -- rockets falling from the sky from ground-based defenses, all while the world-spanning city's shields failed and its people died. It could be a great battle leading to a deadly stalemate -- concluding with the fleet shot from the sky, and the city-world uninhabitable. Then -- over time -- the ecological effects that you want to incorporate into your story could more naturally arise from all that ruined infrastructure.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>
 
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nova_explored

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in agreeance with the above posts as to plausibility and technical aspects, my only addition is the use of iron biologically incorporating the iron into a sort of shell through evolution...not possible for biological organisms. Any biological organism hates the solid form of iron ore in the body. Our evolution has made it an enemy.<br /><br />if you remember in X men II with the deposit of mercury into the blood, well this is hollywood fiction without any factual support. The body would reject it vehemently and would more than likely die from such a large dose in the body.<br /><br />try it sometime <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> ....jk<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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Saiph

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well, that was iron injected into the guard...and he didn't look to healthy at all, so he likely was getting iron poisoning. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>
 
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