Setting titan on fire

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jindivik

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hehe jsut another silly thought, how much oxygen would you need to set titan on fire, and keep it burning until all of the gas is burned up?...not possible i suppose but what would it look like after that happened too? .. i thought it was something fun to ask
 
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meteo

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A lot....<br /><br />At least two molocules of oxygen for every molocule of methane you wanted to burn. Or about 64 kg O2 for every 16 kg of methane.<br /><br />CH4 + 2O2 = 2H2O + 2 CO2<br /><br />1 x 10^20 kg (1/14 the mass of earth's oceans. ) <br />*This is a WAG.<br /><br />After the methane burned you'd have a lot of CO2 and H2O. I'm not sure if at that temperature there would be a reaction, but I'm thinking once you got it started it would get the suroundings hot enough to react.
 
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alokmohan

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Titan is inflammable no doubt.We shuld not drop any oxygen from huygins.
 
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newtonian

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meteo- that is interesting!<br /><br />In view of the fact that earth has so much water and earth's crust has so much CO2 locked in carbonates indicating early earth's huge atmospheric CO2 content.<br /><br />Did earth once have methane in the atmosphere which was then converted....?<br /><br />I doubt it, btw - the early rocks indicate very early water.<br /><br />However, early earth was hot!<br /><br />BTW- oxygen is the most abundant element in earth's crust- which may mean early earth had oxygen which oxidized some of these minerals.<br /><br />However, I do believe early Iron deposits show less oxidation.<br /><br />One must get the timing right, of course.<br /><br />Titan is cold, earth was hot. The higher temperature would have made short work of converting methane to carbon dioxide and water.<br /><br />Still, it is interesting! Was there some point, a flash point, where earth was on fire?
 
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vogon13

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Several threads talking about incinerating Titan. Bunch of sick pyros around here. Seriously, before we inflammabalize Titan, maybe a few more probes need to stop by and check for interesting cryo-tectonics, possible biologicals and their precursors, scenic alien vistas, etc. <br /><br />Here's a topic you all can chew on---Would a g*****n helicopter work on Titan. Yuk, yuk. <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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jindivik

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<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Bunch of sick pyros around here<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote> <br /><br />haha im sorry but that one made me chuckle....and thanks to everyone else for the interesting replies <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />
 
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spaceman186000mps

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I agree. <br /><br />I merely wanted to know how hypergolic fueled rocket engines would re-act to the Titan atmosphere on liftoff from the surface.<br /><br />Titan seems to be a world where our present technology should allow us to land astronauts there.<br />That's why I realized that glider landing there seems uniquely easy and best but liftoff rockets would be needed for astronauts to reach orbit.<br />Also the low gravity of titan would make it easier than earth to reach orbit and once setting up a base on the titan surface, the fuel should be easily processed from the titan atmosphere.<br />I think that after first exploring the moon again and landing on mars, that the moon titan will and should be the fourth human solar system body that humankind astronauts will explore. <br />I certainly do envy these future brave great explores.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong here though.<br /> Mars seems exciting too.<br /><br /> If I've passed on when these historic moments occur,<br /><br /> In these future moments, my then existence spirit will surely still be there with them as it actually does occur... <br /><br />Before this occurs in all well meant respect, <br /><br />We all first as humans need to realize the fragile beautiful (yet sometimes violent) of planet earth.<br />Just the fact that tragic things can and do happen to this planet is enough sound reasoning that humankind should have increased their ability to survive that tragedy by robot and human astronaut exploration to other worlds. <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong><font size="2" color="#3366ff">70 percent of novel proceeds </font></strong><strong><font size="2" color="#3366ff">www.trafford.com/06-1593</font></strong><strong><font size="2" color="#3366ff"> are donated to </font></strong><strong><font size="2" color="#3366ff">www.caringbridge.org</font></strong></p> </div>
 
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CalliArcale

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<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I merely wanted to know how hypergolic fueled rocket engines would re-act to the Titan atmosphere on liftoff from the surface. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Depends on what fuels them, how much of that propellant leaks out due to incomplete combustion (especially at the very beginning of the burn), and whether or not its reactive with methane. In all likelihood, however, the answer would be "nothing at all". Hypergolics are relatively stable until you get them together. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>
 
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